91,974
children are registered in the Ontario Autism Program
Source record
24,417 children enrolled in Core Clinical Services.
A broader count than funding — accepting an invitation is not the same as receiving it.
Record card
Primary source- Figure
- 24,417
- As of
- May 13, 2026
- Publisher
- MCCSS Ontario Autism Program figures, May 13, 2026, obtained by the Ontario Autism Coalition under Freedom of Information
Reviewed August 2026 · next review 2026-11-05
What the figure counts.
Every child who has accepted a Core Clinical Services invitation and has not exited the Ontario Autism Program — including those still waiting for a Determination of Needs meeting, those invited but not yet booked, and those who finished a Determination of Needs meeting and are waiting on a funding agreement, as well as those who already have one.
This is the first published column to report "enrolled" separately from "active Core Funding Agreement." The 3,706-child gap between them is a citable figure for the first time.
What it is not
It is not a count of children receiving therapy or services. Accepting an invitation does not mean funding has started, and this figure must never be presented as "children receiving services."
Derivation
Every derived figure, shown as the arithmetic.
Enrolled but without an active agreement
24,417 − 20,711 = 3,706
Accepted a core invite, no signed funding agreement yet.
Share of the register that is enrolled
24,417 ÷ 91,974 = 27%
Higher than the funded share — enrolment includes children with no funding agreement.
Change since the Financial Accountability Office baseline
24,417 − 19,966 = +4,451
Financial Accountability Office of Ontario, 2023-24, to May 13, 2026.
Cite it.
Journalists and researchers are welcome to use this directly. The wording below is the form we would defend.
Citation
24,417 children were enrolled in Ontario Autism Program Core Clinical Services as of May 13, 2026, of whom 20,711 held an active Core Funding Agreement. MCCSS Ontario Autism Program figures, May 13, 2026, obtained by the Ontario Autism Coalition under Freedom of Information.
Evidence for this record
MCCSS bi-weekly OAP Core Clinical Services progress reports (FOI release CSS2026-0749)
Primary source for registration, enrollment, and funding agreement counts; corroborated by CBC News.
CBC News freedom-of-information investigation into Ontario Autism Program bi-weekly progress reports
Bi-weekly OAP progress reports covering late June 2024 through early January 2026, obtained through freedom of information. CBC published the January 7, 2026 column; the current canonical figures come from the later May 13, 2026 column released to the Ontario Autism Coalition, so this entry is the historical column, not the source of the current counts.
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services: Spending Plan Review (2024)
Authoritative government analysis of MCCSS spending including OAP allocations.
Sources on this page
The source chain stays visible.
Key claims are paired with their source, evidence tier, and verification date so readers can inspect the public record directly.
Facts2
Sources2
22.5%
Only 20,711 children have active funding agreements (22.5%), less than one in four
Last system verification: 2026-08-10. Next scheduled update: 2026-11-05.
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