Bold step towards protecting New Zealand’s most vulnerable

The Families Commission says it welcomes the Minister taking a priority stand on children and families in the White Paper for Vulnerable Children, released today by the Minister for Social Development, Hon Paula Bennett.

Chief Families Commissioner, Carl Davidson says “The issues raised in the White Paper of poverty, harm, and neglect toward Kiwi children impact every New Zealand community and are the responsibility of everyone in society to help resolve. We congratulate the Minister for being prepared to take such a personal and engaged leadership role to protect our most vulnerable citizens.”

One of the major issues of concern highlighted through recent tragedies has been the breakdown or lack of connection between social agencies involved in child and family welfare.

The initiatives announced today have identified actions that the Government will take, such as building reporting systems and the co-ordination of secure information pathways so vulnerable children can be identified and provided for.

“The Families Commission has been a strong advocate for mechanisms that ensure coordination across government agencies, so our most vulnerable families and children are supported.

“The Families Commission also strongly supports the recommendation of a phone line for people to report any concerns they may have about a child’s safety. You can be anonymous but you can’t be silent,” Mr Davidson says.

Mr Davidson says it is also encouraging to see the White Paper identifies the importance of working at the grassroots of communities to achieve outcomes. The Families Commission, through its Family and Whānau Knowledge Centre, is directly connected to frontline communities and supports this approach.

In particular, he says the Families Commission believes any children’s action plan must recognise that children are part of their family, whānau, hapu and iwi. “This will ensure New Zealand’s most vulnerable children have the support of their whole family and community,” Mr Davidson says.

The Commission says implementing evidence-based processes and models will also underpin the success of recommendations in the White Paper.

The Families Commission’s new Social Policy and Evaluation Research Unit (SuPERU) will offer a high level of expertise to ensure independent monitoring and evaluation of programmes and interventions across the social sector are undertaken.

The SuPERU has been specifically identified in the White Paper which outlines the unit’s role in ensuring that knowledge about what interventions work, is readily available to frontline providers and funders.

“Ultimately the SuPERU will play a key role in providing the evidence to help agencies and funders make careful decisions on which programmes and systems to invest in as they work to achieve the outcomes sought in the White Paper,” Mr Davidson says.

“We all need to step up and do far more for at risk children and families who suffer in communities throughout New Zealand. This report provides strong direction and we look forward to engaging with agencies and communities to make progress. The Commission is ready to play its part in protecting and nurturing our children and families,” Mr Davidson says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media