Strength based approach needed

Ara Taiohi Press Release: for immediate release

Ara Taiohi, the peak body for the youth sector, endorses the need for a strength-based approach to changing inequitable outcomes for young people regardless of where they live. However, a report launched by Treasury today entitled “Using Integrated Administrative Data to Identify Youth Who Are at Risk of Poor Outcomes as Adults,” is unlikely to contribute toward an approach of this kind.

“This Treasury report describes a small part of the picture for our young people in Aotearoa. The fact is that a great deal of resourcing has shifted to urban areas, and this means fewer opportunities and youth focused services are available to young people out of the main centres. We are seeing significant reductions in resourcing to our regions, and this is having a massive impact on our young people. You can read all of this between the lines in the Treasury’s report, but it is not explicitly discussed,” says Anya Satyanand, Executive Officer at Ara Taiohi.

“Young people across Aotearoa are currently affected by huge economic forces. Young people are most likely to be successful when their strengths are recognised and celebrated by their whānau and community,” says Anya. “This report uses information collected across government to represent our young people as victims of geography, rather than focussing on an economy that is leaving them behind.”

Treasury have used eight indicators to predict which young people will be least likely to enjoy success in education, employment, health and safety. The Report’s findings indicate that young people in certain regions are more likely than others to cost the state in terms of benefits, jail terms and health interventions.

The Integrated Data Infrastructure, or IDI, collects and aggregates data from across government health, education, corrections and welfare agencies. It is being used by government, ostensibly to inform efficient and effective government spending in these areas. However, according to Satyanand, “The IDI is a poor substitute for peer-reviewed research such as the Youth2000 report, because it tends to produce predictive risk modelling. Risk is the wrong lens for determining what services are provided. We need to be looking at the strengths that exist in each of the regions that have been identified in the report, and build on these.”

Treasury’s report identifies a great need for youth development opportunities across the country, especially in places like the Far North, Kawerau, and Wairoa. Ara Taiohi encourages the government to change the story being told about our non-metropolitan communities, and invest in our young people across the country.

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