Since 1957 — when it was known as the K-W Rotary Children’s Centre — KidsAbility has provided crucial support to families of children with special or complex needs.
The organization supports over 17,000 kids across Waterloo Region and Wellington County. Helping children reach physical, behavioural, social and communication milestones.
So, when word came late in 2025 that 37 autism service position contracts would not be renewed, concerns grew. Those voices got louder on March 10, when 21 workers were informed that they would be laid off in May.
The hits kept coming when, during that same week in March, KidsAbility announced the closure of the Fergus site, with the lease on the facility set to expire. Given the critical services the organization provides, Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife understands how important KidsAbility is to the community.
She plans to ask the province’s Auditor General to conduct an audit of KidsAbility to find out where the money is going.
Fife was a guest on The Mike Farwell Show, and she said she knows the organization has said the changes won’t impact services, but that’s not what she’s hearing from parents.
“They’ve seen a reduction in services. They know that staff will be leaving. Those staff have very good connections with their children. These are occupational therapists, speech and language, autism services and support. And so, parents are quite rightfully concerned going forward.”
Fife said the audit is an exercise in transparency.
“Since 2021 to 2025, there has been an increase in funding from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. So, there are a few things that don’t add up here. If ministry funding is coming in to KidsAbility, why so many layoffs?”
Fife said the Auditor General might not conduct the review this year, but that may be a good thing. Fife said an audit next year would paint a better picture of how the cuts have impacted services.
570 NewsRadio reached out to KidsAbility for a statement. In an email, a spokesperson said:
“KidsAbility is committed to transparency, accountability, and the responsible stewardship of our organization. We undergo financial audits annually from a reputable, independent third-party, which are publicly available on our website as part of our commitment to transparency. This audit is a comprehensive and structured examination of our financial records, internal controls, and accounting practices, and is conducted by independent Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) and licensed public accountants to ensure compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. According to the independent auditor, KidsAbility’s financial statements present fairly, and the organization has consistently received clean audits.
While we welcome independent audits of our financial operations, we question the motivation behind this request, given MPP Fife’s conversation with the union, as KidsAbility remains in active collective bargaining with our unionized employees and is committed to bargaining in good faith.
In 2025, an independent, third-party review of executive compensation was conducted at KidsAbility, to align compensation with sector standards. This review evaluated compensation structures against external market data from similar organizations in the sector to ensure competitiveness, equity, and compliance.
We remain focused on the continued delivery of high-quality care and critical services for the children, youth and families we serve.”