WATERLOO-WELLINGTON, ON – Workers at KidsAbility, represented by OPSEU/SEFPO Local 258, are sounding the alarm after management notified the Local of 21 layoffs of front-line and clinical staff.
Therapists at KidsAbility provide critical care and support to children with disabilities and complex care needs through a range of specialized services including speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, social work, hearing services, blind and low vision supports, and autism services. The impacted programs include Early Years, School Years, School Based Rehabilitation Services, Behaviour Support Services, Entry to School, and Specialized Services.
These layoffs follow an earlier round of terminations in November 2025, when 37 autism services positions were eliminated when those contracts expired at the end of the year. In addition to the layoffs announced on March 10, Therapeutic Recreation services have been placed on hold, and the Fergus site – which supports the community in North Wellington – has been closed.
Workers say this round of layoffs will have a serious impact not only on members, but on the children and families who rely on these programs.
Children receiving support at KidsAbility build strong, trusting relationships with the workers who support them. Those relationships are essential to consistent care, stability, and positive outcomes. Workers see firsthand how much progress can be lost when children do not have stable, ongoing care from skilled professionals.
At a time when demand for child treatment services continues to grow, cutting front-line roles will only put more pressure on families, push more children onto already lengthy wait lists, and worsen burnout and understaffing in the sector.
OPSEU/SEFPO Local 258 members are presently engaged in collective bargaining with their employer, seeking transparency and financial rationale behind recent staffing decisions – particularly the targeting of frontline and clinical roles for layoffs amid ongoing growth in management positions.
For more information, contact:
OPSEU/SEFPO Communications, [email protected]