Allowance review causes concern

Woy Woy's Grandparents Raising Grandchildren support group has expressed concern over the State Government's plan to review the Supported Care Allowance.

Group coordinator Ms Mary Surman of Umina said the support group of around 18 members was "extremely anxious" after receiving a letter from the NSW Department of Community Services in late January alerting them to the potential changes.

"In January, our members began to receive a letter in the mail from the department stating that carers who receive the Supported Care Allowance may need to have their payment reassessed," Ms Surman said.

"This letter has left every grandparent receiving the allowance in limbo and without any indication of where they stand.

"The State Government would have been better to contact individual families and speak to them regarding their individual situation to save confusion and angst."

The State Government is currently implementing significant changes to the child protection system in NSW in response to the Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW, according to information obtained from the NSW Department of Community Services' website.

"Changes made by Parliament to legislation called the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 mean that the Supported Care Allowance may only be paid where an assessment by Community Services determines a child or young person to be 'in need of care and protection'," the website stated.

"Currently, the Supported Care Allowance is financial assistance that can be paid by NSW Community Services to a range of people, including grandparents and other relatives or kin, who are looking after a child or young person who is not living with their parents."

The website states that carers who have parental responsibility by way of a children's court order would not be affected by the change to payments, however, those granted custody of children through the family court or under no official agreement would have their payment reassessed.

The review process could take up to one year to complete and would begin next month, according to the department website.

Ms Surman said many grandparents who care for their grandchildren were faced with additional costs compared to that of the average parent in bringing up a sometimes emotionally and physically troubled child.

"It is also important for many grandparents to provide a loving and supportive home where they can be a normal child participating in normal sport and recreational activities and a good education ... this doesn't come cheap as any parent would know," Ms Surman said.

"Sure people may say the child could go without but in the end they all add to a child experiencing a normal childhood.

"These children are often faced with difficult situations away from the average child and need all the love and support they can get.

"In our opinion, we need to give these children the best in order to bring out the best in them.

"Otherwise, society faces a vicious cycle of raising kids the wrong way, sending them on the wrong track, only to find them ending up in the same situation as their parents being incapable of leading a normal life whether it's because of drugs, crime or mental health issues."

Ms Surman said many members in the Woy Woy support group had been forced to take out second mortgages and spend life savings and superannuation funds in order to raise their grandchildren on top of the government payments they received.

She said members feared what would happen to their current lifestyle if these payments were reduced in any way.

"We are asking the State Government to think again before changing individual allowances," Ms Surman said.

"These children are our future and deserve a chance at succeeding in life just like any child who is raised by their birth parents.

"Our understanding is that the State Government can no longer afford to look after the increasing number of children unable to be cared for by their birth parents.

"But if we don't get this right now, society risks raising children that will grow up in the wrong environment with their needs unheard and become a burden on the next generation."

Central Coast Grandparents Raising Grandchildren representative Ms Joyce Blade said the organisation of more than 135 families on the Central Coast and five support groups including Woy Woy, struggled to continue the service due to no government funding.

She said it relied on the help of local Rotary clubs and Central Coast Family Support Services to continue after the State Government stopped its funding commitment two years ago.

"We feel we provide an extremely important service to both the grandparents we support and the children they are in turn raising," Ms Blade said.

Ms Blade said the current situation many grandparents raising grandchildren faced was "untenable".

"We are calling upon the State Government to reassess this move in light of the significant number of grandparents who find themselves raising their grandchildren - most often unplanned," Ms Blade said.

Clare Graham, 4 Mar 2010 Interviewee: Mary Surman, Woy Woy Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Website, 4 Mar 2010 NSW Department of Community Services Press release, 18 Feb 2010 Katey Small, Brilliant Logic