FAO Report
Key Insight:
The FAO report confirms that while funding has nominally increased, the number of children waiting for core services has reached record highs, and per-child spending parity has not been achieved across the various OAP iterations. The "waitlist crisis" is a direct result of policy decisions documented in this independent financial audit.
The policy behind the numbers
69,166 children are caught in a structural funding gap the FAO confirmed in independent analysis.
Registered
89,799Children registered
Total in the Ontario Autism Program queue
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Funded
20,633Have active funding
Only 23% of registered children
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Waiting
69,166Still waiting
Registered. Diagnosed. Un-funded.
MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
Verified , MCCSS FOI · Mar 2026
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Children registered | 89,799 |
| Have active funding | 20,633 |
| Still waiting | 69,166 |
Waiting for core clinical services as of March 2026 (FOI Data)
Only 23% of registered children receiving core clinical services (March 4, 2026 FOI data, down from 28.5% in FAO 2023-24 report)
Estimated average time from registration to a core clinical service invitation (OAC FOI historical tracking; not an FAO figure)
Total OAP expenditure in 2022-23 (FAO)
Approximate average annual spending per child registered in OAP 2022-23 (FAO $628M ÷ ~64,000 estimated registered at that time; not based on current $965M budget or current registered totals)
Unspent Funds
Funding went unspent in 2022-23 because there were not enough therapists to deliver services (FAO capacity analysis)
Nominal spending has nearly doubled since 2018, but service delivery has not kept pace.
Why it matters
"More children are waiting than ever before despite larger budgets."
The rollout of AccessOAP and the new diagnostic intake process caused significant delays.
Why it matters
"Funds allocated for services remained unspent while families waited for invitations."
Lack of qualified therapists (BCBAs, SLPs, OTs) limits the ability to scale clinical services.
Why it matters
"Funding alone cannot fix the waitlist without a matching increase in the clinical workforce."
Shift from direct service delivery to a fee-for-service / direct funding model.
Fiscal Consequence
Waitlist numbers began to accelerate as the old system was paused.
Centralized administrative body created to manage intake and funding.
Fiscal Consequence
Rollout delays led to millions in unspent funds while families remained stuck in intake.
Registration reaches 89,799+ while core clinical service invitations remain slow.
Fiscal Consequence
Only ~23% of registered children are receiving core clinical funding.
Written by Spencer Carroll
Founder & Autism Advocate
Evidence on this page
Key claims are paired with their source, evidence tier, and verification date so readers can inspect the public record directly.
89,799
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
According to the FAO (2020 report), OAP funding covers less than one-third of estimated need at 2018-19 service levels
$965M
Ontario allocated to the Ontario Autism Program in 2026-27
23%
Only 20,633 children have active funding agreements — less than one in four
WHO recommends accessible, community-based early interventions for children with autism — timely evidence-based psychosocial interventions improve communication and social engagement