Family Day Care

Family day care is an approved form of care. This means that the care is provided in the home of a licensed, registered carer.

Family day care is a home based care option for your child.

It may be the best option for some families as it can offer a more flexible care alternative. The hours may be different (depending on the individual carer) from the traditional 9-5 pm. It may more suit a families needs better than perhaps a long day care service.

Family day care is different to In Home Care type of care.

Family day care operates in all states and territories.

To provide family day care requires each organisation and carer under the organisation are accountable under various state-based regulations and national standards. There are various organisations that provide family day care schemes.

Family day care underwent changes as with other care options in the sector.

The changes included the introduction of a new system which superseded previous separate system’s and now provides for a streamlined cohesive approach.

Family day care operates under the same National Quality Framework (NQF) as other forms of childcare; incorporating national regulations, quality and qualification standards, educational frameworks and an assessment and ratings process. This is governed by Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) the national authority for early childhood education and care. The National Quality Framework includes family day care where they are registered for Family Day Care Quality Assurance.

The (FDCQA) Family Day Care Quality Assurance system aims to provide high quality care by providing standards to be followed which measure the quality of care is part of ACECQA. If they meet these standards then they are awarded a Certificate of Accreditation.

A family day carer goes through a specific screening process which entails appropriate checks to be carried out after which they become a licensed family day carer under a family day care scheme.

This way they are accountable to a organisation. You cannot be a family day carer without being affiliated with a family day care scheme.

All family day care carers needs to:

• Hold a First Aid Certificate
• Hold or be actively working towards a Certificate III level education and care qualification as a minimum.
• Have a current state appropriate Working with Children Check
• Have public liability insurance coverage
• Have emergency management of asthma and anaphylaxis training and certificates.

They will also be overseen by a coordination unit which will provide regular support and monitoring visits.

One of the key elements of the NQF that influenced the family day care sector was in relation to the staff:child ratios.

• They are: 1:7
• No more than 4 children are to be preschool aged or younger.

Advantages:

• More individual attention because of smaller groups.
• A home environment.
• More cost effective.
• More flexible hours (depending on the individual carer) to include weekends, evenings, etc.
• More flexibility in fitting in with your needs and schedule.
• Small groups of children.
• Can mean that sibling are together in the mixed age grouping.

Disadvantages:

• Travel to and from.
• You will need to have a backup plan if the carer is sick.
• Carer may not be formally trained.
• There may not be the same range of activities and toys as at a centre.

There are variations with the cost a Family Day Care service.

The defining factors in the cost are qualifications of the carer, hours required, age of the child, number of children being placed in care,  location, if food is provided, etc.

Generally the organisation will set a range for the rate to fall into and the carer defines it based on their elements. The rate most often falls between $9.50- $25/hour per child.

Firstly initial contact would be with the scheme. https://www.familydaycare.com.au/

Each family day carer will be registered under a scheme and they would provide you with information about their scheme and establish what your needs were and they would match you with the carer closest to those needs who has availability.

Depending on how many carers are available at the time they may offer you the opportunity to meet with several carers to be able to decide which one best suits your needs.

We recommend establishing whether you are eligible for Government subsidy prior to enrolling your child into a service to establish the complete cost. Accessing Government assistance has the potential to reduce the daily rate and your overall cost.

For more information: https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/child-care-subsidy