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Child care end looms
Break down: Crib Point Community House’s occasional child care program last Friday. The program loses its government subsidy later this year and is likely to close unless money can be found from another source.
By Mike Hast THE Baillieu government’s first budget received qualified praise for its social justice funding, but not from Crib Point Community House. The house’s “Take A Break” (TAB) occasional child care program will lose its funding at the end of the year and likely cease operating. The cut has shocked and disappointed mums who rely on the service, says community house coordinator Mary Budd. The decision will affect more than 30 Crib Point families and see staff lose their jobs. “I was so angry I fired off a letter to the minister Mary Wooldridge, but I haven’t had a reply,” Mrs Budd said. Across Victoria, the cut will affect an estimated 9000 children and their families, says Angela Savage, executive officer of Association of Neighbourhood Houses & Learning Centres, the umbrella body representing the state’s neighbourhood houses and learning centres. Hardest hit will be families in rural areas where occasional care at neighbourhood or community houses is often the only child care option. This includes Crib Point, although there is an all-day child care centre at HMAS Cerberus. The TAB program at Crib Point allows mums to have their children aged up to six years minded on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings while they go to part-time jobs, attend medical appointments, volunteer, shop, visit relatives and friends, or just have a break from their children. Mrs Budd said the federal government withdrew its 30 per cent of funding a year ago “without notifying the state government in advance”. “The state government made up the shortfall for a year, so that ends on 30 June, but now we are losing the other 70 per cent in December. “We’ll have to close our program.” Mrs Budd said occasional child care was subsidised by the centre’s classes and courses as well as fundraising. “The funding from the two governments was never enough to cover all costs; we have about 15 kids each day and need three staff members to supervise.” The government’s budget last week promised $209 million for children with autism and
disabilities, and $34 million for people with terminal illnesses. There was also money for mental health, child protection, youth criminal diversion programs, subsidies for TAFE students from low income families, electricity bill discounts for low income Victorians and free kindergarten for disadvantaged families. It was a budget more likely to have come from a Labor government, said some social welfare groups, which made the occasional child care cuts even more difficult to understand. Mrs Budd said Crib Point would not accept the cuts quietly. “I can’t tell you what we are planning, but we’re not going to just roll over on this. We’ll be making our point very clearly.” Angela Savage said TAB funding was essential to maintain both child care affordability and business viability of neighbourhood houses in many communities. About 220 community groups receive government funding through the TAB program, including about 120 neighbourhood houses and learning centres. “Victorian regulations require all child care to be licensed and meet high quality standards. “Providers of occasional care must juggle business viability and meet community needs. “This often means cross-subsidising child care with grants and fundraising to keep it affordable for the families who most need it and can least afford it.” She said all-day child care was not an appropriate or affordable option for all families. “Occasional care often provides the only opportunity for these children to socialise and for families to have time out. “We knew future funding was shaky after the federal government withdrew its contribution last year, but we didn’t expect the Victorian government to pull the plug on the program.” On Monday afternoon, Hastings MP Neale Burgess said child care, including respite services, was a federal government responsibility. “When it [the federal government] withdrew Take A Break funding in 2010, the Brumby government took over funding for a year for no other reason than to get itself past the election ... the Gillard government can restore TAB funding, and if the government meets its responsibilities the Victorian government is open to revisiting Take A Break with them.”
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