Southern Mallee Council is optimistic it will secure more federal funding for its mobile child care service.

Currently it serves about 80 families and 120 children in Lameroo, Pinnaroo, Geranium and Karoonda each week.

Earlier this year, the council injected an extra $25,000 into the child care service to help with rising costs.

Chief executive Tony Renshaw says the council is committed to providing more services, more efficiently.

“We’ve had quite intensive discussions with the Federal Government about their funding model and their funding framework and we’re quite pleased with the progress that we’re making in that regard,” he said.

“We haven’t received any increased funding yet but we have a very optimistic view that we will receive some increased funding.

“The council’s not thinking about reduced services. The council’s thinking about extended or expanded services, in a way that’s attractive to our customers, to our community – that means that more families can enjoy fruitful and rewarding work and that we’re able to make a contribution to growing our economy.”