Child welfare
In New Zealand we’ve always prided ourselves as being the best place in the world to raise kids.
For most families, I believe that is the case. But at the same time, we know we have a small but significant number of children who suffer at the hands of adults.
Every year an average of 10 children die at the hands of the people closest to them, the people they love and trust.
Between 2008 and 2009, 13,315 children under five were admitted to hospital for conditions that could have been avoided. 1286 were admitted because of assault, neglect or maltreatment.
This is why the Government has released a Green Paper last week on vulnerable children, testing ideas with the public on how we can improve these terrible numbers.
New Zealand has a strong foundation of support for families provided through the health, education and social welfare systems, but we need to do better. Clearly there are children and families who aren’t getting the support they need.
The Green Paper raises some important questions to think about:
• When should adults who care for vulnerable children be prioritised for services over others?
• How can the Government encourage communities to take more responsibility for the wellbeing of their children?
• How much monitoring of vulnerable children should the Government allow?
It also looks at how Government agencies can better share information, and whether there should be mandatory reporting for abuse by professionals such as teachers.
There are no easy answers to these questions, but we genuinely want to hear what the public thinks.
Once all submissions have been received, a White Paper will be released outlining the Vulnerable Children’s Action Plan.
This is an especially important issue in Kapiti and Horowhenua because of our demographics. We have a large number of families who choose to live here. The majority of parents and guardians do an outstanding job raising their children, but some don’t. These are the families the Government is worried about. Those children deserve better.
Give us your thoughts. You can email [email protected], or visit the website (www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/greenpaperonchildren).