October 3, 3012
South Burnett CTC’s Diversionary Services team in Murgon today received the bad news they had been fearing … the State Government has not renewed their funding.
This means the services they offer – which support young mothers, families and homeless men, as well as their community patrol – will stop at the end of this year.
Manager of Youth and Community Services Kirsten Firman said staff were working to inform their clients and “wind down services in a respectful, accountable manner”.
The staff themselves were “mainly resigned to it”.
South Burnett CTC has also been affected by other State Government funding cutbacks.
These include the end of the “Get Set For Work” program which will stop in 2013.
A State Government website describes this program as targeted at “young people who have left school early, are ‘at risk’ of doing so before completing Year 12, are unsure of where to go next, and are not ready to commit to formal education or vocational training”.
“These young people have unique needs, and the aim of the program is to create a transition pathway for them towards getting a job, returning to school, or continuing with other education or training … Get Set for Work builds participants’ self-esteem and confidence and prepares them for work …” the website notes.
CTC’s Youth Connections had taken on a Get Set For Work contract and are now winding it up.
Another program axed is “First Start”, for supported trainees. This will cease in 2013 which means CTC will employ no more supported trainees.
“Other services will have a reduced budget and we will need to look at how we can save money in each of these whilst retaining our focus on our most vulnerable clients,” Mrs Firman said.
“Some roles may be slightly realigned to meet with the new funding levels. We will need to consolidate, meet our service contract requirements absolutely and be ready to grow when an opportunity is presented.”
A list of CTC’s affected programs:
- Community Patrol (Diversionary Services) – Ceases in December.
- Cherbourg Community Hub (Diversionary Services) – Ceases in December
- Cherbourg Sober Living Support Service (Diversionary Services) – Ceases in December. According to the Department of Communities, the decision to axe these first three programs: “Reflects a need to re-prioritise a reduced pool of available funds to focus on direct services to highly vulnerable and dependent clients”.
- Cherbourg Volatile Substance Misuse – Ceases in December. Invitations to apply for funding will be offered to some organisations (the Department has noted “some services may be re-commissioned under a more appropriate program.”)
- YARI (Youth At Risk – Kingaroy Youth Park) – Reduction of 10 per cent of funding from 2013
- YSC (Youth Support Coordinators – South Burnett Cluster) – Reduction of 10 per cent of funding from 2013 with “a full review and refocus of services in July 2013”
- GSFW (Get Set for Work) – Youth Park and Murgon – Ceases in December
- First Start trainees – Kingaroy and Murgon – Ceases in December, although current contracts will be honoured with some trainees remaining employed until May 2013
- ER (Emergency Relief) – Youth Park – Ceases in December 2012 although the Department has noted: “The government recognises the important role Emergency Relief service providers play in times of difficulty” so funding will be “re-commissioned”. About one-third of CTC’s Emergency Relief funding was from the State Government; the rest comes from Federal funding
Ironically, all these programs (except Get Set For Work) will receive a 3.75 per cent increase in funding from July 2012, due to indexation, before they close.
Other programs where funding has been reduced (described by the Department of Communities as an “efficiency dividend”):
- South Burnett Youth Hostel (which supplies temporary supported accommodation in Kingaroy) – Reduction of 3.37 per cent of funding from 2013.
- Cherbourg Safe Haven Service – Reduction of 3.75 per cent of funding from 2013.
- FIAR Residential Care – Reduction of 1 per cent of funding from 2013.
- Wondin-dee (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Violence) – Reduction of 3.75 per cent of funding from 2013.
Partners In Foster Care has also had reductions for their specialist intensive foster care and foster and kinship care programs. Both programs have had a reduction of 3.75 per cent of funding from 2013.
The Department of Communities says it “encourages efficiencies to be achieved as far as possible through educing organisational, management and administration costs”.
Disability services (CROSB, South Burnett Respite Centre and South Street) escaped the cutbacks, receiving ongoing funding with indexed increases of an effective 3.54 per cent.
