About AccessOAP

Accerta Services Inc. operates AccessOAP. Together with Autism Ontario, Serefin and McMaster University (Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA) and the Offord Centre for Child Studies), we will deliver services as the independent intake organization funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services to help families access autism services across the province. Learn more about AccessOAP.

Account Setup

If you choose to create your AccessOAP account online or by phone and have all the information you need, it should not take more than a few minutes. If you choose to create your AccessOAP account by mail, it will take up to 5 days from the date we receive your complete information package through the mail.

 

Families with more than one child registered in the program can manage all of their children’s OAP information from one easy-to-use account. Each family has a dashboard where they can see snapshots of information about their child, or children, in one place. From there, they can click into each child’s account to access services or update financial information.

As of December 2022, families with more than one child would have received an email or letter from the Government of Ontario with information about how to create an account for each child. If you registered with the OAP before June 12, 2022, and have not received an email or a letter with your unique transition code, please check your email account (including the spam and junk folders). If you cannot locate the letter or email, please contact the Ministry of Children Community and Social Services’ Central Resource Team at oap@ontario.ca or 1-888-444-4530.

As of December 2022, the Government of Ontario sent everyone registered in the OAP an email or letter to create an account with AccessOAP.

If you didn’t receive your letter or email, please contact the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services’ Central Resource Team:

Email: oap@ontario.ca Toll-free: 1-888-444-4530

Once you receive the email or letter from the ministry, please follow the steps outlined in the email or letter to set up an account with AccessOAP.

AccessOAP manages the intake and registration of children and youth who are eligible for the OAP.

There are three easy ways to apply:

1. Online (the fastest)

Get started at AccessOAP.ca and create your account.

2. Mail

Download an application form.

3. Phone

Call us at 1-833-425-2445 and we’ll help you get started.

Follow the steps in your email or letter to create an account with AccessOAP and give consent to transfer your OAP record to AccessOAP.

You must complete the following steps to help make the transition as seamless as possible:

  • Create an account with AccessOAP
  • You will receive an invitation for core clinical services through your preferred channel of communication (mail, phone or via the AccessOAP family portal, which is the fastest).

You are then required to complete the following steps promptly:

  • Book a Welcome Call: You will receive instructions on how to book a welcome call in your invitation for core clinical services. You can do this online through the booking link provided in your invitation or by calling AccessOAP to book your appointment.
  • Participate in Welcome Call: Your family will meet with a care coordinator to discuss next steps. Care coordinators will support your family and help you understand your options.
  • Complete a Determination of Needs Interview: You will schedule and complete the determination of needs interview with a care coordinator. In the meeting, the care coordinator will guide your family through a series of questions to understand your child’s goals, strengths, and support needs across ten domains. In addition to the ten domains, care coordinators consider other factors, such as developmental stages, life stages, and co-existing health and environmental factors.
    This interview is separate from a clinical assessment, which is completed by a clinician as the first step of treatment planning for core clinical services. The information provided during the interview will inform the funding allocation your child receives for core clinical services.

  • Sign your Funding Agreement: Following the determination of needs interview, you will be provided with a summary notification that includes the amount of funding your child is eligible to receive for core clinical services for the year. Your family will then sign a funding agreement that outlines the terms and conditions associated with receiving the funds.
  • Ongoing Care Coordination Support: Your family can work with a care coordinator to understand the service options, within and outside of the OAP, that may be available in your community.

If you have questions about your behaviour plan, please contact your provider or clinical supervisor. If you need help creating your AccessOAP account, please contact us by email or phone:

You must have an account with AccessOAP to transition to core clinical services and to have access to other OAP services. If you do not create an account with AccessOAP, you will not receive an invitation for core clinical services and your behaviour plan will not be renewed on or after April 1, 2023.

Connecting with Families

Your experience with AccessOAP is important to us. Your compliments and feedback are always appreciated and will help us continually improve AccessOAP. In addition to any feedback you choose to share with us, from time to time you might be asked to participate in surveys. As well, as families use the family portal and work with care coordinators, data will be automatically logged into our system to help us understand what features are most popular with families, which are producing the best outcomes, and how long interactions with care coordinators take. So just by using AccessOAP services, families are influencing our future decisions.

