East Coast Regional Plan 2007/2008

Foreword from the Regional Commissioner for Social Development

Welcome to our Ministry of Social Development Regional Plan for the East Coast region. With Child, Youth and Family joining our team last year, we are now able to offer a complete service to our community. With these additional services and resources we are able to work more effectively towards issues that face our families and communities.

We have continued to experience economic growth in the region. Through our work with our partners, there have been many job opportunities created resulting in more than 1,000 people in our region no longer requiring income support compared with 2006. The Working for Families package is having a positive impact on this. Families are now better off by being in paid employment both financially and in terms of overall wellbeing.

Looking ahead, our challenge is to find innovative ways to deal with the pockets of disadvantage that exist in some of our communities. This is a matter of continually improving the delivery of our services to ensure they reach these communities. Effective collaboration with health providers, government, community and other social sector agencies is crucial to effectively tackle some of the difficult social issues our region faces. These issues include family violence, household overcrowding, poor educational attainment, drug and alcohol addictions, inter-generational benefit dependency, poor health and financial hardship.

In the East Coast region, our social investment will be primarily directed towards supporting children and young people to realise their full potential. By encouraging them to achieve at school and to pursue good jobs with good employers, their futures will be brighter and more successful.

Youth Transition Services offers young people an avenue of opportunities after they leave school. Following on from a successful year in Gisborne, we can now offer this Service in the Hawke’s Bay. We will also look to help those young people who are transitioning out of Child, Youth and Family care into independence and make sure that they have the best support and guidance.

Our success will rest on our ability to work together innovatively and to utilise the strengths that already exist within our people and communities. I would like to acknowledge and thank our stakeholders and staff for their valuable contribution and commitment to social development. We have many challenges in front of us, but I am confident that if we work collaboratively we will have the skills, passion and innovative spirit to be able to make a positive difference in our communities.

Lindsay Scott
Regional Commissioner for Social Development