Child Protection Minister Rachel Sanderson has axed funding for much-loved annual Christmas lunches for kinship carers in regional SA.
The casual Christmas get-togethers were a long-standing tradition under the former Labor government.
While not-for-profit foster agencies cover the cost of lunch for foster carers, kinship carers have been told they’ll have to foot the bill themselves this year.
The annual lunches are a chance for carers to get some much-needed respite and share experiences and knowledge. It’s also a small token of thanks from the Government and community to carers for the voluntary work they do each day to raise children in need.
Without kinship carers, hundreds of children would be in commercial care at a cost of up to $340,000 a year for each child.
There are about 2,300 foster and kinship carers in South Australia.
Labor is calling on the Marshall Government to reverse this cruel cut and provide full funding to kinship carers to have their Christmas lunch.
Quotes attributable to Shadow Minister for Child Protection Jayne Stinson
Rachel Sanderson claims to be Santa to our carers, but this heartless move reveals she’s more like the Christmas Grinch.
Rachel Sanderson claims she wants to attract more carers, but at the same time she’s axing an inexpensive lunch designed to show carers they are appreciated.
The modest cost of lunch pales in comparison to the $340 000 a year cost of having a child move into commercial care.
This decision shows yet again that Rachel Sanderson just doesn’t get it.