Province delivers $58.9M for construction of new children’s treatment center

A deluge of rain did little to dampen the excitement of breaking ground on a new $65-million Children’s Treatment Center of Chatham-Kent on Monday.

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After a short delay, caused by lightning from a passing thunder storm, the outdoor ceremony took place for a new 5,388-square-meter (58,000-square-foot) treatment center, as heavy machinery already has begun the work to prepare the land for the new center at the end of McNaughton Avenue West in Chatham.

Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Michael Parsa attended the event to announce $58.9 million in funding for the project from the provincial government.

“I am some proud to be a member of the government that’s investing in these critical programs and services that families rely on,” Parsa told local media.

When asked about the schedule of the project, Parsa said as the minister responsible, “I want these projects to be ongoing and to start as quickly as possible, but of course there is a process.”

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He added the government needs to do its due diligence to ensure a project has the proper support and funding.

Donna Litwin-Makey, treatment center executive director, said it is hoped the new center will be up and running in spring of 2026.

She praised Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Trevor Jones for giving the project the momentum it needed.

Jones said after hearing the stories of families from Litwin-Makey and seeing the children and staff, “the one is on me to share that story with my colleagues, with our first.”

He said one reason Chatham-Kent is among the treatment centers in Ontario receiving this kind of funding is because the center serves a big, important geographical area between Windsor and London.

Chatham-Kent is perfectly positioned “with the people in place, the leadership team and the generous community support to say, ‘Bring this project home,’” he said.

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When asked how the new center will impact the waiting list of 700 to 800 kids, Litwin-Makey said, “We hope a lot.

“We project we’ll be more efficient, more of our staff will be able to be housed at the center and we’ll be able to do more with every hour we have,” she said.

The original plans called for a 5,110-square-meter (55,000-square-foot) facility.

Noting the new center will be more than double the size of the current facility, Litwin-Makey said the architects were able to find ways to use the square footage more efficiently.

“They were able to give us more space to maneuver.”

The new center will house a team of professionals who provide a range of specialized rehabilitation and respite supports conveniently under one roof, including:

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• speech-language pathology
• occupational therapy
• physiotherapy
• services for children and youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
• audiology
• respite services
• Ontario Autism Program services
• coordinating care for children and youth with multiple and/or complex special needs.

“We do important work,” said Litwin-Makey.

This past year, the center saw more than 4,000 children and families, she said.

Many kids are on a few caseloads, Litwin-Makey said, so when you take a snapshot of caseloads, it’s 7,300 kids who were served by 53,000 hours of direct service.

“We’ve needed a space now to grow to do more and expand our work,” she said.

“This is an emotional day for me, it kind of feels surreal,” Litwin-Makey said.

She thinks of all the “amazing families” which have come through the center during the years. She said they taught the organization about how to do things right at the center.

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