Northern Inclusion Support Agency

Funded by the Department of education, Employment and Workplace relations.

Our client group comprises of services providing childcare in Commonwealth funded childcare programmes:

• Long-day care
• Outside School Hours Care
• Family Day Care
• In-home Care
• Occasional Care
• Mobile Services

We have two strands of service provision:

1. Assisting a service to provide inclusive care for individual children from the key target groups - children from cultural and linguistic diverse  families, children with a disability, children who are under assessment for developmental concerns and Aboriginal children.
2. Providing support to childcare services to developing an inclusive care setting that demonstrates a commitment to diversity in all aspects of service delivery.

For the childcare educators of individual children with high and ongoing needs, we can offer support by providing short-term funding for "getting to know you" care;

Inclusion Support Facilitators can assist a childcare service to identify the service needs and areas they would like some additional support to include all children.

Northern Inclusion Support Agency can assist with:.

• Providing information, resources and equipment to support the programme to meet a particular need.
• If a particular issue regarding access and equity needs to be addressed, we can brainstorm some solutions - at staff meetings or programme planning time.
• We can help access specialist training and information, by funding relief staff and meeting other costs.
• If child care services need an "extra pair of hands" at busy times, we can provide short-term flexible support funding or assist in applying for long-term funding from the Inclusion Support Subsidy (ISS) .
• We can lend an understanding ear when carers are not sure where to go next.

We can act as mediators if necessary and we can liaise with other service providers on the carer's behalf.

Manager:
Mishelle Grey
Ph: (03) 6332 2218

Inclusion Support Facilitators:
Kate Terry
Ph: (03) 6332 2217

Helen Stoltenberg
Ph: (03) 6332 2231