Care report highlights improvements needed in CYF restructure

Social Service Providers Aotearoa welcomes and supports the State of Care 2016 report from the Commissioner for Children.

SSPA National Manager Brenda Pilott said it was disappointing that there is still considerable variability in practice, including examples of both inadequate and good practice. “There are 5000 children in care, all of them vulnerable. It can’t be a postcode lottery – every child in care needs and deserves the very best support, no matter where they live.”

SSPA agrees with the key finding that child-centred practice needs to be at the heart of the new operating model to be implemented for Child Youth and Family.

“The Commissioner has done a great job of ensuring children’s voices are heard throughout his report. This approach needs to be embedded in social work practice with children in care,” says Brenda Pilott.

“With 61% of the overall care population being Māori, and higher still in the Youth Justice area, there is an important task ahead to ensure all professionals working with Māori children and their families understand what being child-centred means in the context of strengthening the whanau. The Commissioner notes that children want to belong to their culture and to their family and whanau and it is up to the agencies working with Māori children in care to support that.”

Brenda Pilott said that the task of reorganising CYF into a new entity is a major one and this report highlights some specific areas of concern that will need to be addressed.

“The Commissioner has highlighted the need for careful planning to avoid the inevitable fall in performance that will occur while CYF is being restructured. This is commonplace in government agencies facing major change and in the case of CYF, the need to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children during this time is paramount.”

Brenda Pilott said that the report also prompts concerns for the voluntary sector which is the key partner for CYF in supporting children in care and their families.

“SSPA supports the funding being made available to enable CYF to make significant changes. The missing piece of the puzzle, however, is increased funding that recognises the greater role community agencies will be making, according to the proposed new operating model.”

“For the new system to work properly, the Community Investment strategy needs to be aligned and the level of funding needs to increase. It’s been flat lining for some years now and many of our members tell us they cannot keep up with demand.”

“There has been a lack of consultation with the wider social services sector about how best to make the whole system work. Like many community agencies, SSPA is supportive of the general direction for CYF outlined in the recent Review, but there is a lack of clarity about what community-based services will be required”.

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