and reach thousands of daily visitors
Listen to this29 JUNE
Ontario is providing more support for children and youth with autism, including an accelerated implementation of the new Ontario Autism Program. The new program will provide all children, regardless of age, with more flexible services at a level of intensity that meets each child's individual needs, significantly reduce wait times for service, and increase the number of treatment spaces available to serve more children and accommodate the rising prevalence in autism diagnoses.
The government has listened closely to experts, stakeholders, service providers and families since its announcement and consulted widely on the development of the new program. Ontario is putting in place additional supports for children with autism and their families, including:
• A choice of direct funding or if preferred,
immediate and continuous access to Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)
services and supports, for children five and over who were previously on
the Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) waitlist. This funding will
provide access to continuous service until the child is able to enter
the new Ontario Autism Program next year.
• Strengthened in-school
autism supports to help children transition to and continue in full-time
school.
• Increased access to diagnostic assessments to allow for
earlier diagnosis and treatment.
• Greater access to information and
direct supports for families to help them navigate the transition to the
new program.
Implementation of the new Ontario Autism Program was originally slated to begin in 2018, and will now begin in June 2017, effectively reducing the transition period by half.
The 2016 Ontario Budget committed $333 million over five years for Ontario's new autism program. This is in addition to the $190 million that Ontario already invests in autism services for children and youth annually. These enhancements will invest an additional $200 million over the next four years to better support children and youth with autism and their families.
An advisory committee of parents, stakeholders, advocates, service providers and experts will begin meeting this summer to provide advice to the ministry on the design of the new program.
Families affected by these changes, or who have questions about the new Ontario Autism Program, can call 1-888-284-8340 for information, or contact their regional office or service provider.
28 June 2016
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27 JUNE
A council has launched a tendering process to find an organisation to run its entire youth service, including eight youth centres.
The council will commission an organisation to deliver youth services on its behalf.
The move by Devon County Council comes following a decision in October last year to hand over the service to an independent organisation such as an employee-led mutual.
The successful bidder, which would begin on an initial three-year term from 1 February next year, would be expected to continue the broad range of early help and support services for children and young people, and their families, currently offered by the in-house youth service at the council. This includes an open-access youth service at the eight youth centres, targeted work for vulnerable young people and advice, guidance and support to voluntary and community groups that work with young people.
The successful bidder will also be required to provide alternative provision that secondary schools can purchase on behalf of pupils with additional needs as well as offer Duke of Edinburgh's Award programmes. The tender process runs until midday on 25 July.
Barry Parsons, Devon County Council’s lead member for youth services said the move is designed to protect the service from further budget reductions. The £3.8m annual youth services budget was cut by £970,000 in 2014, leading to the closure of 32 facilities, and loss of 60 jobs.
“Young people have told us how much they value youth services, as do we, and that’s why we want to safeguard their future, working together to achieve a vibrant service that meets their needs,” he said. “However, government funding will continue to fall, and while the service remains part of the council and subject to financial constraints, its future viability is in question.
“The council will retain responsibility for the service, commissioning the new organisation to deliver it on the council’s behalf.
“We are confident that this is the best way to protect the service’s
future for young people, while trying to ensure that the staff, who are
already known within their communities, continue to provide the
service.”
Adam Offord
23 June 2016
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24 JUNE
Dr Katherine Zappone T.D, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, has today announced details of the 28 community based youth services that are to benefit under the new Youth Employability Initiative.
The €600,000 initiative, funded under the Dormant Accounts Fund, will provide grants to voluntary youth services for programmes that target disadvantaged young people to improve their employability. Over 380,000 young people participate in youth services, programmes and clubs throughout the country. Young people who engage in youth work activities have the opportunity to attain specific skills which can enhance employability. These skills include learning to learn, social and civic competence, leadership, communication, teamwork, and entrepreneurship. These are the ‘soft skills’ that are relevant and applicable to industry and valued and sought after by employers. The new Youth Employability Initiative targets those young people who are most at risk of unemployment and who are not in education, employment or training. It provides programmes for them to enhance these skills.
Over 1000 young people aged 15-24 from across the country will participate in the 28 projects announced today. While each project is different they can be broadly grouped into 4 categories.
• Social enterprise – These are projects which focus on developing enterprise skills and competencies in young people. For example Rialto Youth Project in Dublin 8 will target 10 young people from the Rialto, Inchicore and Bluebell area to design and develop sustainable social enterprises by providing a dynamic and positive space for participants to develop their ideas and visions for themselves and their communities.
• Pre-training– These projects aim to provide tailored programmes to young people in need of additional support including young offenders, young people with addiction issues, young Travellers and young people with disabilities. The aim is to support these young people to access training programmes available in their areas. Once such programme will be delivered by Tipperary Regional Youth Service.
