In a critical moment for families of children with disabilities, Developmental Disability WA (DDWA) calls for urgent support to save our Specialist Education Advocacy Service from imminent closure on June 30th. The WA State Government has refused to provide funding for this vital program, which has been a lifeline since 2015.
Since releasing our report ‘Beyond complaints’ in June 2020, we have repeatedly asked the Western Australian Department of Education to provide specialist education advocacy funding. Education Minister Tony Buti, in rejecting our call for funding last month, said parents could turn to the Education Department for support, or to generalist advocacy services in the community.
Beyond Complaints report (2020):
https://ddwa.org.au/resources/beyond-complaints/
DDWA previously had some project funding from the Department of Communities for this service, but that ceased in 2022. The service has since been funded by DDWA, without any external support, an arrangement the organisation is unable to continue due to funding constraints across the disability sector.
The real responsibility for funding this service lies with the WA Department of Education.
Save our Specialist Education Advocacy Service from imminent closure on June 30th.
Please send you emails to WA Education Minister Tony Buti and other MPs to let them know the importance of this service.
Email addresses of MPs to send your letters are listed at the bottom of this page.
DDWA’s Specialist Education Advocacy Service has been instrumental in supporting hundreds of families, ensuring that both parents’ and children’s voices are heard in educational settings. The absence of independent advocacy will leave families without the necessary expertise to navigate complex educational challenges.
We urgently need your help to inundate the inbox of WA’s Education Minister Tony Buti to secure dedicated funding for this indispensable service.
Today (Friday 7th June 2024), we sent an email to our DDWA members supporters asking to ACT NOW to Save Our Specialist Education Advocacy Service.
The letter:
We need your help to save our Specialist Education Advocacy Service.
Since 2015, Developmental Disability WA has been providing a specialist education advocacy service for families of children with disability. Unfortunately, we will have to close this service on June 30 because the state government has refused to provide funding.
Hundreds of families have asked for our support when problems have arisen for their children in government, Catholic and other private schools. Our aim has always been to support parents and carers to have both their voice and their child’s voice heard and help negotiate a way forward.
Since releasing our report ‘Beyond Complaints’ in June 2020, we have repeatedly asked the Department of Education to provide specialist education advocacy funding.
Education Minister Tony Buti, in rejecting our call for funding last month, said parents could turn to the Education Department for support, or to generalist advocacy services in the community.
DDWA believes Education Department staff are unable to deliver this service, not least because they are not independent in such matters, and that it is simply not fair to expect generalist advocacy services to:
- provide this level of expertise when they are often not familiar with the complexities of education policy, or:
- have a deep understanding of the issues experienced by students and their families, particularly if the school culture and environment exacerbates challenging behaviour.
Families who have accessed our service say:
‘I felt very supported during the meeting and felt the advocate was able to bring a calm balance in the face of open hostility’
parent/carer
‘The Advocate was a great support for me and helped me to make sense of what I could expect from the school’
parent/carer
‘The advocate facilitated the conversation in a way that all parties felt heard, despite the very challenging discussion we were having’.
parent/carer
School principals say:
‘She appears to have a balanced and informed perspective of challenges confronting parents and schools in the area of disability’.
school principal
‘I greatly appreciate the measured, supportive approach she adopts to ensure outcomes are met for both parties’.
school principal
‘The advocate was very good at ensuring the decisions being made were in the best interest of the child’.
school principal
DDWA previously had some project funding from the Department of Communities for this service, but that ceased in 2022. The service has since been funded by DDWA, without any external support, an arrangement the organisation is unable to continue due to funding constraints across the disability sector.
The real responsibility for funding this service lies with the Department of Education. Having an independent advocacy service helps to ensure transparency and accountability for the way schools relate to families and students. The Disability Royal Commission report is very explicit in the need for schools to be accountable for their actions.
We would appreciate your help in making the Education Department see how important this service is to students with disability and their families.
Please send you emails to the following MPs and let them know the importance of this service:
- Hon Dr Tony Buti, Minister.buti@dpc.wa.gov.au and armadale@mp.wa.gov.au – Minister for Education
- Hon Roger Cook, wa-government@dpc.wa.gov.au and kwinana@mp.wa.gov.au – Premier
- Hon Rita Saffioti, Minister.Saffioti@dpc.wa.gov.au and westswan@mp.wa.gov.au – Deputy Premier and Treasurer
- Ms Libby Mettam, libby.mettam@mp.wa.gov.au – Opposition Leader
- Mr Shane Love, MooreElectorate@mp.wa.gov.au – National Party leader
Thank you for your support.
