McGuinty Invests $10 Million For Opportunities To Succeed

The McGuinty Government invested $10 million Friday to provide assistance for more children and youth with special needs.

Locally One Kids Place will receive $155,220 this year in additional funding, an 8.45 per cent increase over last year.

Full details contained in the release below.

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The McGuinty government is providing services to approximately 155 more children and youth with special needs living in the Districts of Nipissing, Muskoka and Parry Sound this year through One Kids Place, Nipissing MPP Monique Smith announced today.

“Our government is committed to helping families whose children have special needs,” said Smith. “We are providing more services and making them more accessible, better coordinated and more responsive to the needs of children, youth and their families.”

Approximately 4,800 children and youth with special needs will benefit from the Ontario government’s additional $10 million investment in 19 children’s treatment centres across the province this year. One Kids Place will receive $155,220 this year in additional funding, an 8.45 per cent increase over last year.

“This is great news for the children and youth with special needs and their families living in our region. The additional funding will help One Kids Place hire more staff to deliver the rehabilitation services that will help our children and youth be successful,” states Judy Sharpe, Executive Director of One Kids Place.

Children’s treatment centres are community-based organizations that serve approximately 40,000 children and youth with physical and multiple disabilities every year. These centres range in size and scope but each provides physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech language therapy as core services. A variety of other services and clinics are provided depending on local needs and the mix of other providers in each community.

This new funding is in addition to the more than $110 million in new funding since 2003-04 to support children and youth with special needs. These overall investments are benefiting special needs children and youth through more than 200 new and expanded local mental health programs, as well as other specialized services and supports.

This additional $10 million investment is one of the many ways the McGuinty government is helping children and youth with special needs and their families. Since 2003, the government has:
 Increased funding for autism related services, providing supports for more children with autism, as well as supports for more teachers, therapists and coordinators
 Increased funding for children and youth mental health services by $38 million
 Launched Akwe:go, a community-based program that provides urban Aboriginal children and youth with the support, tools and activities needed to make healthy choices
 Passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, to break down barriers and help people with disabilities, including children and youth, to reach their full potential.

Children and youth with special needs have varying needs associated with a number of conditions such as physical, intellectual and development disabilities, and chronic or severe illness. This includes young people with neurological disorders, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, behavioural concerns and mental illness.

“We’re working hard on many fronts to make a real difference for our province’s most vulnerable young people and to respond sooner to their families’ needs,” said Mary Anne Chambers, Minister of Children and Youth Services.

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