UNICEF NZ (UN Children’s Fund)
Media Release
7 April 2016
UNICEF NZ welcomes child-centred CYFs Review

The long-awaited Expert Panel Final Report ‘Investing in New Zealand’s Children and their Families’ contains important child-centred initiatives aimed at improving the safety and long-term wellbeing of children.

The report acknowledges the need to prevent children from becoming vulnerable by supporting birth families to be able to parent effectively and intervening early when children are vulnerable.

UNICEF NZ considers that genuine efforts to prevent vulnerability will ensure that all families have adequate incomes, housing, community support, access to services, and all of the resources they need to nurture their babies and children.

Among the most important new initiatives announced today are the provision of independent advocacy services for children in care, raising the age at which children transition out of care, requiring stable care and providing better support to foster parents, ensuring a single point of accountability, and investing in the services and supports needed so that children can recover from trauma.

UNICEF NZ National Advocacy Manager, Deborah Morris-Travers, said, “The care and protection system has been struggling to adequately meet the needs of children for years, resulting in many of the children in care having their rights to health, education and protection breached.

"While there is still some detail to come, the recommendations in the report hold the promise of a system that will maintain a focus on the needs of each child and provide what they need in a timely manner. This is likely to require significant additional investment by the Government and communities; investment that should be made in the best interests of children and to uphold their rights.

“The CYFs Review is perhaps the most comprehensive example of Government actively seeking to hear diverse voices, including those of children, and shape systems that respond to what children have said. We hope that every step in the implementation of the new system will honour those voices and deliver what it is that children have asked for: to be involved in plans and strategies.

"This report comes at a time when the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is examining New Zealand so we expect the Committee will welcome the measures in the CYFS Review, in particular moves to raise the age for care to 18 and provide support with transition out of care up to age 25.

"It is critical that funding will now follow children to ensure that their individual needs are met, but this model will also require Government to consider how it builds resilient communities and civil society with organisations that are agile, well-resourced and equipped to support families and children more broadly.

“While there is a significant amount of work required to give full effect to the recommendations in this report and some of the devil will be in the detail, UNICEF welcomes the final report as an important step towards a child-centered care and protection system. We look forward to seeing it implemented in partnership with children, families/ whanau and communities over the next few years,” concluded Ms Morris-Travers.

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