The Minister for Children, Kelvin Davis, has announced that all children’s agencies must cooperate with one another and the community to support those who are most in need as part of an Action Plan that they have all agreed to.
To achieve the goals of the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy for the children and young people with the greatest needs, the Chief Executives of Oranga Tamariki, the Police, and the Ministries of Education, Social Development, Health, and Justice must collaborate, according to the Oranga Tamariki Action Plan.
Numerous other organisations, such as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Corrections, will be involved in the effort in addition to the children’s agencies.
“When I spoke to frontline social workers one of the main things I heard was that they often felt like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, tasked with trying to do everything for tamariki and whānau in need,” Kelvin Davis said.
“It should not be like that, all agencies have their role to play and this framework will ensure they work together to make things better for children.”
A key component of the Action Plan, which promotes moving quickly and taking whatever action is necessary, is preventing families from entering or remaining in the system.
The agencies concerned have picked priority initiatives to concentrate on in the short term in housing, education, and health in order to start making changes as soon as feasible.
This is the first step in setting the groundwork for longer-term reform, which will be guided by the community.
“Agencies do try and work together but it doesn’t always happen smoothly. The Action Plan will be a lever for both public and community organisations to work together more effectively than ever before,” Kelvin Davis said.
“I’d like to thank my Cabinet colleagues and their officials for their commitment to the kaupapa and identifying what we can do now – because we can’t make children, young people, families, whānau and communities wait any longer for agencies to work together better,” Kelvin Davis said.
For more information about the Oranga Tamariki Action Plan click here.