Thread by @LouisBusch

THREAD 1/ In May @fordnation claimed that 1500-1800 kids would receive childhood budgets each month, with the OAP waitlist completely cleared within an 18-month period.

On Nov 20 @ToddSmithPC said this plan will continue until the new program is in place.

#OnPoli #CdnPoli

2/ By those numbers between 11,200-12,600 children should have received the wasteful Childhood Budget by now. Instead, only 2,274 have received a cheque in the mail, which will only pay for a tiny fraction of the costs of evidence-based therapies. Big savings for @OntarioPCParty!

3/ A survey of 279 Ontario families reveals that the vast majority have not received a budget (funding) or even the application to apply for a budget a full 18 months after @fordnation took the reins of the Ontario Autism Program.

4/ On Nov 20th @ToddSmithPC's staff repeated @MacLeodLisa's lie that children aged 5 & 17 were being "prioritized" for funding via a still secret funding algorithm.

ourwindsor.ca/news-story/973…

5/ Of the only 18% of families who indicated that they had actually received the insulting childhood budget, it is clear that there is no such age-based "prioritization" and that childhood budgets are being rolled out randomly as a result of gross mismanagement of the waitlists.

6/ In a shocking article in @HuffPostCanada, @emmapaling described the story of a family that had received an invitation to apply for funding for 1 son who was not on the therapy waitlist, while the other son, very much in need, received nothing.

huffingtonpost.ca/entry/ontario-…

7/ Sadly, many more stories are emerging of application duplication, childhood budget packages provided to families already receiving services, and families that simply cannot be found on the waitlist and are forced to start over at zero after years of waiting. #NextOAPScandal

8/ @fordnation @MacLeodLisa @ToddSmithPC and the entire @OntarioPCParty have mismanaged the autism portfolio in the most horrifying way. But this isn't simply ignorant incompetence, it's intentional & malicious incompetence. Freezes and delays are an effective cost saving tactic.

9/ Now @ToddSmithPC is banking on his next opportunity for a lengthy delay (savings); the #ImplementationCommittee. The answer has been there all long, #NeedsBasedTherapy @fordnation has simply chosen to ignore it in favour of saving a buck on the backs of children with autism.

10/ @fordnation & @ToddSmithPC have had repeated opportunities to reverse course & revert to a needs-based interim plan, the infrastructure for which already exists. Instead they have opted for talking points & delays, with cold indifference for the families they harm. Shame!