MORE SUPPORT FOR KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

For April 7, 2010

CHATHAM—The McGuinty government chose Chatham-Kent to make another province-wide announcement, this time for $9 million in new funding for special needs children, said MPP Pat Hoy.

“More kids with disabilities and special needs in Chatham-Kent will benefit from improved services and lower wait times for programs at the local children’s treatment centre, with $216,000 in added funding for 2010-11,” said Hoy.  “About 300 children can now be taken off the waiting list due to this new investment.”

Ontario Children & Youth Services Minister Laurel Broten made the funding statement at the Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent, along with Maria Van Bommel, MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, and Hoy.  They then toured “Growing Together,” the provincially-funded Best Start child care centre in Blenheim.

“This latest investment in children’s treatment centres will help strengthen our response and service system in this region so we can better serve children, youth and families with special needs,” said Hoy.

The Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent provides a range of services — like rehabilitation, physiotherapy and speech language therapy — to children and youth with conditions such as cerebral palsy and Down syndrome.  The centre also supports kids with special needs, such as autism and learning disorders.

As part of its plan to help kids with special needs succeed, the Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent will get an additional $216,000 in 2010-11.  This investment is part of $9 million per year to support 20 centres across Ontario. These centres serve more than 58,000 kids and today’s announcement will help ensure they get the treatment they need faster and closer to home. 

“Children’s treatment centres are an important part of how Ontario is helping young people with disabilities and special needs achieve their full potential. This additional investment will help serve more children faster, as close to home as possible,” said Minister Broten. 

“With the continued pressure of increasing wait lists and wait times, children and families have been waiting for services. Today’s announcement is a good news story for each and every one of the children who will benefit from these additional services,” said Linda Kenny, Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Association of Children’s Rehabilitation Services.

·A child or youth may be referred to a children’s treatment centre by parents, an educational or health professional, or a physician.

·The local centre serves approximately 3,000 kids each year.

·An additional one-time investment of $2.5 million will help 12 treatment centres, including the Chatham-Kent centre, improve outdated clinical information systems, so they can serve kids and families better.

·The local centre also received $32,000 in capital funding in 2009-10 to make necessary repairs or renovations.

·Premier McGuinty was in Chatham-Kent earlier this year to make a province-wide announcement on full day early learning.

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Media Contact: Pat Hoy, MPP, 519-351-0510