Childcare fund slash a real danger

Letter to the Ed published in The Weekly Times

Dec 28‏th 2011

The slashing of funding for occasional care centres leaves many Victorian families vulnerable.

 

Many of us who used these services, did so to access off-farm income to support farming businesses after years of drought.

 

Most of us have been the stay-at-home mother who have attempted to stay connected to the workforce on a casual basis, thus only requiring care occasionally.

 

The Liberal Government is very short-sighted, and the ramifications of the closures will be felt keenly in rural areas. I especially worry about those women who need occasional care for their mental well-being and used the service for respite.

 

Shame on you Minister Wendy Lovell, for you have not been an advocate for women, children or families.

 

And, sadly, many in your own rural electorate are now left stranded.

 

It will not be a happy new year for thousands of Victorians left without care.

 

Catherine Dooley, Tatura

 

 

Take a Break child care funding confusion

By Joseph Thomsen ABC Goulburn Murray

New federal government funding for occasional child care in Victoria fails to clarify future of Take a Break service.

Will the Take a Break occasional child care program be able continue its critical role in regional Victorian communities?

A dispute between the federal and state governments will end the program's funding from next month, with the Victorian state government refusing to inject any funds after the federal government announced it would no longer contribute approximately one million dollars per year to the program.

Then, after a passionate community outcry, Federal Minister for Children Kate Ellis recently announced new funding for up to 260 occasional child care places across Victoria.

So is this funding a lifeline for the Take a Break service or not?

Minister Ellis says Take a Break is eligible for the funding but each service will have to put in an application.
"All interested Take A Break services can apply to become approved occasional care services. That means that they will then administer child care benefit which they haven't previously, and the parents will be eligible for the child care rebate. That being said, we say that this is not a perfect substitute for Take A Break."

It appears that for all Take A Break services to continue the Victorian Government would have to more than match the Federal Government's contribution.

"I believe it's about $1.8 million at the moment, which is the combination of federal and state funding. So if some of those places move to approved occasional care, of they put in just over a million dollars, then we would see that there wouldn't be much change to Take a Break at all."

However the Victorian Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development Wendy Lovell says she will not re-fund the Take a Break service in the wake of this new federal funding, as the funding model has changed.

"So what she's just told us is that she's putting $2.2 million into funding occasional care places through approved providers, but she's withdrawing $1.1 million from the Take a Break service. So she's doubled the funding while providing less places. She could've just re-funded the Take a Break service ... and that is the model that we have said, if she re-funds it, we would happily continue to fund the state government share of that."

Please see the online article at ABC Goulburn Murray that include the full interviews with Wendy Lovell and Kate Ellis