`FAMILIES APART REQUIRE EQUALITY (FARE)

19 Hornsey Road, Melrose Wellington, New Zealand; Tel 04 389 4222

Fax 04 934 4080 Mobile 025 439 461, E-Mail aasbt@attglobal.net

13 June 2001

PRESS RELEASE

WELFARE AGENCY PLAN POINTLESS

"The grandiose sounding new plan for the Department of Child, Youth and Family is a pointless waste of time and money that will do little to stop child abuse", FARE spokesperson Darryl Ward said today.

"It is a window dressing exercise that will never solve the main causes of child abuse because officials refuse to see the wood because of the trees". He was commenting on the New Directions plan to restructure the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services announced today.

"The only way that we can reduce our horrific child abuse statistics is to change our appallingly destructive family law structure. Children are many times more likely to be killed in households where the caregivers are not their two birth parents. Yet social workers continue splitting up families for the supposed purpose of reducing abuse of children when it is obviously not working."

"It is well known that children who are denied a meaningful relationship with both of their parents are many more times likely to be the victims of child abuse, as well as commit suicide, become involved with drugs and crime, have teenage pregnancies or go on to behave abusively themselves".

"If the Department was genuine about solving the terrible plight of our more unfortunate children, it would take realistic steps to protect children instead of being more concerned with building its own empire", concluded Ward.

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