Whole-of-family focus will help address child neglect in NZ

MONDAY 6 DECEMBER 2010

Whole-of-family focus will help address child neglect in New Zealand - Families Commission

Dealing with the whole family, not just the problems of individuals within a family, will go a long way toward preventing and redressing child neglect in New Zealand says Families Commissioner Christine Rankin.

Ms Rankin says the Families Commission welcomes and strongly supports the recommendations contained within a report on child neglect released by the Commissioner for Children today.

“The Children’s Commissioner’s report ‘Preventing child neglect in New Zealand’ highlights just how pervasive, harmful, yet often invisible, child neglect is in New Zealand,” Ms Rankin says. “The impact on children and society can be serious and long-lasting.

“Families Commission’s research supports the Children’s Commissioner’s findings. Our report ‘Healthy Families Young Minds and Developing Brains’ shows that experience of sustained neglect, especially in their early years, has a direct impact on the way a child’s brain physically develops. This can lead to a failure to pick up basic language and social skills, can severely impact their education and employment prospects, and can lead to mental illness, violence, criminal behaviour and alcohol and drug abuse.”

Ms Rankin says the Commission especially supports the recommendations by the Children’s Commissioner for improved systems for sharing information across agencies; and for improved training so service, health, education and enforcement agencies can better recognise and deal with child neglect.

“We would add to that a recommendation that agencies develop a whole-of-family focus. Often our helping services are focussed on particular challenges for individuals, such as alcohol and drug abuse, poor mental health, problem debt, and so on. Our research shows that when agencies take a wider whole-of-family view, it not only helps them deal more effectively with the problems faced by individuals within that family, it can reveal other harm that is occurring – such as child neglect - and allow it to be dealt with earlier, and more effectively.”

ENDS

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