A Windsor mother of a child on the severe end of the autism spectrum is confused and frustrated about proposed new provincial funding.
The Doug Ford government announced Wednesday it is changing the policy to allow families to choose the services from providers of their choice on a fee-for-service basis.
Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Lisa MacLeod says parents will be given a budget from age two to age 18 for their child's care.
For a child diagnosed at age two, families would receive a budget of $140,000 over those 16 years or under $9,000 per year.
Christina Heinrichs is not confident the new policy will lead to better care for her six-year-old son who is non-verbal.
"I feel like there's a lot of gaps and spaces in what was announced," she says. "I feel like they're not telling us everything and I feel like it's not really a good change."
Heinrichs says she is looking for the necessary details for what care her son will receive and says "I need the clarity of this is what's happening to the children that need intensive therapy, treatment. I need answers"
She says the allowed budget is nowhere near what the costs are to care for her son.
"It costs more than double that price that they've said for my son's full time therapy. Even when we paid out of pocket it was a lot more than what that number was."
On Twitter, Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod said that Ontario invests $321-million in autism supports each year, but only 8,400 children receive support, while the rest are stuck on wait lists.