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An open letter from Early Childhood Australia's Chief Executive Officer, Pam Cahir.
20 July 2007
Dear ACOSS (the Australian Council of Social Services)
What needs to happen in child care?
I am writing this because of a sense of frustration with what seems to be an unwillingness to address the fundamental issues facing child care in this country. Some positive steps have been made. The increase in Child Care Benefit announced in the last budget was needed and the announcement by the Opposition of its preschool commitment is welcomed.
The issue, however, is that we can not fix the childcare system by tinkering around the edges.
The childcare system is in need of fundamental structural change if it is to deliver high-quality services for children and their families.
There is a great deal of talk about affordability and accessibility – which there should be – but, at the same time, there is a palpable silence on the capacity of services to deliver high-quality care for children in the current environment. This is not to be critical of people working in child care. But the fact is there will be no real progress on the quality of service provision until the sector and others are willing to say that notwithstanding the very best and committed efforts of those working in services, it is not possible to deliver for children in a context where the evidence-based structural conditions (and, as result, the process conditions) for quality do not exist.
Quality matters if we are serious about high-quality outcomes, in the here and now, for young children who participate in these services. Quality also matters if the human capital and other economic benefits of participation in high-quality programs and services are to be realised.
I know this will be hard to say...
It is hard for people working with young children to acknowledge that, in the current environment, it is not possible to provide high-quality care for the young children for whom they have responsibility. The gap between aspirations and reality is a hard one to acknowledge. But the fact is until we say this unequivocally to parents and others they will not stand alongside of us in the struggle to focus Government and Opposition parties on this issue.
The only way to achieve structural change is via is a long-term strategic plan which acknowledges the limitations of the current system and sets out real goals for a quality system, and a long-term plan to make progress toward them. This is the stuff of vision and leadership.
Early Childhood Australia would also want to make the point that there would be enormous gains for children and the system if paid parental leave was a reality for all workers.
The following is a speech I made last year at the Country Children's Services Association of NSW Conference. It looks at the potential of systems thinking/approaches to contribute to the overall capacity of the sector to deliver high-quality services. It is not suggested that this is 'the answer' – although progress in this direction could be part of a long-term strategy for child care in this country.
A systems approach to the delivery of children's services in this country - does it have anything to offer?
I would be happy to discuss this with you.
Pam Cahir
Chief Executive Officer
Early Childhood Australia
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