What do we want for children? Considerations for the development of comprehensive and complementary policy for the early years.
Fran Press
Charles Sturt University
Contact Email:   fpresscsu.edu.au

Parental leave, and early childhood care and education are key elements in the mix of policy approaches designed to support families with young children. But how effective are they implemented in Australia? More importantly, are we making the most of their potential to become effective population based interventions in the early years?

In 2006 the National Investment in the Early Years (NIFTEY), the NSW Commission for Children and Young People and the Qld Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian commissioned a policy paper to examine future policy directions for children in the years before school. The resulting paper What about the kids? critically examines the plethora of jurisdictional arrangements for children’s care and education outside the home in the light of research concerning children’s developmental wellbeing and families experiences of juggling work and family. This paper will present key findings from What about the kids? including an examination of the complexities arising from the current configuration of the early childhood education and care system; the intersection between family policy and early childhood policy; and offer proposals for reform.

Paper Download Information (if available):

Press_83.pdf

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