Annual report 2016 cover

Demonstrating our progress

Below are the indicators that the Ministry uses to demonstrate progress towards achieving its outcomes.

Ministry outcomeIndicator/s2013/14:2014/15:2015/16:Intended trendTrend
More people into sustainable work and out of welfare dependency Reduce working-age client numbers by 25%, from 295,000 in June 2014 to 220,000 in June 2018 295,000 284,960 279,806
Achieve an accumulated actuarial release [1] of $13 billion between June 2014 and June 2018

$2.5bn

[2]

$3.8bn

[3]

More people are able to participate in and contribute positively to their communities and society More young people are involved in decision-making activities 13,726 9,478 8,430*
More young people are involved in community-based projects and activities 37,506 27,835 34,405
The number of participating SuperGoldCard business partners 7,218 8,053 8,304
The accurate assessment of Community Services Card and SuperGold Card applications 99% 99% 96.9%

* The direct delivery of youth development activities, for example youth participation workshops, ceased to be an operational function for the Ministry of Youth Development following a policy change from 4 April 2016.

Ministry outcomeIndicator/s2013/14:2014/15:2015/16:Intended trendTrend
Fewer children and people are vulnerable The proportion of children and young people who have been abused/neglected within six months of a previous finding of abuse/neglect [4] 13% 12% 11%**
The proportion of children aged under five years old (who are unable to return home), who are placed with their Home for Life caregiver within 12 months of coming into care 80% 77%
The percentage of children and young people in care referred for a Gateway assessment 31% 65%†† 80%
The percentage of children participating in the Family Start programme receiving scheduled Well Child visits 80% 81% 82%
The percentage of children aged between 18 months and five years participating in the Family Start programme who are enrolled in early childhood education 71% 71% 76%
More communities are strong and thriving The percentage of families who report that the Strengthening Families process has helped them get access to the services they needed 94% 93% 94%
The proportion of surveyed community groups that say the It’s not OK campaign has increased their ability to address or prevent family violence 94% 96% 93%

** There are known issues about the consistency and quality of abuse findings. Work is under way to improve the accuracy of identification and reporting of abuse.

Although the trend is down, the performance standard has been met.

†† Before 2014/2015 the Gateway programme had not been rolled out to all district health board (DHB) areas and the focus was on referring children and young people entering care. In 2014/2015 the programme was fully implemented in 20 DHB areas and the focus was on ensuring all children and young people already in care who had not yet received a Gateway assessment were referred.

Ministry outcomeIndicator/s2013/14:2014/15:2015/16:Intended trendTrend
Fewer children and young people commit crime The proportion of young offenders who are in education, training or employment following our intervention 59% 66% 67%
The proportion of child offenders who have a subsequent youth justice referral 62% [5] 64% 71%
The proportion of victims engaging in family group conferences 59% 57% 55%‡‡
Fewer people commit fraud and the system operates with fairness and integrity The percentage of successful prosecutions concluded 97.2% 96.8% 96.6%
The percentage of non-current debt paid in full, or under an arrangement to pay, within four months 72.3% 71.1%

The number of child offenders referred to Child, Youth and Family is small, and even a small change to the volume will significantly affect the percentage. Previously published results suggested the trend was decreasing; however a recent data quality review found this to be incorrect. We will be reviewing this indicator for the next financial year.

‡‡ Police are increasingly likely to undertake alternative action prior to referring a young offender to us for a family group conference (FGC). These alternative actions may involve victim engagement, and victims may be less committed to engaging in any subsequent FGC.

Footnotes

[1] An actuarial release is an estimate of the change in long-term liability of the benefit system resulting from changes in the number of beneficiaries and their likelihood of long-term benefit receipt.

[2] Source: Ministry of Social Development Quarterly Drivers of Valuation April to June 2015 Report.

[3] Source: Ministry of Social Development Quarterly Drivers of Valuation April to June 2016 Report.

[4] Repeat findings of abuse/neglect may relate to an historical event prior to a child or young person coming to our attention.

[5] Following a data quality review, it has been discovered that results for this measure reported in previous Annual Reports were incorrect. The correct results are: for 2013/2014 62 percent (originally reported as 59 percent), and for 2014/2015 64 percent (originally reported as 49 percent).