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Tauranga.

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Thank you for inviting me here today.  It's a great pleasure to share time with a group of special people who make a wonderful difference to the lives of many of our more vulnerable children.  New Zealand would be a poorer place without your caring and commitment.

Before I begin to talk I would like to acknowledge the tremendous work done by this organisation and Gaylene Lawrence in particular.  Every organisation needs an Executive Officer who is hard working, committed and passionate. 

The New Zealand Family and Foster Care Federation is a strong and capable advocate for foster parents and caregivers in New Zealand, and the Federation is a powerful support network that provides information, advice and support services to all those who foster children and young people in this country.

The theme of your conference is "Heal, Learn, Thrive".  Together, we have been looking for ways to continually improve the outcomes for the children and young people we are involved with. The support that government provide to support you is crucial to achieving this and I would like to talk to you about some of these things:

•  Ensuring children are in stable care arrangements
•  Support to caregivers
•  Improving the way government agencies work together
•  Professionalisation of the caregiving sector
•  Amendment to CYPFA

Ensuring children are in stable care arrangements

Where ever possible, we want to ensure that children are in stable and permanent care arrangements. 

When children are in care, the main priority is to return them home, but if that is not possible then the goals are placement within their family, placement with non family caregivers or assistance for them to transition into independence.  We aim to reduce the time children spend in care, to reduce multiple placements for them.

Developing an appropriate permanency plan for a child takes time.   The social workers work with caregivers, the child depending on their age, their parents and wider family, Counsel for Child and the Court to develop the most appropriate plan.

Planning for permanency will look at the specific needs and supports for the child and their new family.  Often there will be links to specific health and/or education services, therapeutic supports such as counselling services and financial support from Work and Income.

The permanent care arrangement can be supported through Court orders in favour of the caregivers, and often supplemented by a support orders giving practical and financial assistance from Child, Youth and Family. 

We want to ensure that the caregivers for the children and young people are supported and recognised for the valuable service they provide. 

Financial Support to caregivers (UCB and Orphans Benefit)

We appreciate the family members and non kin caregivers who take full responsibility for children who need to be in alternative care arrangements.

Previously some caregivers had raised concerns about the discrepancies between the foster care rates paid by CYF and the UCB rate.

In May this year I announced that a $24.6 million increase in funding to allow the Unsupported Child's Benefit and Orphan's Benefit (UCB/OB) rates to be raised to match the Foster Care Allowance weekly rates from 1 April 2009. 

This is an investment in UCB/OB children and recognises the valuable role of caregivers of children who cannot be with their parents and means that all alternative care givers will now receive the same rate of payment

This will benefit around 7,000 caregivers who care for 10,000 children. 

Improving the way Government agencies work together

We recognise that children and young people in care are a particularly vulnerable group.  Such children often have multiple and complex needs that require action by more than one agency to address.

Work is underway to improve collaboration so that children and young people receive timely and co-ordinated health, education and social services.

• Child, Youth and Family in conjunction with Ministries of Health and Education have developed a holistic health and education assessment and a services planning framework for children and young people in care.
• Aim is to enhance the educational, physical, mental and social well-being of children and young people in care; inform and enhance care planning; and promote health and education needs
• Framework now being trialled in number of DHBs and Child, Youth and Family sites and we are working towards national implementation in July 2009.  

Professionalisation of the caregiver workforce

There is a need for a diverse range of options within foster care - from families voluntarily looking after children, to individuals acting as caregivers for Child, Youth and Family and other agencies, through to more professional and specialist care for those children and young people with the highest needs.

CYF continues to strengthen caregiver training through a renewed induction training programme for all non family foster carers. 

CYF also supports caregivers to attain NZQA qualifications (National Certificate and National Diploma in Whanau/Family and Foster Care).

Professionalisation of caregivers is something that needs ongoing analysis and discussion, and is an area that Child, Youth and Family is looking at.

The Ministry has ongoing dialogue with NZFFCF, who are actively promoting professional care, and is exploring models of professional care in operation overseas.

One example in NZ is the specialist care services provided by NGOs under the Youth Services Strategy which contains elements of a professional model where foster carers are paid and trained to be part of a treatment team.

You will hear more about the NZFFCF ideas when Gaylene Lawrence reports on her trip to Canada where she looked at various models of professional caregiving.

The Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Amendment Bill (No 6)

The Bill includes amendments to:

• Improve collaboration between practitioners and between service providers
  • widen the range of responses that can be made to care and protection notifications
  • authorise government and non-government organisations to share information about the safety, welfare and well being of children and young people when action is being considered or is needed.
• Increase the upper age covered by the care and protection and youth justice systems by one year, if granted by the Family Court, to include 17-year-olds.  It should be noted that the Act already enables guardianship orders to endure until the young person turns 20.
• Improve support for young people leaving the care of the State and moving towards independence
  • New duties on the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development and others in respect of young people who are in care or have been in care to assist them to become independent, until the person reaches the age of 25 years.
  • Advice and assistance includes the provision of information, assistance to obtain accommodation, enrol in education or training, or obtain employment, financial or legal advice, counselling, and in exceptional circumstances, financial assistance towards living expenses while the person is in education or training, or towards education or training expenses.
  • require the Chief Executive to improve the process for responding to complaints, which Child, Youth and Family are currently implementing.

This government has had a huge programme of work since 1999 to strengthen the social services and social assistance sectors in New Zealand.  We are proud of what we have achieved but much work remains to be done.

Over the next two days your conference will no doubt identify some issues relating to that work.  We will listen to what you have to say.

The programme shows that you will be taking part in a wonderful range of workshops and other activities. 

Again I wish to thank you for the tremendous work done by your organisation and each of your caregivers. 

Enjoy your conference.

 

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