Regional Commissioner's foreword

I'm pleased to welcome you to the Ministry of Social Development's 2009/2010 Regional Plan for the Wellington Region.

Employment, helping young people to thrive, keeping kids safe and ensuring value for money are our four key priorities for the coming year.

In these tough economic times we are determined to make the best of every opportunity for our clients. We will have the courage to try something new and, if that doesn’t work, to try something else.

This year we will be working to support small to medium enterprises in our region by helping businesses manage change and stay viable and by encouraging business collaboration. An example of this approach was when we co-hosted the local economic and employment summit.

Supporting families under pressure and moving people into employment will enable people in our communities to live full lives, free from hardship. Over the coming year we will help our clients into employment and training opportunities through our Work First approach. We will help people to stay in work through the Job Support Scheme and we will help families get the right support through our work.

It’s important we help our young people to make good decisions about their lives, so they can be strong citizens in the future. We will help those who are heading down the path of youth offending by implementing the Government’s Youth Opportunities and Fresh Start packages. We also want to encourage young people to participate in decision making.

We know we will face some real challenges. Through our partnerships with other agencies and communities we will work hard to make a difference in our region for individuals, families and communities. I look forward to working with you all in 2009/2010.

Lindsay Scott
Regional Commissioner
for Social Development