The City of Casey will stop providing a Family Day Care service from the end of the year.
From 1 December 2021 the City of Casey will no longer provide a Family Day Care (FDC) Service.
The decision follows a review that identified that local families had access to a broad range of other providers within Casey, already delivering this service.
The decision to transition out of the service was endorsed by administrators at a council meeting on Tuesday 18 May, following a detailed service review conducted in late 2020.
The review noted that in addition to the council, there are at least 12 non-government FDC providers currently operating in Casey.
The review also found that while the council’s FDC service continues to achieve quality ratings and is viewed positively by families who use it, the number of educators and families choosing the council’s service has been declining over the past four years.
aCity of Casey chair of Administrators Noelene Duff PSM said it was vital that the council regularly assessed its services to ensure they are meeting the needs of our rapidly growing municipality.
“I want to stress that the decision to transition out of this service was not made lightly and is not a reflection on the staff, educators or the quality of the service provided,” Ms Duff said.
“The decision is recognition that this service is already being delivered by a number of well-established providers in our community and therefore, Council can redirect its resources into other services where there is a greater need.
“Council provides more than 60 different services to the community and must be strategic in the way it allocates resources to ensure it can continue to provide services where they are most needed.”
Council will be working closely with FDC educators over the coming months to help them find another provider and aid a smooth transition for educators and the families they provide a service to.
“We anticipate that in many cases, families and educators will be able to transition to a new provider with minimal disruption,” Ms Duff said.
If families have any enquiries, they are advised to email fdcservicereview@casey.vic.gov.au
