llison Steptoe Sydney In-Home Care Interview

Allison Steptoe Sydney In-Home Care Interview

Suffering from severe Multiple Sclerosis, Allison Steptoe and her husband Chris struggled to find childcare for their daughter that was close to home. Fortunately for the couple, Sydney In-Home Care has been able to assist, providing care and support for their daughter Chloe. Launched in 2001, Sydney In-Home Care is a Non-Government Organisation focusing on the care of children who do not have access to mainstream childcare facilities.

For the past 15 months, the Steptoe family has used Sydney In-Home Care services to assist with taking care of their daughter. 'We could never thank Sydney In-Home Care enough for everything they have done for our family," says Allison. 'Having a carer has allowed Chloe to remain in her home environment and spend quality time with me that would otherwise not be possible."

Sydney In-Home Care provides families with quality in-home childcare, in an environment that is both comfortable for the child and flexible for the family. 'If I ever have a bad day with my MS, it's a comfort to know that Chloe is always in wonderful hands and being looked after. It really gives me peace of mind knowing that Chloe is with a person who genuinely cares about her job and our daughter," says Steptoe.

'We find that this style of childcare produces a rich environment for education and care as the safety and security of their own familiar surroundings assists children in reaping the rewards of small group care," says David Wilson, Director of Sydney In-Home Care.

'Our aim is to bring Early Childhood Education into the home of children who are unable to access mainstream childcare services, through the provision of age appropriate activities that encourage the development of life skills to the children, within the family's daily routine," says Wilson.

Introduced in 2001, In-Home Care is a Federal Government initiative that responds to the demand for more flexible childcare arrangements, where an approved childcare worker provides care in the child's home. Sydney In-Home Care services are targeted at families with children who have an illness or a disability, live in a family where there are one or more members with an illness or a disability, live in rural areas and children whose parents are shift workers.

Priority of Access to this service is within the Australian Governments 'Priority of Access Guidelines". These guidelines give first priority to children at risk, and then to children of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background and those with disabilities. In addition to providing quality childcare in the home, Sydney In-Home Care also recruits their own childcare workers to work in the field through their recruitment branch, Sydney Childcare Recruitment.

Sydney In-Home Care places unfortunately remain capped and are allocated to services by the Australian Government, currently through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).

For more information on Sydney In-Home Care and the services they provide visit www.sihc.com.au

Interview with Allison Steptoe

Question: Prior to Sydney In-Home Care help how did you manage to care for Chloe, at all times?

Allison Steptoe: When Chloe was born my husband took 7 weeks off work to help with everything. When he had to go back to work we relied on our parents to assist with the day to day needs of Chloe. My husband was able to start work early and leave late to help me out as much as possible, however when he was not home it was extremely difficult for me to keep up with the required chores, washing , cleaning etc and also was difficult looking after my own health as Chloe now came first.


Question: How does Sydney In-Home Care services help to assist with your daughter, Chloe?

Allison Steptoe: Sydney In-Home Care has allowed Chloe to have a relatively normal beginning to life which she may not have received without their assistance. Debbie, Chloe's carer ensured that Chloe never went wanting with regards to food, playing, learning and enjoying what young children should enjoy all in our family home environment. Due to having Debbie around we believe this enabled Chloe to progress in her development which may have not been possible with our situation had we had to do it alone.

Question: Can you talk about the Early Childhood Education Chloe has received?

Allison Steptoe: Whilst we had Debbie, our Sydney In-Home carer, Chloe was well looked after with regards to learning childhood skills like walking, talking, eating solid food, playing with toys, learning to do puzzles, painting and going on trips to the park. Debbie was absolutely fantastic in this area. We would not have been able to do a lot of things without Debbie's assistance.

Chloe entered pre-school in January 2011 and has received a normal beginning to her Early Childhood Education and has not been hindered in attending pre-school because my husband is able to drop her and pick her up.


Question: When were you diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and how has it progressed since then?

Allison Steptoe: I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2004. Since then my MS has not been very good, I have had numerous relapses which has resulted in permanent damage to areas of my spinal cord, so now my walking is very slow and unsteady. I now have to use a walking stick if I am out. I also have problems with my bowel and bladder functions. I also get fatigued very easily.


Question: How does suffering from Multiple Sclerosis effect your life?

Allison Steptoe: MS effects my life in many ways, I am no longer able to walk very well, I get tired very easily, and my bladder and bowel function is effected. This all effects my life in most ways, I can no longer go for walks, and trips have to be planned around when I am feeling my best and try to do the least amount of walking.

I go to gym twice a week to do strength exercises, which is helping me to maintain what function I can have in my body.


Question: How has Multiple Sclerosis effected your family life?

Allison Steptoe: It has impacted on my family life enormously, It was only after careful consideration and a lot of planning that we were able to have our daughter Chloe. I am lucky that my husband is very hands on with Chloe and he is able to do all the things for Chloe that I cannot do. Simple jobs like bathing Chloe are too hard for me to do, so my husband does that each night. My husband tries to take her on outings most weekends.
We also have a wonderful network of family and friends who try to help out as much as possible.


Question: How often do you have a carer for Chloe, in your home?

Allison Steptoe: We had Sydney In-Home carer for 20 hours each week. Which was great to get help then but I also had sometime that I could care for Chloe. As I wanted to be as involved as I could with raising Chloe


Question: What has been the best thing about the service Sydney In-Home Care offers?

Allison Steptoe: The best thing, without doubt, knowing that Chloe was well looked after and never missed out on anything in our own home environment. If we did not have a carer Chloe would not have been able to go for walks during the week, go to the park to play, play outside in our yard because I was not able to do it with her. Sydney In-Home care staff were always easy to deal with, friendly and caring and this gave us a strong sense of them genuinely caring about Chloe, and myself.


Interview by Brooke Hunter