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Accessibility | Skip to Start of Article | Skip to Search | Skip to Navigation Menu | Skip to Themes | Skip to Regions | Skip to Members Sign InCiNI engaged in a wide-ranging consultation with their membership on the draft strategy and it is their response to the draft strategy which provides the benchmark for CiNI's analysis of the DHSSPS Consultation on Supporting the Cost of Home-Based Childcare – The Government’s Proposals on a Home Childcarer Approval Scheme.
CiNI
20 Jul 2006
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CiNI engaged in a wide-ranging consultation with their membership on the draft strategy and it is their response to the draft strategy which provides the benchmark for CiNI's analysis of this consultation.
Children in Northern Ireland (CiNI) is the umbrella body for the voluntary child care sector in Northern Ireland. CiNI provides policy, information and training services to 90 member organisations to meet their needs as they work with and for children and young
people.
CiNI has a specific interest in early years legislative, policy and practice development and works alongside member organisations that provide specific early years and child care services.
CiNI jointly chairs the Children with Disabilities Strategic Alliance (CDSA) with Disability Action Northern Ireland. The Alliance has a specific interest in informing and influencing strategic policy issues impacting on children and young people with disabilities. CDSA
members have raised a number of points which are reflected in this response highlighting specific issues relating to children and young people with disabilities.
CiNI welcomes this opportunity to respond to the DHSSPS Consultation on Supporting the Cost of Home-Based Childcare – The Government’s Proposals on a Home Childcarer Approval Scheme.
We welcome this step to approve home childcarers and we understand that the objective is to ensure that parents can avail of support with the costs through the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit, which may make home childcare a more viable
childcare option for parents.
While we see this approval scheme as an important step, particularly as it includes checks to see if the home childcarer is suitable to work with children, we believe that it is only a first step in regulating home childcarers in line with the legislative standards required of other types of childcare services, such as childminders and day nurseries.