Uncertain future under autism funding changes
The children appeared to be having too much fun to be learning anything.
Their laughter filled the hallways of Bethesda’s 2,430-squaremetre Family Therapy Centre at 3280 Schmon Pkwy.
That laughter was a result of the treatment therapists at the facility were providing, said Bethesda’s director of children’s services, Alyson Wilson.
“Every child has an individual plan with skills that we’re teaching, but we embed it in fun activities,” she explained, while watching a group of children work with a therapist helping them overcome the autism spectrum disorder that can hinder their development.
“All of our programs are based on applied behaviour analysis (ABA), and our staff have training in ABA. But then they use different creative and fun activities. They find different ways they can teach skills — social skills, life skills,” Wilson said.
Through their work, they have had a tremendous impact on many of the 1,400 families a year who rely on the services offered at Bethesda — including some of the children who require intensive intervention therapy of up to about 20 hours a week.
But now the Thorold facility as well as roughly 70 staff who work there face an uncertain future, as a result of provincial government funding changes for autism services, said chief executive officer Brian Davies.
On April 1, 2020, organizations such as Bethesda will no longer receive government funding to provide treatment services. At that time, the government will instead provide funding directly to families of children with autism, ultimately creating competition among service providers.
The transition won’t been easy for the organization — or the families it serves.
Being a non-profit organization, focused solely on providing
the best care possible rather than profit, might seem like an advantage for Bethesda.
Private-sector for profit companies, however, might also be able to compete while secure profits for shareholders, by reducing the costs of the services they provide.
“There’s a greater philosophical issue. As a society, we’ve chosen to use charitable organizations to provide service. To actually privatize everything, I think is a great mistake for our society. I hate to get too philosophical, but really that’s the underpinning of the way we’ve done this.”
Davies said it has led to fear among people working in the industry, that it could lead to reduced wages for professionally trained therapists.
“I think it gets back to the motivation behind what you’re doing. If your motivation behind it all is to make money, then quality of service is naturally going to decrease.”
A Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services autism advisory panel has been working for the past month to find ways to incorporate concerns raised during recent consultations into the province’s autism program, while the province has also promised to double current funding for autism services.
In the meantime, Davies said Bethesda is preparing for funding changes by having already implemented user fees for some of the services it provides.
But the families have yet to be provided with any funding to access those services.
And according to information provided on the ministry’s website, they could have to wait up to 18 months before they receive their budgets.
“Families, at this point, do not have what they refer to as their family budget,” Davies said of funding of up to $20,000 per year for children under six years old, dropping to $5,000 per year for children six to 18.
As of Tuesday, Davies said, “not one family has any of that money, and we’re at a hard stop on April 1, 2020.”
“We’re here wanting to provide services. It’s our mission. It’s our heartbeat. It’s what drives us.
“But if (the families) don’t get their money fairly quickly, we won’t be able to.”
Wilson said the changes are also impacting families with children that have recently been diagnosed with autism.
“The calls didn’t stop April 1 when things changed,” she said. “We don’t have any money as of April 1 to serve new families, and we get calls every week from people who are in crisis, their kids are in crisis, and we can’t help them unless they pay out of pocket.”