Disability Vacation Care
23/11/2010
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:03): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Disability and Minister for Education a question about after school hours and vacation care in this state.
Leave granted.
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: It always seems to astound me that people with disabilities in South Australia and their carers get such a raw deal. We already know that family carers live on far lower incomes than average and have disproportionately higher rights of depression and other disabilities themselves due to their relentless caring responsibilities and lack of support to care for their loved ones whilst they work. I have heard that children with multiple and complex needs are simply unable to access vacation and after school care like their non-disabled peers.
When I recently spoke with a father who needed to return to work or face losing his home, he told me that his son’s vacation care was ‘rationed’ to only two days per week, a situation which made a return to work simply impossible. My questions to the minister are:
- How many special schools have an on-site after school and vacation care program for their students, and how many places are available in these programs?
- Where children with mobility and/or complex needs are at mainstream schools that have an after school hours and vacation care program, how many places are available for these children with special needs and how are they rationed?
- How many after-school care and vacation care places are available for high school students with disabilities?
- Will the minister ensure that there are adequate resources to support the care needs of these children so that their parents might consider being able to obtain paid employment?
