Government funding cut hits Wagga Wagga Regional Family Day Care

Federal funding cuts of more than $200,000 have resulted in the loss of two part-time positions and reduced Child Development Officer hours at Wagga Wagga Regional Family Day Care (WWRFDC).

The City of Wagga Wagga has been advised by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training that its annual Community Support Program will cease and the City has taken steps now to ensure the sustainability and viability of the WWRFDC service into the future.

“The City of Wagga Wagga has been the Approved Provider for WWRFDC for more than 40 years and as a result of these cuts, it has been necessary to implement efficiencies to ensure a sustainable model of service delivery,” Community Sector Manager Janice Summerhayes said.

“We would like to assure the community that the coordination unit will continue to provide monitoring, training and support to all of our Educators to ensure any impact on Educators’ businesses are minimised.

“For parents, there will be no impact to your child’s day in care with their Educator and there will be no impact for families.”

The decreased funding has resulted in a restructure of WWRFDC to ensure it continues to meet the needs of the community and facilitates a high level of care and education. Due to the change in funding, two part-time administration positions have been made redundant and Child Development Officer hours have been reduced by 15 hours per week.

The new structure consists of a Service Manager, one full-time Administration Assistant, two part-time Child Development Officers (CDO’s) and a part time Educational Leader /Reflective Early Learning Sessions (RELS) Facilitator.

With a reduction in administration and CDO funding in the coordination unit, there will be adjustments to the CDO visitation schedules, a reduction in the delivery of the RELS program from three days to two days per week and a focus on the continuous up-skilling of Educators and the coordination unit team to streamline administrative processes.

The new structure will come into effect from Monday April 10.