The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) is funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and provides access to English classes for adults. AMES provides support to families to while they are attending classes by organising culturally appropriate child care placements.

There have been some changes to the way that services can access support for children and families who are part of the AMEP. The changes that come into place from July 1 2011 are outlined below. In order to access a Casual Bilingual Worker for AMEP funded children, services will now have to contact AMES directly.

fka Children’s Services can still provide a wealth of resources and support to your service to assist you in working with all families from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds.

Child Care Provision for AMEP Parents
in the New AMEP Contract (July 2011 to June 2014)

VIC AMES Consortium will implement a streamlined child care administration and placement system in the new AMEP contract (July 2011 to June 2014). The following outlines the implications of the new approach in relation to the child care service it provides to AMEP clients.

A. Provision of Culturally Appropriate
Child Care Service

Each AMEP site will have an AMEP counsellor and a child care coordinator to ensure that all AMEP parents are provided with culturally appropriate child care service. This means that any issues raised by parents or by the local
child care providers relating to child care will be dealt directly by the staff at the local AMEP site.

AMEP counsellors and child care officers undertook a series of training on cultural competence from fka Children’s Services to provide them skills and knowledge to support AMEP parents, children and child care providers.

Most AMEP counsellors and child care providers are also able to provide first language support to parents in the AMEP.

A targeted service by fka Children’s Services will still be provided to child care providers with AMEP children. Request for child care support for AMEP children from child care providers needs to be forwarded to:

AMES
1 Lt. Collins Street,
Melbourne 3000
Phone: 13 26 37 (13AMES)

B. Child Care Placement

YWCA will transition out in its role in placing AMEP children in child care. Child care placement will gradually be undertaken by the local AMEP site to streamline the child care placement process. This means that the child care officer at the local AMEP site will be responsible for placing children in child care. They will also deal directly with child care providers in the placement of children in child care instead of the YWCA. The schedule in which this process is going to take place is outlined below:

• 2011 - Box Hill AMES, St. Albans AMES, Werribee AMES
• 2012 - Box Hill AMES, St. Albans AMES, Werribee AMES, Noble Park AMES, Oakleigh AMES, Springvale AMES
• 2013 - Box Hill AMES, St. Albans AMES, Werribee AMES, Noble Park AMES, Oakleigh AMES, Springvale AMES, Flagstaff AMES, Footscray AMES
• Jan - June 2014 - Box Hill AMES, St. Albans AMES, Werribee AMES, Noble Park AMES, Oakleigh AMES, Springvale AMES, Flagstaff AMES, Footscray AMES, Dandenong AMES

YWCA will continue to place AMEP children in child care from VIC AMES partners and subcontractors sites for the duration of the AMEP contract.

Teresita Romero - Education Unit Manager - AMES