Parents rally for child care

By Kath Gannaway
WORKING parents in Healesville have rallied in the face of threats to the hard-won Healesville Vacation Care Program.
Program operator the Upper Yarra Community House advised parents in the lead-up to the March holidays that it was relinquishing the program saying low attendance has proved the program was not viable.
Concerned parents last week formed the Healesville Vacation Care Parents Action Committee Team (HVC PACT) to ensure their children have reliable, quality holiday care.
The program was hailed as a victory for parents when it started in April, 2005.
Thirty-five places were allocated after an intense campaign by parents, a survey which indicated a potential use of more than 40 children and intervention by Federal McEwen MP Fran Bailey.
UYCH manager community services Maxine Burke said an average of just 11 children had used the previous program which then had to be subsidised by $6000.
Answering criticism that the program had not been marketed effectively, Ms Burke said the community house had followed the same procedure as it did at Yarra Junction where the program is also run.
“We also are disappointed (that it has not worked) because the service at Yarra Junction runs very successfully and is utilised very strongly by the community,” she said.
Ms Bailey told the Mail she was determined that Healesville parents and their children would continue to have the benefits of a vacation care program and that the places allocated would not be lost.
She said programs operate successfully around the state with long waiting lists.
“I don’t want to lose those places for our community but if it is not being utilised it is going to be very difficult to convince the department to keep them.
“We have to ascertain the need and people must make a commitment,” Ms Bailey said.
Sole parent Justin Renehan was instrumental in getting the initial program for Healesville.
“I cannot afford to lose this program. As a working dad, like many others in the community, it is essential for me to be able to keep working,” he told the Mail.
HVC PACT spokeswoman Janette Dawe said the new group would raise awareness of the need for vacation care in the community and, again, quantify the demand for the service.
In the meantime, moves have been made by the Shire of Yarra Ranges to bring together the main players to address the issue.
“The shire, in partnership with Fran Bailey’s office and Upper Yarra Community House, is working on identifying the level of vacation care needed in the Healesville area,” the shire’s manager of community relations James Martin said last week. “Shire officers will be meeting with Upper Yarra Community House early next week to discuss a range of issues around the provision of vacation care.”
Any parents with an interest in the provision of vacation care in Healesville can contact HVC PACT on 0418 500 816.