The Manitoba government is spending $5 million to expand children’s autism services delivered by St. Amant, aiming to shorten waitlists and get more families help sooner. Premier Wab Kinew announced the funding at a news conference at St. Amant on Wednesday, saying it will mean more therapy spots, more respite for families and shorter waits for assessments. “This won’t solve all of our problems, but this is an improvement,” Kinew said. Almost 1,800 families are currently waiting for case management through St. Amant, according to Ben Adaman, the organization’s president and CEO. Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said referrals to the program have increased in recent years. She said the funds will strengthen frontline staffing, with new case management and clinical staff to connect children and families with early intervention services. The $5 million is part of $30 million earmarked for autism-specific supports in the Department of Families’ 2026 budget. Adaman said it’s the biggest net-new increase for autism services in more than 15 years. St. Amant is a Winnipeg-based not-for-profit organization that supports more than 5,000 people in Manitoba with developmental disabilities, autism and acquired brain injury. Once the new services ramp up, Adaman said St. Amant will be able to support more families quicker and significantly reduce waitlists for case management. Adaman said the funding will double the program’s capacity to offer behavioural supports to school-age children, bringing it to about 100 spaces. It will also add a new preschool stream offering assessments and recommendations for families who need guidance but not full daily supports. Adaman said St. Amant will increase capacity for preschool occupational therapy and speech-language pathology and make its pediatric sensory feeding clinic permanent. New respite home to open in December, minister says The province is also providing an additional $1.75 million for a new overnight respite home, which is scheduled to open in Winnipeg in December, Fontaine said. The overnight respite service allows children with autism to stay briefly in a home staffed around the clock, giving their families a break from caregiving. St. Amant already operates one such respite home in Winnipeg and one in Brandon. Together, the three homes will be able to support up to 35 families, Adaman said. Fontaine said such services can reduce caregiver stress and the risk of children being placed in the care of child and family services. She said Children’s Disability Services will now accept autism diagnoses from community pediatricians for children aged five and under, making it easier for families to access services. The government said the change will reduce diagnostic wait times and connect children to supports sooner, particularly in First Nations communities and in rural and northern Manitoba. Fontaine said families have long had to wait for an assessment through specialized diagnostic pathways before they could access services. “We heard Manitoba families, and this is our commitment that we are announcing today,” she said. The government says it remains committed to improving access to autism services for adults as part of its response to the Integrated Adult Services report, with details to be shared later this year. Meanwhile, MLA Carie Hiebert introduced a motion in the legislature Wednesday calling on the provincial government to immediately provide supports and equitable access to programming for all Manitoba children who live with autism. She said services are lacking outside the city. “Whether they’re in rural areas or smaller communities, they’re not getting the services that they need. And I’ve heard very clearly from so many parents that this is a real, big issue,” Hiebert said. “We need to do better for families. We need to do better for these children in our province.”
