Grandview bracing for proposed autism funding changes

By Dave Flaherty/The Oshawa Express

Big changes are in store for families with autistic children accessing services in Ontario, and that means change for Grandview Children’s Centre as well.

The Ford government announced it is changing the funding model for the Ontario Autism Program.

Funding will now be available directly to families instead of being given to regional service providers such as Grandview.

Grandview CEO Lorraine Sunstrum-Mann says this means the centre will not receive its previously expected $3.4 million in funding in 2020.

Sunstrum-Mann says they still do not have all the details on the changes.

But in the meantime, there will be three main focuses for Grandview.

The centre has service commitments with families that Sunstrum-Mann says will run until June or July.

“We will focus on delivering the programs at the level that was previously determined as required,” she explains.

There will also be work to prepare for the transition into the new funding model and how the organization has to move forward.

“We’ll be taking a lot of focus as we prepare for this new world,” Sunstrum-Mann says.

Once the switch occurs, Grandview and other providers will offer autism services to families on a per-fee basis.

But Sunstrum-Mann explains families will now have to choose what services they want to access with funding available to them.

Under the changes proposed by the PCs, available funding will be based on income and there will be limits on how much families can receive.

Children who begin to receive treatment before the age of six will be eligible for up to $140,000 in funding until they turn 18, while those who receive treatment after turning six will be able to access up to $55,000.

Families with household incomes greater than $250,000 will no longer be eligible.

“Those are two important changes that impact a number of families, and we need to understand what that is going to mean,” Sunstrum-Mann says.

Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, says the changes would clear up a list of 23,000 children waiting for autism services over the next year-and-a-half.

Sunstrum-Mann says it is “too early” for her to personally judge whether the changes are positive or not, but she did note reaction has been “quite divided.”

“For families who have been getting service, this feels like a tremendous take away. Families on the waiting list, they are cautiously optimistic,” she says.

She says it is quite possible that two children from families with the same income level, but with different spectrums of autism, could receive the same amount of funding. To Sunstrum-Mann, this is a concern.

“One of the things I hope the government will consider is evaluating whether or not there should be some type of weighting measure for the spectrum of autism [in consideration of funding levels].”

In the end, more children are set to receive services, but funding will not increase.

“If you do the math, $321 million was supporting 9,000 children, now $321 million will be supporting 30,000 children,” she says.

With the start of “free market” on autism services, Sunstrum-Mann says providers will have to decide what to charge families and costs will be driven on what services families choose to access.

While Grandview currently serves Durham Region, Sunstrum-Mann points out under the new system, they could offer services all over the province.

“We believe that families will choose Grandview as an organization to come to. We believe we will have to grow our autism programs to meet the demand,” she says.

The overhaul will not affect other programs offered at Grandview.

The province is also doubling its funding to five autism diagnostic hubs, one of which is Grandview.

There are currently 2,400 children in Ontario awaiting a full diagnosis of autism.

“It’s taking a really long time to get diagnosed,” Sunstrum-Mann says.

She believes the investment in diagnostic hubs will speed up that process and allow families to get service quicker.

The most essential aspect for Grandview is to keep the focus on its clients.

“We are going to be doing everything we can do to be there for families and children with autism so they have access to the care and services they need,” she says.

Oshawa MPP Jennifer French is “disappointed with the proposed changes.”

“Children are not going to get what they need. It must be very daunting for the families,” she says.

French believes the overall impact will be much different than what the province is promoting.

“The goal should not be to clear the wait list by giving a little bit to everybody. They are doing this so they can have a headline that the wait list is cleared,” French says.

With that in mind, French says the current system was not working either as it was not ensuring enough families were receiving the services they need.

“It was not an appropriately funded system at all. It’s really challenging to support families when they were told by the previous government just to wait,” she adds.

French says the NDP will continue to advocate for increased funding for autism services in Ontario.