mgpcpastor's blog

Here’s a press release from the Australian Labor Party website: Federal Labor to deliver more chaplains for Australian schools.
Since it’s a press release, here’s the whole thing:

A re-elected Gillard Labor Government will ensure that up to 1,000 additional schools will benefit from school chaplains, with an extension of the National School Chaplaincy Program (NSCP).
Around 2,700 schools already benefiting from the services of a chaplain are also set to benefit from funding certainty for a further three years, until the end of 2014.
Last year, Federal Labor committed funding to ensure that all chaplains currently working in schools had funding to continue their important work for all of 2010 and for the full school year in 2011.
If re-elected, the Gillard Labor Government will ensure even more schools can benefit from the program.
The extensive consultation and review process established by Federal Labor will continue. It will provide advice on how the NSCP could be improved and how the additional schools may be targeted.
The national consultation process will consider the achievements and effectiveness of the program and its relationship with other student support activities. It will canvass stakeholder views on future chaplaincy and pastoral care services, and other student support activities.
A discussion paper about the NSCP will be released by October, so that everyone in the community can have their say.
While the original program has been very beneficial for around 2,700 schools, some schools in rural, remote and disadvantaged locations missed out.
The guidelines for the new round will be informed by the consultation process and the review, but it will support innovative models so rural and remote schools can benefit from the services of a chaplain.
Schools in rural and remote areas often don’t have access to the same pastoral care services that city schools do. This additional funding will help them benefit from additional chaplaincy and pastoral care support.
This could include developing cluster models or pooled funding so a chaplain or pastoral care worker in a rural area has sufficient funding to service a number of schools.
The additional round will also focus on disadvantaged school communities, ensuring they are provided with the necessary support to benefit from a chaplain.
It is essential to ensure schools are supported in looking after the wellbeing of their students and the NSCP has been an effective way to assist participating schools in achieving that goal.
Feedback on the impact of the NSCP from school leaders attending the National Conversation with Principals in Canberra recently was extremely positive.
The program also received positive feedback in a National School Chaplaincy Association (NSCA) survey, which examined the effectiveness of chaplaincy in government schools.
The report showed that 83 per cent of the principals surveyed were extremely satisfied and valued the chaplains’ contribution to student wellbeing in their school.
Chaplains and pastoral care workers provide general personal advice, comfort and support to all students and staff, regardless of their religious denomination and irrespective of their religious beliefs.
Chaplains can help build the sense of community in the school, support the school ethos and provide additional support for vulnerable children.
The Gillard Labor Government will continue to support school chaplains in the great work they do.
Participation in the school chaplaincy program was open to all schools – government and non-government – and is voluntary.
The Gillard Labor Government will provide $222 million for this commitment. Funding will be fully offset over the forward estimates, consistent with Federal Labor’s commitment to return the budget to surplus in 2013, three years ahead of schedule.

To the best of my knowledge this goes beyond any previous policy promises from the parties. Kevin Rudd had basically confirmed a continuance, subject to the review; Tony Abbott promised continuance, but I don’t recall any detail about how it would be expanded.
Doubtless the continuing program will have opportunity for workers from backgrounds other than Christian to be employed. The Christian groups who are training and overseeing the existing workers do have a considerable advantage in terms of their proven record, though.
Interesting.