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| UnitingCare closing four Gippsland centres | |||||
 UnitingCare is pulling out of four long day care centres in Gippsland citing a lack of funding.The centres are in Cowes, Foster, Mirboo North and Lakes Entrance. UnitingCare's acting CEO Tracey Gibson says that while the organisation supports the new quality regulations, the challenge of implementing these changes, while maintaining a viable service has become increasingly difficult, especially given the rural nature of the Gippsland services. She said the funding models that apply to long day care centres did not cover the full costs of running the services and as a result the services had been running at a loss for some time. "It is not reasonable to keep raising fees for some of the most marginalised families in our region," she said. UnitingCare Gippsland currently employs 45 permanent staff and a number of casual staff across the four centres, which provide education and care services to more than 600 families. Ms Gibson said UnitingCare is well aware the impact the closures will have on the local area and is working with community agencies to source an alternate provider. If a new provider is not identified the centres will close on 28 February 2014. Ms Gibson said child care closures was not just a problem for the Gippsland region and said services have ceased in other rural areas as well as metropolitan areas. "This is a community issue that requires a rethink in the way in which governments fund services", she said |
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Do you run an early childhood education and care service in a regional area? Are you at risk of closing due to current funding models? Share your experiences below:
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