• Career guidance projects – These are projects which provide ‘wrap around’ tailored career guidance support including programmes that help young people to identify and address barriers to their progression. The Candle Community Trust in Ballyfermot will establish a Jobs Club two days per week and target the 186 young people they currently work with from the area for this type of additional support.
• Helping young people to get qualifications– These are projects which aim to support young people to gain accreditation including sports related accreditation. For instance, YMCA in Aungier Street will work with long term unemployed young people in a sports leadership programme that will see participants gain accreditation in a range of adventure sports areas including kayaking and mountain skills.
Announcing the funding Dr Katherine Zappone T.D., Minister for Children and Youth Affairs said ‘I am very pleased to announce this initiative today which is a key commitment for my Department in the Programme for Government and also makes a contribution towards the Government Action Plan on Jobs’.
The Minister also said that while all 28 youth services have
experience in working with difficult to engage young people, this is a
new type of work for both the youth projects and her Department. The
Department will set up a Forum with the successful projects to provide a
community of learning to share experiences and knowledge and to gather
and share the lessons from this initiative to inform future policy in
this area. The Initiative will be also be evaluated.
http://www.dcya.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=3806
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22 JUNE
“When I walk down the street I see families walking along, laughing, happy, and it is hard knowing that I don’t have a family like that”. – Child in non-kin fostercare.
Moving to a more child-centred culture within Child, Youth and Family can and must start now if we want to see better outcomes for children currently in care and build a strong platform for the reforms to come, says Children’s Commissioner Dr Russell Wills.
This is a key theme of his Office’s second annual public report on the service Child, Youth and Family provides to our most vulnerable children.
The State of Care 2016 report is a summary of findings and recommendations from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s independent monitoring of Child, Youth and Family.
The report suggests that while the up-coming reforms of the care and protection and youth justice systems have great potential, the children currently in the system need to receive more child-centred services right now. It also suggests there is a risk that children will be impacted by a drop in organisational performance during the transition.
“I’m critically aware that with such major change comes risk. Reforms are known to cause a dip in performance – but we are talking about kids’ lives here – not profit margins. There needs to be a plan to ensure they are not negatively impacted during this transition phase,” says Dr Wills.
“The system is about to be turned on its head and I am very optimistic these reforms will lead to better lives for our most vulnerable children. But there are some areas where changes could happen right now – changes that could also ensure the new agency is in a good position to work in a child-centred way when it’s up and running. Most of the workforce now will be the staff of the future agency. So it’s important that the culture of the organisation is addressed as soon as possible.
“You would think that an organisation like Child, Youth and Family would already have children at the heart of what they do. But in our experience, while the organisation has many good people working very hard and already has a child-centred vision, they need to be better supported to be consistently child-centred in practice. A great start would be to develop a clear statement on what being child-centred means and how staff at all levels can make it happen.
“’Child-centred’ is a widely used, but often misunderstood term. Key to being child-centred is asking a child what they need, explaining what is happening to them and working with them on a plan. It means prioritising their needs over paperwork or other demands. Of course, a child’s needs must be assessed in the context of their family and whanau and after using professional judgement. But above all, being child-centred is about genuinely listening to the child.
“We are constantly blown away by the wisdom and insightfulness of the children we visit in our monitoring of Child, Youth and Family. These kids have been through so much and are very clear about what they need. We all need to listen to children far more.
“Children have some clear messages. They want to feel like they belong to their culture and their family and whanau, they want to be involved in decisions about their lives and they want social workers to respect them and treat them well.
“These are simple requests. The direction of the reforms, with their focus on child-centredness, suggest that children in the future will be more likely to have these needs met.
“The success of these reforms however, depends on building a good platform now. That way staff can not only provide a better service for those children in the system right now, but also be in a good position to work in child-centred ways when the new system is up and running.” says Dr Wills.
The State of Care 2016 report has three major recommendations:
• Recommendation 1: Plan to reduce the risk to children and young
people of a dip in performance during the transition period
•
Recommendation 2: Develop a clear understanding of child-centred
practice in the particular cultural and organisational context of the
New Zealand care and protection and youth justice systems.
•
Recommendation 3: Empower and support staff now to strengthen their
child-centred practice
The report is available on-line at www.occ.org.nz/state-of-care
20 June 2016
Press Release: Office of the Children's Commissioner
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20 JUNE
I am pleased to hear about the Integrated Youth Services Initiative announced today by the provincial government. These proposals are long overdue and have the potential to make a positive impact on youth in crisis.
However, our fundamental goal should be preventing those crisis situations from occurring by improving foster care and addressing root causes of why young people end up coming into government care.
After years of austerity measures in British Columbia, young people in crisis now have challenges navigating health care services. Making those services more accessible for these young people is a good step, but having people in their lives to make sure they make it to their appointments and follow recommended treatment – in other words, real, lasting relationships – is what so many youth say they require.
