Kelly (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB), a workforce solutions provider, acquired childhood therapeutics company Children’s Therapy Center (CTC).
The acquisition expands Kelly’s clinical services in what the company called a “high-margin, high-demand” sector.
“The demand for services has been going on for years, actually, and certainly well before the pandemic, when you think about the increase of autism or students [who] need some assistance with speech therapy or with our special education students,” Nicola Soares, president of Kelly Education, told Autism Business News. “Being able to acquire a clinic was also very important to us because … sometimes it’s hard to fulfill all hours of service [for special education students], so they trickle over beyond the school day. There’s an opportunity to be able to fulfill those hours for students.”
Kelly will integrate CTC into the Pediatric Therapeutic Services (PTS) arm of its education workforce solutions provider, Kelly Education.
Troy, Michigan-based Kelly Education acquired PTS in 2022. Philadelphia-based PTS provides government-mandated in-school therapy services, including mental and behavioral health care and occupational, physical and speech therapy.
Eagan, Minnesota-based CTC offers occupational, physical and speech therapy for children from birth to age 18 with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit disorder (ADD), cerebral palsy, developmental motor or speech delays and other conditions. It operates two locations in Minnesota.
PTS already contracts with many public school districts in the greater Minneapolis area. Integrating private clinics into PTS was a “great synergistic fit,” Soares said, noting it allows the company to offer end-to-end services in and outside of schools. Kelly Education’s clients “constantly” ask if the company can provide therapists and special education teachers because there is such a shortage of workers in those fields, according to Soares.
CTC’s founder and owner, Sue Fuller, was retiring and looking to sell the business, Soares said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Kelly Education plans to grow organically and through M&A, Soares said, and is expanding into new states.
“Our intentions and plans are to open additional clinics,” Soares said. “We continue to be very focused [on providing] services that can expand our capabilities, particularly into our school districts, but also our communities at large.”
