KEY POINTS:
The Children's Commissioner has hired a new staff member to do nothing but deal with complaints about Child, Youth and Family.
At the same time the Government has revealed that any complaints body or system would be within the Ministry of Social Development which has oversight of CYFS rather than being totally separate.
At the social services select committee yesterday, Dr Cindy Kiro said the commission got about 400 inquiries a year about CYFS.
Investigations were not launched for every case. Some contacts were from parents letting off steam or seeking information while others could not be looked at if there was an active police investigation or court case.
Cases that reflected a trend, such as the recent three-month inquiry involving an intellectually disabled parent, were often selected as worthy of investigation because there had been several similar complaints.
"Do I have sufficient resources to do the number of investigations that I would like to do, to process as fully those 400 inquiries and sometimes more? No I don't, I would love to have more," Dr Kiro said.
The organisation would try to do better with its resources and 15 staff.
National MP Judith Collins asked Dr Kiro if she had been briefed by the minister responsible for CYFS, Ruth Dyson, about an independent complaints authority.
Dr Kiro said she had had discussions with the minister and that "there is a need for Child, Youth and Family to develop a robust internal complaints mechanism which doesn't currently exist."
United Future MP Judy Turner said the Children's Commission "don't have any jurisdiction or interest as they pertain to ... people who make notifications. Adults have nowhere to go."
- NZPA
