Holiday care set to close

By Kath Gannaway
WORKING parents in Healesville are once again faced with losing their school holiday program.
The program survived being cut four years ago after parents, supported by MP Fran Bailey, mounted a campaign to prove the viability of the program and to find a provider.
Upper Yarra Community House (UYCH) took on the job.
Maxine Burke, UYCH general manager, said, however, that parents have struggled ever since, with the biggest problem being finding a suitably qualified person to take charge of the program. Parents were advised by UYCH following the Christmas holidays that the program would not continue.
Ms Burke said parents had been unable to get a suitably qualified person to run the program and that current and past users were first alerted to the problem in September.
“Our leader had left and we wrote then saying it was a problem and asking for help.
“We had someone for the next school holidays but having a different person every time is not the best solution and that person was not prepared to take on the job,” she said.
Ms Burke said despite advertising and having asked parents to put feelers out in the community for someone to take on the job, they got no response.
She said UYCH then called a meeting in October with Ms Bailey to see what options were available.
“We don’t want to see the program close and have been trying to work with the community and Ms Bailey to support another group, whether it be a school group or a community agency, to take it on,” Ms Burke said.
Ms Bailey and Justin Renehen, one of the parents involved in the original campaign to secure the program for Healesville, say they believe more could have been done by UYCH to ensure the continuation of the program.
Ms Bailey said she requested UYCH meet with all four Healesville schools and interested parents to find a way for the program to be continued and had requested UYCH to assist in a transition process.
Mr Renehan said he had not used the program at Christmas and was unaware it was threatened.
“I have had quite a few people approach me who were not aware it was closing.”
He said the demand for the service was confirmed by the fact that after school programs were booked out and added that Welfare to Work requirements meant there would be a greater need in the future for holiday care.
In the light of UYCH’s decision to pull out, Ms Bailey said she had requested the funding allocated to the Healesville program remain available for the use of Healesville families.
She said what was now required was for another body to take on the responsibility of running the program.
Ms Burke said she had followed up the proposal put forward at the October meeting that local schools look at forming a management body to run the program but had had no response.
She confirmed the placements were still available for the Healesville program.
“What we are hoping is that the school community might drive this.
“We are certainly prepared to help but we haven’t had even one phone call from a parent, or from the schools,” she said.