SNAICC strongly supports culturally appropriate services that can strengthen families, support them to look after their children and contribute to the prevention of child abuse and neglect and the removal of children. Meeting the early childhood development needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is also a strong part of SNAICC’s advocacy, research and resource development work.  SNAICC therefore welcomes the Council of Australian Governments  (COAG) National Partnership Agreement regarding Indigenous Early Childhood Development which provides for a minimum of 35 Indigenous Children and Family Centres to be established nationally by 2014 with funding of $292 million. Some of the details of the planning and development of the centres known to SNAICC at this stage are as follows:

The centres will be split between states and territories as follows:

Centres	NSW	QLD	VIC	SA	WA	TAS	NT	ACT	total
Regional/remote	4	5	1	2	4	0	4	0	20
Urban	5	4	1	1	1	1	1	1	15
Total	9	9	2	3	5	1	5	1	35

The funding is available over six years 2008-89 – 2013-14 for both capital works and for operational funding.

The Commonwealth Government will allocate the money for these centres to state and territory governments who will manage all aspects of its allocation including the planning and consultation process for the centres and report back to a COAG steering committee.

The funding can be used for existing services as well as for the establishment of new services. The outcomes sought by the agreement are:

• Increased proportion of Indigenous children participating in quality early childhood education and development and child care services; and
• Increased proportion of Indigenous people using parent and family support services.

Good consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities about where the centres should be, what services they should provide and who they should be managed by will, in SNAICC’s view determine whether these outcomes will be properly achieved.

The Partnership Agreement states that consultations with Indigenous communities, non-government agencies delivering the services and peak bodies will be an important part of the Agreement’s delivery. The consultations are the responsibility of state and territory governments and are meant to be initiated at the early planning stage and continue for the whole six years.

These consultations must, in SNAICC’s view start at the very early planning phase and cover, for example how need for Indigenous early childhood and family support services is going to be assessed. Side by side with this the consultations should focus on the management of the new centres. Good outcomes in terms of participation of children and families in the services provided by the centres will only be achieved if these centres are managed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled agencies.  All of the existing holistic Aboriginal children’s centres successfully providing culturally appropriate programs and services to Aboriginal children and families, such as the MACS centres, are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled. There is no evidence that non –Indigenous auspiced centre based services can adequately or appropriately meet the needs of children and families and work well within the communities they are located. The early planning for the new centres must therefore include planning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander management as well as planning to meet need.

SNAICC has not yet been advised who the state and territory contact people within government are for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations who want to find out more about the centres and how they can get involved in the planning process or find out how to submit interest in being funded.  The contact officer in Canberra, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations however is is Deidre McNally "MCNALLY,Deidre" Deidre.MCNALLY@DEEWR.gov.au Ph. 02 6240 5365
Fax. 02 6123 5585.  

As SNAICC learns more about the planning processes for the centres we will provide this on our web site. If you have any questions or any information about consultations or site selections in your state or territory please also contact SNAICC. We will share information with others through the SNAICC web site.

SNAICC contact person is Julie Higgins, Julie@snaicc.asn.au ph. 9489 8099.