New South Wales,
Australia — Families with disabled children
could be forced to breaking point after the Carr
Government slashed funding for post school training
programs for the disabled, Shadow Disabilities Minister
John Ryan said today.
The Government has scrapped the
Post School Options (PSO) and ATLAS programs replacing
them with new programs but with less funding.
"Under the new programs some
families will have their funding slashed from $21,000 to
between $15,699 and $9,000 a year," Mr Ryan
said.
"The reduction in funding means
some families will not be able to afford suitable
week-long care for their children and will have to find
other options," he said.
"Some families might even be forced
to give up their children and the Government will then
face the full cost of their permanent accommodation and
care.
"The Government also has changed
the method of allocating funding.
"This means that families are now
locked into one service provider and if they move, they
still have to attend the same facility.
"Previously, if disabled people
wanted to move from one provider to another the funding
they received moved with them.
"They will be geographically locked
into one provider and moving from one service to another
will be extremely difficult," Mr Ryan said.
"Now young disabled school leavers
will have to scramble for vacancies wherever they occur,"
he said.
"The new scheme is nothing more
than a cost-cutting measure which short changes people
who are already doing it tough," Mr Ryan said.
