Concerns children with disability are being excluded from childcare

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Advocates in WA say children with disabilities are being excluded from childcare, leaving parents unable to work, and desperate for help. There are plans to tackle the problem with new facilities but significant barriers stand in the way.

Transcript

00:00 Perth nurse Felicity Thompson has delivered hundreds of babies, but she never imagined

00:07 how her own life would change after the birth of her daughter Audrey, who has proportional

00:13 dwarfism.

00:14 I can't leave her really. She got really sick when I started trying to go back to work.

00:19 Felicity gave up her career because local childcare centres couldn't meet Audrey's

00:25 needs.

00:26 Just to be able to go out and spend time with my friends and have a normal five minutes

00:31 to myself.

00:32 It doesn't sound like much to many people, but to me it would be a lot.

00:39 Monique Ryan's company helps parents to navigate the NDIS. She says there are huge barriers

00:45 to accessing childcare for kids with disabilities.

00:49 We've rung over 75 childcare centres in our state alone and asked this question and we

00:53 were met with a resounding no from every centre.

00:57 Every child in Australia has a legal right to access childcare regardless of their ability,

01:04 but in reality very few childcare centres have the staff or the facilities to cater

01:09 for kids with high needs.

01:11 Advocates say the answer is a new model involving purpose built centres with equipment and medically

01:18 trained staff, funded through a new childcare subsidy for kids with disabilities.

01:25 This centre in Perth's north has always worked hard to be inclusive.

01:32 Its founders are hoping to open a dedicated high needs facility next year.

01:36 All those children that have fallen through the gaps over the years to finally have something

01:40 that they can access, it's actually really exciting isn't it?

01:44 The Federal Minister for Early Childhood Education is on board.

01:48 I'll continue to speak with them about the model that they want to put up to ensure that

01:52 children with other needs and extra needs are able to also be accommodated.

01:58 But the issue of subsidies remains a barrier and much will hinge on the findings of two

02:04 separate inquiries into the childcare sector, with reports due before the end of the year.

02:10 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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