CPAG's new report launch: "Barriers to Support"

Invitation: CPAG's new report launch: "Barriers to Support"

Source: Child Poverty Action Group

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A welfare system that is hard to negotiate for those in need is a welfare system that is fundamentally flawed. Findings of a recent study by Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and associates show that more advocacy is needed at the coalface for those in need of financial support, especially for families with children who have disabilities and chronic illness.

Barriers to support: Uptake of the Child Disability Allowance in Otara is a new report being released by CPAG on Monday 21 November, and is co-authored by CPAG’s co-convenor Alan Johnson and researcher Jessica Suri of Otara Health. The launch will be held at 11:30am at the Otara Music Arts Centre, Corner Newbury Street and Bairds Road, Otara Town Centre.

The report follows on from the 2015 CPAG report It shouldn't be this hard: children, poverty and disability which highlighted that the Child Disability Allowance (CDA) is under-paid and difficult to access for some families in need. Barriers to support reports findings from a survey of more than 1000 households in the south Auckland suburb of Otara, and was undertaken by a partnership of CPAG, Disability Connect and Otara Health Charitable Trust. The survey looked at the extent of children with disabilities or chronic illness in Otara households and whether or not these households were gaining their CDA entitlements.

CPAG’s last report showed that more than 11,000 children in New Zealand were missing out on the CDA because of Government policies tightening criteria and because the allowance was largely unpublicised. From the sample recently surveyed CPAG further highlighted the systemic barriers to support which are persistent and troubling aspects of our welfare policy, that must be removed.

The Barriers to support report includes an overview of and analysis of Ministry of Social Development (MSD) payment rates of the CDA across Auckland and New Zealand, and the levels of access to the allowance being offered to Otara families with disabled or ill children.

An additional aim of this project was to assist Otara families with disabled children who are not receiving their CDA entitlements to gain these payments.

Speakers at the launch include CPAG’s Alan Johnson, co-author Jessica Suri, John Coffey, general manager of Otara Health and Lisa Martin, president and CEO of Disability Connect.

CPAG welcomes all interested to attend the launch of Barriers to support: Uptake of the Child Disability Allowance in Otara.

For more information visit the event page or click here to register.

ENDS

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