By Candice Boyle
THE fate of occasional child care in Footscray will be placed in the hands of City of Maribyrnong councillors in a desperate effort to stop the service from closing.
Parents will appeal to councillors to save the Buckley St service from the imminent closure which was announced by the council last week.
If efforts to save the service are unsuccessful, the care facility will close in September and more than 50 families will be forced to find alternative care.
With inadequate hours available for occasional care across the municipality, the pending closure will put a strain on families and existing services.
The closure notice has been issued following funding approval and the submission of plans for a youth centre to be built on the same site.
The decision to close the service comes after councillor Michelle MacDonald said last year, the council would look at finding the best possible location to move the service to after the site had been earmarked for development.
A youth centre and a 120-bed aged care facility for poor and marginalised older people will be built on the site after the council sold part of the land to the Salvation Army.
After exhausting feasible future locations, the council has now re-evaluated its stance and issued a date for the service’s closure.
Maribyrnong City Council CEO Kerry Thompson said the decision was made after the council was told by architects that during the minimum two-year construction period, the area would be deemed a building site, which meant children would not be allowed on the site.
“We looked at ways we could move the service somewhere else in Footscray for the next few years but there weren’t any feasible options,” she said.
The decision has left families questioning the council’s commitment to occasional care.
Yarraville residents Bruce and Kate Atherton have called for a review of occasional child care services in the municipality.
The couple began looking for alternative care for their two children after learning about the closure, only to find there is no occasional child care service available in the municipality that currently provides the same level of care as the Buckley St service.
“There is not one service in Seddon and if council pulls out of the Yarraville Community Centre it too will close,” Mr Atherton said.
While vacancies do exist at some of the seven other occasional child care services in the municipality, Mrs Atherton said they do not offer the same service that exists at Buckley St.
“Braybrook only opens for three hours in the morning. By the time I get to Braybrook and back it is not viable,” she said.
The Athertons’ position is not unique, more than 18 people attended a meeting with council representatives on Thursday night, concerned that a viable care alternative was not available for their children.
The limited number of care hours, the location of the other services and waiting lists were some of the issues raised by parents who use the service.
The Buckley St centre originally provided care predominantly for Footscray Swim Centre users. After the swim centre closed last year, Ms Thompson said the child care service became a stand alone council operation.
“At that time, we also identified there was a need to continue the occasional child care service in Footscray — even though the Buckley St site isn’t an ideal location for a child care centre,” she said.
Despite the continued need, the council said the service is only being used to 60 to 65 per cent of its capacity, a reason that has also contributed to the closure decision.
“This lower-than expected use has cost council an extra $81,000 in the last year.
“Nobody wanted to have to close this service but we looked at the options and given the combined difficulties of the neighbouring construction projects, new child care regulation costs and lower usage, we felt this was the only responsible decision to make,” Ms Thompson said.
In addition to the families who attended last week’s meeting, the service also provides care for children of Adult Migrant Education Services (AMES) students attending English classes in Footscray.
“We’re also looking at other ways to help the families, including meeting with AMES to see if we can get some of their services relocated to Braybrook Community Centre for the parents based in Braybrook and the surrounding suburbs,” Ms Thompson said.
Families who access the care services will now meet the council’s staff to discuss alternative care options for their children.
“We’re committed to helping each individual family relocate to another child care service with as little inconvenience as possible,” Ms Thompson said.
Despite the council’s commitment, the Athertons believe the convenient relocation of their children to another service will not be possible and will continue to fight to keep the service open.
“I would like to think there is still something we can do.
“We are in a good position, we have two weeks before the July council meeting and if we are unsuccessful there we still have the August meeting before the September deadline,” Mr Atherton said.
