1. Reconceptualising Child Care in Rural Areas.
- Author
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Morda, Romana, Kapsalakis, Anthoula, and Clyde, Margaret
- Abstract
A study examining child care services in rural and remote areas conducted focus group interviews and distributed questionnaires to parents living in 15 towns in the Mallee region of Western Victoria (Australia). Barriers to accessing child care in rural areas included limited availability of formal services, costs, stereotypes associated with life in rural areas, and government cutbacks of funding for child care. Interviews also addressed the associated loss of social power for rural families, especially women, resulting from lack of child care services. Results dispelled several myths, including the notion that all rural individuals have access to networks of family and friends, and established that rural parents want child care for the same reasons as their urban counterparts: peer/social interaction and educational opportunities for their children, time out for themselves, and availability of emergency or occasional care when needed. Recommendations for enhancing rural child care services focus on increased government funding, petrol subsidies, a relaxation of some current health and safety regulations, incentives for mobile programs, expanding parents' awareness of services, the development of parent networks, and the enhancement of existing support systems. (Contains 16 references.) (TD)
- Published
- 1999