Media Release
21 October 2003

Procedural Changes At CYF Welcomed

New Zealand First family issues spokesperson Barbara Stewart has welcomed news that CYF will from now on monitor the school attendance of the children in its care but warned that extra resources must be made available for the work.

“While the measure will create additional work for CYF in the short term, if it prevents the habitual truancy which leads to criminal activity on the part of some young people it is a measure which will pay for itself in the long run,” said Mrs Stewart.

“The statistics showing that 30 to 40 percent of young offenders have a history with CYF, but only 118 out of 4000-plus truancy cases last year were referred to the department, illustrates a large black hole in procedures.

“If more resources are required to achieve a higher level of supervision then they must be provided.”

Mrs Stewart also repeated her call for closer cooperation between the government departments involved in the care and protection of children and young people.

“The link between truancy and crime is now very obvious but CYF is not the only agency dealing with it. The Police National Manager, Youth Services, has this week called for more concentration on youth policing to prevent crime. His comments are timely,” said Mrs Stewart.

ENDS

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