Whangarei's shocking child abuse rate of almost two-and-a-half cases a day should start to turn around with the district's vulnerable children having a new team of experts to support them.
Whangarei has become the second district in the country, behind Rotorua, to get a Children's Team to work with vulnerable children.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said the teams are a new, community-driven way of engaging with and supporting vulnerable children and families.
Children's Teams see trained people in the community referring children who are at risk of abuse and neglect to a group of local professionals from health, welfare, education and social agencies.
Whangarei is the second place to get a team because of the high rate of child abuse here. Figures from Child Youth & Family show that in 2012, 1511 substantiated cases of child abuse were reported in Northland, with 911 in Whangarei - almost two-and-a-half cases a day. The cases covered a range of abuse from physical to sexual.