Comparative Analysis: Federal Jobs for Families vs. VIC Reform Plan

This report provides a critical comparison of two major early childhood education policies: the VIC Early Childhood Reform Plan and the Federal Government's Jobs for Families package. It begins by outlining the key features of each policy, including the VIC plan's focus on increased funding and support for families and the Jobs for Families package's introduction of the Child Care Subsidy. The report highlights the similarities, such as the shared goal of supporting children's early education and providing support to families. It also details the differences, particularly in the scope and mechanisms of financial assistance. The analysis considers the policy levers and outcomes prioritized by each plan, and assesses how they aim to improve access to and the quality of early childhood education and care. The report also references relevant literature, including Sumsion et al. (2014) and Brady & Perales (2016), to support its analysis and provide a comprehensive understanding of the comparative landscape of these two important childcare policies.

Running head: COMPARISON OF POLICIES
COMPARISON OF POLICIES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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COMPARISON OF POLICIES
In the VIC Early Childhood Reform Plan, the main focus is on providing support to a
student in his or higher education’s and quality service and reducing the different
disadvantage which is involved in the higher education”. The reform plan also work towards
providing support to a parent with the children`s education. The reform plan also aims to
make the different early childhood services all the more available and inclusive for the
children and hence build a better system for the children. As per the VIC Early Childhood
Reform Plan, the Victorian government has allotted around$55.3 million for the next four
years for the improvement of the education quality and facilities for the children during the
Kindergarten. There was an increase of about 10 per cent in the overall funding for the
kindergarten. Around $10 million was allotted by the Victorian government for the
development of “early childhood facilities at government primary schools”. The VIC Early
Childhood Reform Plan also aims at helping the parents to provide support to the children
during the early age. Around $4.9 million was invested by the Victorian government for
Maternal and Child Health (MCH) which would help the parent to get all the required and
relevant information easily and readily. The key elements of Federal Government Jobs for
Families packages/childcare subsidy includes ‘the child care subsidies’, ‘the child care safety
net’ , ‘Interim Home Based Care Subsidy Programme’ (Sumsion et al., 2014).
The scope of the Jobs for Families Child Care Package includes the fact that it will have an
impact on not only the children and their family but also their the organization who provides the
services along with the Victorian government. This can also be considered as the difference between
Jobs for Families Child Care Package and the VIC Early Childhood Reform Plan. The similarity
between both the policies is that both focus on the primary education of the Children
alongside supporting the family in taking care of the children. The inclusion of additional

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COMPARISON OF POLICIES
funds in both the policies helps ion increasing the quality and infrastructure of the primary
education systems (Brady & Perales, 2016).
REFERENCES
Sumsion, J., Grieshaber, S., McArdle, F., & Shield, P. (2014). The ‘state of play’in Australia:
Early childhood educators and play-based learning. Australasian journal of early childhood,
39(3), 4-13.
Brady, M., & Perales, F. (2016). Hours of paid work among single and partnered mothers in
Australia: The role of child care packages. Journal of Family Issues, 37(3), 321-343.