Ontario Investing in Autism Services to Better Serve Children and Families in Waterloo Region

July 3, 2025

Funding will help more children access clinical services through the Ontario Autism Program

NEWS	July 3rd, 2025

WATERLOO —The Ontario government is investing more than $37 million over the next two years in 100 public and private autism service providers across the province to help more children and families access clinical services in the Ontario Autism Program. This investment includes funding for A Balanced Approach in Waterloo region.

“Children with autism and their families deserve real support, so I’m proud to say that our government is listening and taking action,” said Mike Harris, MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga. “Investments like this in our community and throughout Ontario will help autism service providers build and retain a stable, skilled teams that will allow more families to access the services they need close to home.”

Service providers are receiving funding through the Ontario Autism Program’s workforce capacity fund. This fund provides two-year grants ranging from $50,000 to $400,000 in value to help providers to hire new staff, increase staff hours, train employees, invest in technology, and reach rural and remote communities.

“We are incredibly grateful to receive funding through the Ontario Autism Program’s Workforce Capacity Fund, said Sam Shipley, Clinical Lead for A Balanced Approach. “This support will allow us to grow our team, reduce wait times, and improve access to essential services for autistic children and their families across underserved regions.”

“Protecting Ontario starts by safeguarding the province’s most vulnerable and ensuring that all children are provided with opportunities to achieve lifelong success,” said Michael Parsa, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. “Autism service providers do an incredible job of helping children and youth reach their full potential. Our government is proud to work with them to make it easier for more families to access timely, local supports tailored to their needs.”

Funding for local service providers through the workforce capacity fund is part of the province’s total investment in the Ontario Autism Program. Since 2019, Ontario has more than doubled the program’s annual budget, bringing it to a total of $779 million with the addition of a $175 million investment through Budget 2025. This new investment will continue to support the enrolment of children and youth in core clinical services.

The workforce capacity fund is one initiative under the OAP capacity action plan. The province prioritizes applications that support families and service providers in northern, rural and remote communities, as well as francophone and Indigenous families recognizing the unique challenges these groups face. 

QUICK FACTS

• Workforce capacity fund grants awarded in 2022 and 2023 supported providers to: serve an additional 6,000 children and youth on the autism spectrum, boost training for more than 2,000 staff and fund more than 500 clinician positions. 
• The Ontario Autism Program has served tens of thousands of children and youth with autism aged 0-17 through multiple streams in the program, including caregiver-mediated early years programs, the entry to school program, foundational family services, core clinical services and urgent response services.

• Since the workforce capacity fund was created in 2021, Ontario has awarded more than 350 grants in total to autism service providers across the province.