The Ontario government is improving access to services for children and youth with special needs and their families in Chatham-Kent and the surrounding area by investing in a new 55,000 square foot building for the local Children's Treatment Centre.
News Ontario reports that the new Children's Treatment Centre will connect children and their families with wraparound supports and provide additional space needed to reduce wait times for rehabilitation services such as:
- Speech therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Occupational therapy
- Autism services
According to The Chronicle, Dr. Merrilee Fullerton the province's minister of children, community and social services, joined Kinga Surma, Ontario's infrastructure minister, to announce the centre will receive an extra $842,525 for its operating budget to help meet the growing demand for its services.
Donna Litwin-Makey, the centre's executive director, was very appreciative of this incredible bump-up to its operating budget. She said the new funding puts the operating budget at $5 million, allowing the centre to hire more therapists and see more children to address its growing wait list for services, which includes providing more school-based rehabilitation.
The local centre is one of three new children's treatment centres the Ontario government has committed to building across the province as part of a four-year, $240 million funding commitment for early intervention and rehabilitation services.
News Ontario states that once the building is completed, it will bring together a team of professionals under one roof to provide a range of specialized services and supports, including:
- Occupational therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Speech-language pathology
- Autism services
- Audiology
- Respite services
- Services for children and youth with multiple and/or complex special needs
- Services for children and youth impacted by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
"Our government is committed to building an Ontario that is safe and accessible for all Ontarians. By investing in projects like the modernized Children's Treatment Centre in Chatham-Kent, we are providing families with the integrated supports and services they need under one roof. This project will go a long way in supporting the health, well-being, and growth of children with special needs while giving them access to the treatments they need and deserve."
Minister of Infrastructure | Kinga Surma
The investment in the Children's Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent is part of the 2021 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Build Ontario. The government also recently announced an additional $240 million in funding over four years to reduce waitlists and build additional service capacity for children with special needs.
The current Children's Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent provides services to more than 3,500 children and youth with special needs.
In 2019-20, over 110,000 children and youth received rehabilitation services through Children's Treatment Centres in community-based settings.
The Chronicle also states that the specific funding from the province for the new roughly 5,100 square metre (55,000 square foot) building is still to be determined since the multi-million cost has fluctuated due to such factors as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michael Grail, chair of the Children's Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent Foundation stated that Chatham-Kent residents continue to support the centre in various ways.
"They have understood the need for this new centre, knowing that increased capacity will allow for expanded programs, increased frequency of visits and taking kids off wait lists so they can finally receive the services they so desperately need."
Chair of the Children's Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent Foundation | Michael Grail
The present facility is aging and there are accessibility standards not being met. The new build will offer a lot of functional space to accommodate growing services, with a lot more space for programs for teams and families and specialty clinics according to Beth Cummings, chair of the centre's board building subcommittee.
