Continuing to make Brimbank a community for children

Twenty parents from the Brimbank community will now be able to provide culturally appropriate Family Day Care following the completion of their training as part of a $3 million Howard Government initiative.

As part of the celebrations, the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Mal Brough, also today launched the Sunshine Learning Together project, which is helping to improving participation of culturally and linguistically diverse families in the local community.

“Both initiatives are about providing a helping hand to families in the community who need that extra support because of language barriers,” Mr Brough said.

“The 20 parents, who have now completed their Certificate 3 in Children’s Services under New Futures in Family Day Care project, will be able to participate more widely in training and employment activities within the Family Day Care environment in the local community.

“Not only is this initiative helping provide employment opportunities in the local community, parents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds will also be supported under the Sunshine Learning Together project.

“This project, part of the Howard Government’s Communities for Children initiative, targets preschool children of parents participating in literacy and language development classes.

“It helps parents who are concerned about separation from their children and feel they cannot participate in language activities without appropriate care for their children.

“These initiatives demonstrate the Howard Government’s commitment to children, families and the building of stronger communities,” Mr Brough said.

The Smith Family, in partnership with ISIS Primary Care, has been provided $3 million between 2005 and 2009, is delivering the Communities for Children initiative to the Brimbank community.

Communities for Children is a major component of the $500 million Stronger Families and Communities Strategy and supports 45 communities to deliver early childhood initiatives for children, aged up to five years, and their families.