Govt spending big on boosting childcare

The government is spending $273.7 million to boost the quality of childcare,
requiring providers to employ more and better qualified staff.¶
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Early Childhood Education Minister Kate
Ellis said parents placing their youngsters in child care deserved to know they
were receiving the highest quality of care wherever they lived.¶
The funding will go towards the introduction of the National Quality Framework for
early childhood education and childcare, agreed between Commonwealth, state and
territory governments.¶
That sets a national quality standard for the first time.¶
"In real terms this means that all childcare providers will be required to deliver
better staff to child ratios so that each child gets more individual attention and
improve staff qualifications so carers are better equipped to help children clear
and develop," the ministers said.¶
The overall funding includes $59.4 million to improve the quality of 142 early
childhood services in rural and regional areas and $81.9 million to implement new
national quality standards.¶
Those feature the first national rating system for child care and early education
services so parents can decide what's best for their children.¶
The budget measures include new powers to allow the early childhood minister to
commission an independent confidential investigation or audit of a particular
provider if there are concerns about financial viability.¶
The government says these measures will be funded in part through capping the
childcare rebate at the 2008/09 level of $7500 per child - down from $7778 - with
indexation paused for four years.¶
That will save $86.3 million over four years.¶
Ms Gillard and Ms Ellis said 97 per cent of families receiving the childcare rebate
would not reach the gap and so were not impacted by this change.