The Wire

The families of about 3000 school leavers with disabilities in NSW will be forced to change their lifestyles to adapt to shortened day-care services due to funding cuts. In July, the Minister for Disability Services, Carmel Tebbutt, announced that the Adult Training Learning and Support – or ATLAS – program would be scrapped as well as the Post School Options (or PSO) program. They were both deemed to be unsuccessful because they had a less than 3% success rate over the past 10 years. Under new programs those capable of employment will attract about $15,000 to their service providers each year, for a maximum of 2 years. But most ATLAS users, who are incapable of working, will face funding cuts by as much as half their current amount. Executive Officer Kevin Byrne, from the government’s advisory Council of Disabilities thinks the changes were necessary. While Judith Ellis, spokesperson from Family Advocacy says the impact on families will be catastrophic, and Dina Hayes from the disability support service, Centacare, says families and services will be put under considerably greater strain.