Now You See It, Now You Don't: The Restructuring of Commonwealth Government Child Care Policy, 1972-1982

Abstract

An examination of the development and decline of Commonwealth government involvement in the provision of child care services over the past decade, focuses on services for young children whose parents are workforce participants. The growth of groups requiring child care, the level and types of service provision, and the consequences of inadequate supply of such services are discussed. The emergence of child care policies over the decade 1972-82 is considered in relation to the political and economic context, in particular the shift from moderately progressive social reform policies in a period of economic growth and full employment to contractionist monetary policies in a period of little or no growth and high levels of unemployment. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the implications of a restructured child care policy.