Latest news with #OntarioAutismProgram
Hamilton Spectator
26-06-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Autism services for kids to expand in Burlington with $800K grant
Two Burlington organizations providing autism services for children will grow their staff with nearly $800,000 in combined provincial funding. Ontario's Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and Oakville North-Burlington MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos announced investments of $399,800 to Burlington's Spokes Autism Services and $399,629 to Burlington's Missing Links over the next two years though its Workforce Capacity Fund of the Ontario Autism Program. A June 21 press release from MPP Triantafilopoulos states the fund provides two-year grants ranging from $50,000 to $400,000 to help service providers hire new staff, increase staff hours, train employees and invest in technology. Ramona Mathew, of Spokes Autism Services, said the grant allows the organization to 'provide stable employment for dedicated (Applied Behaviour Analysis) therapists' and provide training that enhances service children receive. 'With this funding, we can double our service capacity and extend consistent, evidence-based services to more families,' Mathew stated in the ministry's press release. Am Badwall of Missing Links said the province's support will help the organization 'build a stronger workforce and expand access to meaningful autism services.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
26-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Northern Ontario autism advocates calling for more transparency over how provincial dollars are spent
The Ontario Autism Coalition says there needs to be more transparency from the Ford government over how funding to support children and their families is spent, In this year's budget, the provincial government is boosting funding for the Ontario Autism Program by $175 million, bringing the total annual allotment to $779 million. Alina Cameron, president of the Ontario Autism Coalition, says the government has not been transparent about whether the funding is going directly to families either receiving core autism therapy services or those on the wait list, or whether it's being spent on administration costs. "When we've seen similar increases in the past, it hasn't resulted in a large bump in numbers of children coming off the wait list for services," said Cameron. "I'm afraid that it's going to be sucked into the administrative overhead of the program." Cameron says families with autistic children rely on government funding to access core clinical services such as occupational therapy, speech language therapy, behavioural therapies, and mental health services. Without the program, families are often left to pay out of pocket. She says there are almost 80,000 children registered for the Ontario Autism Program, but only approximately 20,000 currently have access to services. "Right now we're looking at anywhere from a five to six year wait for access to core clinical services," she said. Cameron also argues that current funding models are not keeping up with inflation, meaning families are not receiving more money despite the rising cost of therapy. "Let's provide data and transparency around how we're spending the funding, how the services are being accessed, what the wait times are when you're on the wait list…These are important things to the community and we've had no feedback on them from the ministry," said Cameron. Cameron, who lives in Thunder Bay, said her 10-year-old daughter Fiona received her funding for therapy services two years ago, after being on the wait list for five years. A 'broken' system It was a similar situation for Sean Staddon. The Sudbury father has two children with autism: 10-year-old daughter June and 8-year-old son Charles. Staddon says his son finally started receiving his funding last year after waiting over five years. During that time, Staddon and his wife had to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for therapy for both kids to fill the gap. Even with the maximum $65,000 per year that Charles receives under the program, Staddon says is still not enough to cover his son's therapy expenses and the funding decreases as children get older. "It's extremely frustrating," said Staddon. "My son needs more hours in therapy and the rates keep going up and our budget from the government does not increase." Staddon says the province is continuously trying to "throw" money into a system that is broken and it's leaving children with high special needs behind. He says he doesn't know how the system will be "fixed," but he would like to see the government consult with families using the program to hear their experiences. In a statement to CBC News, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services said: "Approximately 22,000 children are actively enrolled in core clinical services as of April 2025, which has grown from 8,000 since 2022. With more children being invited every week, in the order that they registered for the OAP." "All families registered in the OAP have access to foundational family services and urgent response services when required, as well as caregiver-mediated early years programs and the entry to school program for young children."
