Keeping kids safe
Children’s early years are vital to their long-term development; they are also the time children are most at risk.
All families want to do their best by raising their children in a healthy, safe and nurturing environment, but some families are more vulnerable and need additional support. From experience we know that the earlier families get support, the better off their children are in the long term. Our focus will be on getting this help to all families who need support but with a particular emphasis on families with children aged under two years.
Never Ever Shake a Baby
The Government recently announced a set of initiatives to further protect vulnerable infants, including a new campaign reminding people to Never Ever Shake a Baby. The initiatives are designed to help protect our children aged under two years and feature advertising, new-parent education, community-worker support for abused children and for families, and protection of abuse victims. It focuses on new parents (especially young men) and it is expected to reach up to 5,000 new parents a year.
In 2009/2010, we will:
- put Child, Youth and Family social workers in six hospitals around the country
- develop multiagency plans to protect hospitalised children on their release
- run a multimedia awareness campaign.
Responding when we’re needed
Differential Response means we can respond more creatively to families’ needs when they come to the attention of Child, Youth and Family, and we can work more closely with social service providers in the community. We work with organisations to support families who don’t need our help but who would benefit from community-based social services.
Family Start
In Taumarunui and Wanganui we are working with high-needs families to ensure they receive intensive home-based support. Family/whānau workers liaise with families to improve health and education outcomes for children. Parents receive support to improve their parenting skills.
Step in Sooner
We want to see fewer children in care, and we want those in care to experience shorter stays. We want to intervene quickly and to provide early support so these children have an opportunity to grow up in safe, secure and stable home environments. We have robust systems in place to ensure children are brought into care as a last resort. Where this happens we try to place the child with family/whānau as a first option, rather than with Child, Youth and Family caregivers they don’t know.
Violence-free relationships
We are dedicated to making sure families in our region are safe and live free from violence. We will continue to raise the awareness of family violence and of how to access services and support to help build violence-free relationships.
In 2009/2010 we will promote violence-free campaigns including the “Are you Okay with This?” bus-signage campaign, and White Ribbon day activities to increase participation in local efforts for the Campaign for Action on family Violence.
We meet every week with Women’s Refuge and the New Zealand Police to discuss ways we can reduce family violence incidents in New Plymouth and Wanganui.
