“It shouldn’t be this hard” highlights needs of disabled children

A new report by the Child Poverty Action Group highlights the invisibility of disabled children in Government policy making and significant gaps in data. The report titled ‘It shouldn’t be this hard’ also points out the difficulties families face in accessing the Child Disability Allowance, respite care, and special needs education for their children.

“This is a reminder of the need for Government and communities to ensure that children living with disabilities and their families are visible in decision making,” says UNICEF NZ’s National Advocacy Manager, Deborah Morris-Travers. “The report emphasises these children and families need to be well supported and the systems are not in place to know the full picture.

“UNICEF NZ is very concerned about the lack of data available for assessing whether children/caregivers are receiving their benefit and other entitlements, and whether appropriate resources are being allocated to local disability health and education services.”

The 2013 Disability Survey shows that of the 95,000 disabled children aged 0-14 years, 15% lived in households with incomes under $30,000.

“It is deeply concerning that families with disabled children are more likely to live in poverty,” says Ms Morris-Travers. “The cost of caring for their child and the impact on parents’ ability to work due to their caring responsibilities are added burdens to an already difficult situation.”

The reported compiled parents’ stories of struggling to navigate the bureaucracy to access support and education for their children and in some cases have given up.

“Against this background, it is highly concerning that the number of new or updated Child Disability Allowances granted by Work and Income NZ has almost halved since 2008, despite the number of disabled children increasing, from 92,000 in 2001 to 95,000 in 2013.

“UNICEF NZ endorses the recommendations made by the Child Poverty Action Group,” Ms Morris-Travers says. “These tangible steps include recommendations for the improvement of data, reviewing services in partnership with the disability sector and improving the availability of special education.”

Overall Ms Morris-Travers says the report is about increasing accountability across the Government so that agencies respond to the needs of disabled children and their families.

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