$216m rescue plan for child aid

By STAFF REPORTER

On what would have been the seventh birthday of beaten Hastings boy James Whakaruru - a case that shot New Zealand's sorry family violence abuse statistics into the headlines in 1998 - the Government has outlined new plans for helping at-risk children.

The blueprint for change, New Directions, was released yesterday.

It follows a no-holds-barred review in March of Child, Youth and Family by former Youth Court judge Mick Brown.

The Budget included a $216 million rescue package for CYF over the next four years, and New Directions gives an indication of where the money will go.

The plans include:

* Improving the working conditions and morale of social workers.

* Having better-trained and better-paid social workers.

* Spending $56 million over four years to improve care and protection services.

* Spending $27 million for children with complex needs.

* Creating more residential services.

* Changing the way the department is organised, to make it more integrated.

* Creating an independent external reference group to give the department advice and monitor its performance. Its membership will range from the Commissioner for Children to the Public Service Association.

* Setting up programmes to reduce youth re-offending and the recurrence of harm to children and young people.

* Improving cooperation with communities and encouraging them to take responsibility for ending abuse and neglect.

Social Services Minister Steve Maharey said the main thrust of the "circuit-breaker" plan was long-term change.

"Child, Youth and Family is now working on the detail," he said.

But no matter how well Government agencies performed, adults had to take responsibility for abuse of children.

"As Mick Brown says, care and protection is about adult behaviour," he said.

"The abuse and neglect of children, or tolerating abuse and neglect must be stopped.

"To do that, it's not enough to change the workings of a Government department - we must change adult behaviour."

Judge Brown said yesterday that he was heartened by New Directions, which showed the department had recognised the need for change.

"This programme signals not only an organisational change but a change in their relationship with the community."

Commissioner for Children Roger McClay said the plans had a "sense of theme and direction. Let's get back to the community."

He also applauded plans to tackle social workers' training, qualifications, and pay.

"They have to be the elite of New Zealand. These people are just as important as teachers."

Liz Beddoe, head of the social work programme at Auckland College of Education, said social workers, like teachers, should be given incentive scholarships and more pay to increase the work's appeal and retain staff.

She said most of the 35 trainees whom the college turned out each year were mature, and were deterred by the prospect of incurring a student loan of about $25,000 after four years study against a starting salary of $25,000 to $40,000.

The cost also prevented the 50 per cent of social workers without formal qualifications from improving their training.

CYF was seen as a stressful place to work, and other agencies offered better pay and conditions.

Foster Care Federation chairman Malcolm Yorston was "disappointed" that caregivers would not receive better levels of reimbursement.

Although the average weekly payment for each child ranged between $95 and $100, "it's costing foster parents $50 a week a child over and above what we are getting as reimbursement."

More than 4000 children were in care and that figure increased by 12 per cent annually.

"There are fewer and fewer foster parents and we're having trouble retaining foster parents."

Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, chief executive of the National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges, said it was time to stop talking and start delivering results.

And she said the watchdog body was a waste of time - the department would be better to involve its clients in satisfaction surveys.

As the department wanted to plan longer term, she said, it should give its agencies longer contracts "so they can plan to be successful."