QUEEN’S PARK — Mike Schreiner released the following statement after nearly 300 autism service providers were laid off from a treatment centre in Toronto:
“We continue to see the fallout of the government’s half-baked autism plan.
While the government plays catch-up by consulting with parents a year too late, their actions have already caused damage for children, families and service providers.
The rushed overhaul of the funding model without proper consultation is crippling autism service providers, who cannot budget with so much uncertainty.
And it’s made worse by the fact that families are still awaiting the funding they need to access these services directly.
I’m worried about a brain drain, as autism professionals leave the province or look for work in other sectors due to this uncertainty.
This is not what children and their families need.
When I held an autism roundtable in Guelph last month, parents told me they were tired of a patchwork system that was weak on service delivery.
But the government’s mishandling is only making matters worse.”