Indigenous children and families being "let down" by childcare funding model, peak body says [1]
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families are being let down by a childcare funding model that does not take into account the breadth and complexity of their needs.
A new report from the nation’s peak organisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, SNAICC, out Tuesday recommends an overhaul of funding to better deliver services and meet family and community needs.
The report was commissioned by the Early Childhood Care and Development Policy Partnership, a shared decision-making forum between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and governments under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
The report comes ahead of the conclusion of a major Productivity Commission inquiry into early childhood education, which advocates hope will prompt "long-overdue reform of a broken system".
SNAICC chief executive Catherine Liddle said early childhood services run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities provided so much more than childcare.
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SNAICC’s report, based on community consultation and economic modelling by Deloitte Access Economics, recommends moving from a funding model based primarily on the Child Care Subsidy, to a dedicated and more sustainable funding model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander controlled services.
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