More financial support is needed for caregivers of vulnerable children to do their job properly, says Children's Commissioner Russell Wills.

Children's Commissioner Russell Wills has done the Government a huge favour with his State of Care report this week, whether he intended to or not.

The shortcomings at Child, Youth and Family reflect an agency that hasn't coped with a significant switch in societal attitudes to child abuse.

A damning report on Child, Youth and Family says 117 New Zealand children were abused in care last year - and some have had up to 60 placements.

A staffer working for Child, Youth and Family started a sexual relationship with a boy in the teen unit where she worked.

A former CYF social worker has admitted in court to shortcomings from her and the department resulted in a "vulnerable" teenager being returned to the home where he claims he was physically abused.

A Gisborne teenager told police he had been abused for years by his CYF-appointed caregiver, who was so cruel she knocked out his teeth with a knife-sharpening steel.

Frustrated foster parents have to get permission every time their foster child needs major medical treatment, changes schools or the family move.

More than 860 victims who were abused while in state care have been given the option of a fast-track settlement.

The deaths of vulnerable people who are in state care or custody could have less independent scrutiny if proposed law changes go ahead.

A Northland teacher convicted of sexually abusing two girls and physically abusing six children placed in his care by Child Youth and Family has had an appeal against his conviction dismissed.

The Government has announced it wants Child Youth and Family completely overhauled and modernised and has asked Paula Rebstock to lead the work.

Doctors are developing protocols to refer obese children to child protection services if their parents ignore medical advice to help their children lose weight.

A High Court child-abuse trial was aborted when it was revealed Child, Youth and Family had failed to hand over 300 pages of documents to the police investigation.

The majority of children admitted to the Starship hospital as the result of suspected abuse or neglect are under 1 year old.

A Hastings woman has been referred to Child, Youth and Family after leaving her 6-month-old baby on the floor of a Hastings KFC restaurant yesterday.

An 11-year-old who was behind the wheel of a car being driven erratically and at speeds up to 120km/h has been spoken to by police.

Giving young people a chance and encouraging them to do the best they can in life is what Auckland couple Rob and Zee Luisi are all about.

A mum jailed today for almost three years for raising two kids in a clandestine P lab was blasted by a judge as being an "abysmal failure" as a mother.

CYF is investigating a video in which a boy, 6, is seen sculling from a Heineken bottle as part of a Neknominate dare.

Increasing numbers of children have been physically and emotionally abused in the past few years - starkly contradicting welfare officials' claims.

The United Nations children's fund Unicef says children should have a say when they are adopted and when their parents separate.

NZ's child abuse rates are higher than anyone ever realised, officials admit, after bureaucrats bungled the numbers for more than two years.

A CYF caregiver has been humiliated after the organisation wrongly suggested she was being investigated for abuse of a child in her care.

A man who burnt his 5-year-old son's face with a fan heater because the youngster accidentally scorched the carpet has been jailed for almost seven years.

A coroner has slammed police's attempts to locate a troubled teenager who ran away from foster care before being killed in a car crash.