Money for autism services could be doubled, Ontario minister says

Thestar.com
March 26, 2019
Kristin Rushowy

Funding for Ontario’s autism program could double in the coming months in light of more changes the government is making to its controversial overhaul of the system.

Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod said Monday that the current funding level of $321 million will go up, in part because of a six-month extension for families receiving services under the existing system, as well as the end of means testing and a move to provide more money based on a child’s need.

Parents and autism advocacy groups joined a massive protest at Queen's Park on March 7 over the Ford government’s plan to overhaul the province’s autism program. Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod said more changes, and money, are coming to the program.

“Under the current program, we are extending the funding based on the enhancements I announced last week, that could be up to double,” MacLeod said in the legislature.

That would mean spending up to $642 million, a figure insiders say is likely given the demands in the system. But because the ministry will spend the summer consulting with families, the amount won’t be included in next month’s budget and the exact figure isn’t yet known.

New Democrat Monique Taylor (Hamilton Mountain) said MacLeod’s announcement last week tweaking the original plans are “changes that parents do not believe go far enough. The (Ontario Autism Program) is still age-based and not based on need, so it still discriminates against girls, who are often diagnosed at a later age than boys.”

While MacLeod “has committed to consultation over the summer after the changes are rolled out …the trust is already broken,” Taylor also said.

Changes to the autism program, initially announced in February, are meant to clear a 23,000-long wait list, spreading funding to more families, but drastically cutting funding for many of those already in the system.

The new plan, which gives families the ability to choose the services they want, sets out “childhood budgets” for those with autism -- $20,000 a year for children under 6, up to a maximum of $140,000, and $5,000 a year after that up to age 18 to a maximum of $55,000.

Critics have pointed out the budgets fall short, given a child with severe needs could require about $80,000 a year in behavioural therapy.

Initially, MacLeod had said the higher the income, the less money provided, but last week reversed that decision so that the full amounts will be available to all families. She also said services such as speech and occupational therapy will also now be included, and that the government will look to allocate more funding based on a child’s needs.

MacLeod said the revisions came at the urging of her parliamentary assistant MPP Amy Fee (Kitchener South-Hespeler) -- a mother of two children with autism -- who listened to families’ concerns and herself was came under intense criticism from the same autism advocates she was once aligned with.

The government also heard from scores of upset parents, who held numerous protests at MPPs offices and a mass rally at Queen’s Park.

Premier Doug Ford is said to be in support of the additional funding in light of last week’s revisions, but in the past has cautioned “there’s no silver bullet. If we wanted to fix the problem and you never ever will, let’s be very clear. It will probably cost $3.5 billion to $4 billion. Those are staggering numbers.”

On Monday, MacLeod said the government remains committed to clearing the wait-list in 18 months.

“We listened to parents; they told us it’s what they wanted,” she said. “We have also decided to eliminate the income test. We are going to extend contracts for an additional six months for those 25 per cent of the children who were already on the program, and we’ve made a commitment to consult with parents on the levels of severity and needs that children have across the province.”

She also said while the government “(supports) peaceful demonstrations, but what we do not support are personal insults, personal attacks and death threats.” MacLeod has been the target of threats.

But Taylor said families “don’t want to be out on the street every week in order to be heard. What I’m hearing is families don’t think the announcement last week went far enough. They want a needs-based autism program, not age caps and not a program that only funds a fraction of the therapies that kids need.”

Laura Kirby-McIntosh, president of the Ontario Autism Coalition, has said that extending the April 1 deadline for six months gives families a chance to adjust to the new system, but she still sees problems with the system and is pushing for a needs-based funding model.

MacLeod has started using the autism issue in email fundraising blasts, saying the Ford government will “not keep funnelling money through bad bureaucracy.”

“Our critics are focused on the industry insiders. We’re focused on helping the kids,” says the fundraising pitch.