Occasional Child Care Funding Rally

A recent move by the Baillieu Government to scrap the Take a Break occasional child care program will have many local families forced into finding alternative services. The Take a Break program provides occasional child care for parents who otherwise may not have had the chance to have some important time to themselves.

The program gives parents the opportunity to do ordinary chores such as the shopping or housework or to undertake studies or to simply to have an uninterrupted rest. It also helps children learn to interact and get on with other children. This budget cut will affect 220 childcare centres across Victoria with parents now either facing increased fees or in the worst case scenario, that their child care services may be closed altogether. Occasional child care centres at risk include services in Panton Hill, Eltham, Diamond Creek, Warrandyte, Montmorency and Greensborough.

On 18 August 2011, parents, children and child care workers gathered on the steps of Parliament to lobby the State Government.
The protest drew attention to the 9,000 families across Victoria affected should the programs funding not be reinstated. And to the the loss of 140 jobs that will go with the scrapping of the program.Impassioned speakers from the community let it be known how the Take a Break program benefits them and implored the Government to reinstate the 1.9 million dollar funding needed for the program to continue.

Out of many great speeches from very passionate protesters, one mother's words really stuck strongly in my brain. She talked about the toll of not having the opportunity to have a break has on parents.
Being a busy mother, she often never had any time for herself. 
She spoke about the relief that occasional child care had brought her and how much it had helped her health. 
The protesters felt let down by the Baillieu Government as other Australian states have continued to fund their occasional child care programs, despite the Federal Governement no longer directly funding the schemes.

To let the Government know how important occasional child care is, you can sign the petition at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/reinstate-funding-for-occasional-care.html.
I'd love to hear your views on the matter and how this issue may affect your community.