Education cuts target children with disabilities

PSA General Secretary John Cahill today called on the NSW Education and Training Minister, Dr Andrew Refshauge, to recognise the vital role of educational support staff of the Department of Education and Training in delivering a program to assist community-based early intervention services for young children with disabilities.

Mr Cahill demanded the government maintain these important community services and reverse the planned job cuts in its misnamed Lifelong Learning restructure.

The Intervention Support Program administers $10 million of Commonwealth funds, which are used to support approximately 6,000 young children with disabilities and 500 community-based pre-schools, long day care centres and early intervention services including the major peak disability organisations. The community-based services to be affected include those provided by local councils.

The Association yesterday wrote to affected organisations, urging them to complain to the Minister about the cuts.

The program helps supports the cost of educational services for children in non-profit early childhood settings, children and adolescents in residential care, and capital grants for non-government centres to benefit children and students with disabilities.

"The community has a right to expect that these important community services will be maintained at their current level, especially with all of the news about childcare centres failing to meet appropriate standards for children without special needs. None of the position cuts to this important community service area of the Department of Education and Training can be justified, especially after job cuts in previous restructures".

Staff of the Intervention Support Program, one of four program areas of the Community Grants Unit, learned on September 24 of the loss of two of their four dedicated staff members plus vital administrative support clerks for all four programs.

Union members estimate that the loss of the two dedicated positions alone will mean dissolution of an advisory committee; inability to properly administer grants in line with ICAC guidelines; loss of educational support and training for funded organisations; inability to help children with disabilities who are moving into schools; difficulties in accounting to the commonwealth for the funds; and inability to maintain a grants database that was introduced to streamline administration.

"Dr Refshauge has said that the 1,000 job cuts announced in June were about slashing non-essential 'bureaucratic' jobs but it's not true. The only "fat" to cut in the Department of Education and Training is in the ranks of senior bureaucrats, but these positions have been increased in the proposed new structure, while educational support staff are been cut back drastically", said Cahill.