Hamilton Spectator
16-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario boosts autism budget to $779M, advocates question where money is going
TORONTO - Ontario is increasing funding for its autism program to $779 million this year, the government announced in this week's budget, but advocates say it's not yet clear exactly where that money will go. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy's budget, tabled Thursday, contains two lines on the Ontario Autism Program, including touting the new funding. Children, Community and Social Services Minister Michael Parsa's office has not yet offered details on how the money will be used, but the Ontario Autism Coalition fears it will not all go toward therapy for children. 'We're very happy about any increase to the budget,' said coalition president Alina Cameron. 'It's very welcome and it's needed. But the way it's laid out, it just raises a lot more questions than answers for us.' Last year's budget for the program was about $720 million, but Cameron said previous boosts of about $60 million don't seem to have made a huge difference in the wait list. Figures obtained by the autism coalition through a freedom-of-information request show that as of early February, nearly 80,000 children and youth were registered to seek services through the program, but only about 17,650 were in an active agreement for core therapy funds. 'The rate of registration is higher than the rate of entry to core clinical services,' Cameron said. 'We don't really see a big change of services at the user end, based upon these yearly increases. They often just get absorbed into system costs, rather than reaching families.' Parsa recently touted in the legislature that more than 45,000 families are receiving 'multiple services and supports.' The Ontario Autism Program offers an entry-to-school program, urgent response services and some family services, but families often access those as they wait for core clinical services funding, which they can use to pay for key therapy such as applied behaviour analysis, speech-language pathology and occupational therapy. Most families want core services and they are now waiting more than five years from the time they register, Cameron said. 'Early intervention is effectively dead in Ontario at this point,' she said. NDP autism critic Alexa Gilmour says she wonders how much of the new funding is going to direct supports, since the government has previously indicated the program is adding more staff. 'We don't know how much is going to core services, how much is going to administration,' she said. 'We do know that they're adding more staffing, but the wait list has ballooned.' Aside from the long wait to qualify for government funding, Gilmour said, families are reporting difficulty finding available providers even once they have money in hand. 'I think that (money) is a drop in the bucket that doesn't close the gap,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.
Global News
16-05-2025
- Health
- Global News
Ontario boosts autism budget to $779M, advocates question where money is going
Ontario is increasing funding for its autism program to $779 million this year, the government announced in this week's budget, but advocates say it's not yet clear exactly where that money will go. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy's budget, tabled Thursday, contains two lines on the Ontario Autism Program, including touting the new funding. Children, Community and Social Services Minister Michael Parsa's office has not yet offered details on how the money will be used, but the Ontario Autism Coalition fears it will not all go toward therapy for children. 'We're very happy about any increase to the budget,' said coalition president Alina Cameron. 'It's very welcome and it's needed. But the way it's laid out, it just raises a lot more questions than answers for us.' Last year's budget for the program was about $720 million, but Cameron said previous boosts of about $60 million don't seem to have made a huge difference in the wait list. Story continues below advertisement Figures obtained by the autism coalition through a freedom-of-information request show that as of early February, nearly 80,000 children and youth were registered to seek services through the program, but only about 17,650 were in an active agreement for core therapy funds. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'The rate of registration is higher than the rate of entry to core clinical services,' Cameron said. 'We don't really see a big change of services at the user end, based upon these yearly increases. They often just get absorbed into system costs, rather than reaching families.' Parsa recently touted in the legislature that more than 45,000 families are receiving 'multiple services and supports.' The Ontario Autism Program offers an entry-to-school program, urgent response services and some family services, but families often access those as they wait for core clinical services funding, which they can use to pay for key therapy such as applied behaviour analysis, speech-language pathology and occupational therapy. Most families want core services and they are now waiting more than five years from the time they register, Cameron said. 'Early intervention is effectively dead in Ontario at this point,' she said. NDP autism critic Alexa Gilmour says she wonders how much of the new funding is going to direct supports, since the government has previously indicated the program is adding more staff. Story continues below advertisement 'We don't know how much is going to core services, how much is going to administration,' she said. 'We do know that they're adding more staffing, but the wait list has ballooned.' Aside from the long wait to qualify for government funding, Gilmour said, families are reporting difficulty finding available providers even once they have money in hand. 'I think that (money) is a drop in the bucket that doesn't close the gap,' she said.
Winnipeg Free Press
16-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ontario boosts autism budget to $779M, advocates question where money is going
TORONTO – Ontario's budget says it is increasing funding for the autism program to $779 million this year, but advocates say it's not yet clear exactly where that money will go. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy's budget, tabled Thursday, contains two lines on the Ontario Autism Program, including touting the new funding. Children, Community and Social Services Minister Michael Parsa's office has not yet offered details on how the money will be used, but the Ontario Autism Coalition fears it will not all go toward therapy for children. Last year's budget for the program was about $720 million, and autism coalition president Alina Cameron says while any increase in funding is welcome, previous boosts of about $60 million don't seem to have made a huge difference in the wait list. Figures obtained by the autism coalition through a freedom-of-information request show that as of early February, nearly 80,000 children and youth were registered to seek services through the program, but only about 20,000 had signed agreements to get core therapy funds. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. NDP autism critic Alexa Gilmour says she wonders how much of the new funding is going to direct supports and how much is going toward administration, since the government has previously indicated the program is adding more staff. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.
