Timely inquiry into care of youth sex offenders

Saturday, 8 September 2007, 1:07 pm
Press Release: Aotearoa NZ Association of Social Workers

Media Release ¨C 7 September 2007

Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers

Timely inquiry into care and rehabilitation
of youth sex offenders

Youth in New Zealand who commit sex offences are currently unable to access a comprehensive continuum of care and treatment, and community service providers are not being adequately resourced to equip families/whanau to provide them with ongoing support.

These two points are central to a submission made today by the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) to a Parliamentary Inquiry into the Care and Rehabilitation of Youth Sex Offenders.

The ANZASW's submission sets out the need for a continuum of care to ensure young people can receive appropriate treatment either through placements in residential care, whilst in prison where there is no care, or in their own community, including being with family/ whanau.

"On the topic of placements ANZASW is aware of young people in care who are unable to access the treatment they require due to a lack of available services and that's not OK," says Rose Henderson, ANZASW President.

"We are particularly concerned by a lack of suitable community based accommodation options. This has, we are aware through our members, resulted in some situations where young people have been accommodated in motels with minders and in fostering placements with younger vulnerable children."

The ANZASW submission underlines the principle that placements should be made on the basis of what is best suited to the young person's needs and level of risk, and not driven solely by availability.

"We realise that providers face difficulties in recruiting enough staff with appropriate experience and qualifications to deliver treatment services. Our position is that it is essential to adequately resource treatment providers so that they are able to recruit sufficient staff to deliver an appropriate level of service delivery.

"In the same way the ANZASW recognises the role of family / whanau therapy ¨C given the fact that youth remain connected to their family or return to live with them following treatment. This form of therapy isn't funded, despite a clear need for families to be able to access training and advice for supporting their family members on an ongoing basis".

The ANZASW submission urges a careful balance in the way that youth are referred to or between the youth justice and care and protection systems, and recommends that the Youth Court should be able to work within legislation that:

 ensures continuity of the Judge hearing cases for any one young person.
 enables the Court to apply an order based on the duration of treatment rather than simply on the age of the offender.
 enables the Court to apply longer maximum periods of supervision with residence given the nature of treatment for sex offenders is that it requires a longitudinal approach
"Over the remainder of this year the message that 'It is not OK' will be heard loud and clear from the Campaign for Action on Family Violence. We trust that this will lead to a much greater focus on other areas of social justice, human rights and issues that are related to social work practice in New Zealand, such as the issues being raised by this Inquiry," says Rose Henderson.

ends.

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