Core Clinical Services

Following the completion of the determination of needs process, your family will receive an OAP funding allocation to purchase eligible core clinical services and supports. You will work directly with a professional of your choice, who meets the OAP qualification requirements, to conduct a clinical assessment and develop a treatment plan based on your child and family’s strengths, support needs and goals.

Your family should have received a letter from the Government of Ontario that will require your action. It will include instructions on how to:

  • create an account with AccessOAP
  • Give consent for the Government to transfer your child’s OAP record to AccessOAP

AccessOAP will invite families to enter core clinical services in the order that they registered for the OAP. Your family will be invited based on the date your child was registered in the OAP.

When your family is invited to enter core clinical services, you will be asked to meet with a care coordinator. Care coordinators will be responsible for guiding your family through the determination of needs process to determine your child’s support needs and associated funding for core clinical services and supports. Care coordinators will complete the determination of needs process with your family at least once annually to reflect your child’s changing support needs.

Needs-based services are already available to all families through the Ontario Autism Program. The needs-based OAP includes a range of services and supports, including foundational family services, caregiver-mediated early years programs, entry to school programs, urgent response services, and core clinical services. For more information on services available through the OAP please visit www.ontario.ca/autism

The Government of Ontario sets the policies and parameters for eligible core clinical services and supports available through the Ontario Autism Program.

Families can use their OAP funding allocation to purchase eligible services and supports as outlined in OAP Core Clinical Services and Supports Guidelines.

 

Finding Services

You can use your OAP funding allocation to purchase eligible core clinical services delivered by professionals of your choice, as long as they meet the qualification requirements for professionals delivering core clinical services in the OAP. Required qualifications for service providers are outlined in the OAP Core Clinical Services and Supports Guidelines

 

If you are looking for providers in your area, you can also access the OAP Provider list, a voluntary directory of clinicians who meet the required qualifications to provide autism services through the Ontario Autism Program. Currently, the OAP Provider List includes clinical supervisors of behavioural services, speech-language pathologists, and occupational therapists

 

The OAP Provider List is voluntary for professionals to join. Families can also work with other experienced and trained professionals who choose not to join the list, as long as they meet the qualification requirements for professionals delivering core clinical services through the OAP as outlined in the ministry guidelines.

You will have the option to access eligible core clinical services through providers and agencies located across the province. Please reach out to a care coordinator to help you determine the best option for your family.

Following the completion of the determination of needs process, your care coordinator will offer to support you to make informed choices about next steps for OAP core clinical services and help you to navigate other supports within and outside of the OAP. This includes providing you and your family with resources or additional information about how to find providers, discussing your child’s priority goals and considerations for treatment, and/or addressing any questions you may have.

Once your child’s information is linked to an AccessOAP account, the programs you may be eligible to receive through the OAP will automatically appear on your family page in the portal. You can also work with a care coordinator who will be available to answer questions and will discuss your service options with you so that you can make informed decisions about the services and supports for your child.

Yes, families will have access to care coordinators who know what services are available in their communities. Regardless of which care coordinator you connect with, once you are registered with AccessOAP they will always have access to your information and be able to answer questions and help you make informed decisions that are best for you and your family.

AccessOAP manages the intake and registration of children and youth who are eligible for the OAP.

There are three easy ways to apply:

1. Online (the fastest)

Get started at AccessOAP.ca and create your account.

2. Mail

Download an application form.

3. Phone

Call us at 1-833-425-2445 and we’ll help you get started.

For Service Providers

If you’re a service provider looking to understand more about the Ontario Autism Program Provider List please visit the Ontario Autism Program website: Information for Practitioners.

Security and Privacy

AccessOAP is committed to protecting the data in our care. Our system meets all applicable legal and regulatory requirements and is further aligned to meet International Organization of Standards (ISO) 27001, Information Security Management System (ISMS) and National Institute of Standards (NIST) security control objectives. Regular Privacy Impact Assessment, Threat Risk Assessment and Penetration Tests are performed on our systems and necessary remediations are undertaken in a timely manner.