The importance of an Aboriginal, trauma-informed healing approach cannot be an afterthought, either, and I would urge the government to work with the First Nations Health Authority to ensure these services are meaningful for Aboriginal youth who are homeless and street-involved and whose families continue to be the most marginalized in BC.
Today’s announcement is encouraging, but services will not be offered until next year and are limited to a few locations. Accessible hubs of care could be valuable and I hope one day we can move beyond planning phase into services for youth.
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond
B.C. Representative for Children and
Youth
17 June 2016
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17 JUNE
The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) announces the world's first 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (5-17 years) released today in the 2016 ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep are the first evidence-based guidelines to address the whole day. The academic papers that explain the novel approach to the new guidelines are available today in a special supplementary issue of CSEP's official journal, Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism (APNM) published by Canadian Science Publishing.
Research strongly shows the need for a new movement paradigm that emphasizes the integration of all movement behaviours occurring over a whole day, shifting the focus from the individual components to emphasize the whole (all physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep).
"Given the current inactivity and obesity epidemics, a new approach that can have a greater impact over current approaches is desperately needed," says CSEP board chair, Dr. Philip Chilibeck. "It is time that we adopt a broader, more integrated, and inclusive strategy to better address current public health crises. CSEP is providing parents, caregivers, teachers and health professionals with new guidance for the whole 24-hour period to help Canadian children and youth to grow up healthy."
The new Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth encourage children and youth to "Sweat, Step, Sleep and Sit" – a healthy 24 hours includes: 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity; several hours of a variety of structured and unstructured light physical activities; uninterrupted 9 to 11 hours of sleep for those aged 5-13 years and 8 to 10 hours per night for those aged 14-17 years; and no more than 2 hours per day of recreational screen time.
The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines were developed by the Healthy Active Living and Obesity Group (HALO) of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Research Institute, the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), ParticipACTION, The Conference Board of Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada and a group of leading researchers from around the world, with the input of over 700 national and international stakeholders.
"Ninety-four percent of stakeholders agree with the new 24-hour approach to guidelines," noted Dr. Mark Tremblay, Guidelines Development committee chair, "this research is important because it challenges the current fragmented conceptualization of the various movement behaviours as separate units, whereas research shows that the whole day matters."
16 June 2016
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-06/csp-can061616.php
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15 JUNE
AUSTRALIA
The Andrews Labor Government is supporting children in out-of-home care to get the best out of their education with the launch of the new LOOKOUT Education Support Centre. Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos announced the service at the LOOKOUT and Navigator Summit at Footscray Art Centre today.
The LOOKOUT Centre will be staffed by education and allied health professionals who will work collaboratively with schools, carers, child protection and community service organisations. Together, they will provide advice, support and training to prioritise the educational needs of students in out-of-home care, ensuring schools are inclusive of our most vulnerable students.
LOOKOUT Education Support Centres are being established across Victoria to help more than 6000 school-aged children and young people in out-of-home care complete their education. The first LOOKOUT Centre will provide support services across Victoria’s south west, with three other centres expected to open next year to ensure young Victorians in out-of-home care across the state will be supported.
The Labor Government also recently announced that the $8.6 million Navigator scheme will be piloted in eight areas across the state, to support disengaged teenagers to return to school.
Together, these programs work towards meeting our key Education State targets of breaking the link between disadvantage and education, and reducing student disengagement.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos:
“We need to make sure children in out-of-home care have the support needed to get the most out of their education – LOOKOUT is another example of how we are getting on with that.”
“Our Roadmap to Reform is ensuring there is more support for vulnerable families and children. LOOKOUT Centres will provide a crucial new approach to keep children and young people in out-of-home care engaged in education.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino:
“We are building the Education State because we want every Victorian student to have a great education, no matter what their background, and services like LOOKOUT are critical for this.”
“LOOKOUT provides a unique service to support some of our most vulnerable students so they get the education opportunities they deserve.”
14 June 2016
http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-service-to-help-at-risk-kids-excel-in-school/
Bulletin identifies challenges facing youth 21 years into new democracy
Youth Matters, a bulletin published by the Poverty and Inequality Initiative (PII) and the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town (UCT), unravels the challenges and possibilities young people face in South Africa today.
This comes as Youth Day this year marks the 40th anniversary of the
Soweto uprisings, when young people stood up against unequal education
and, eventually, the whole apartheid system.
Twenty-one years into
the new democracy, a team of UCT researchers and young people has
produced the Youth Matters bulletin to identify the challenges facing
youth today and what kind of support they need from government, business
and civil society in order to access opportunities.
SA youth are often portrayed in a not-so-positive light, or as trapped in a cycle of poverty; “a ticking time bomb” even, that could well form a threat to this country’s stability.
In the bulletin, young people expressed their hope in a shared future and made it clear that the task in front of us is not only one for government, but for all of us as these extracts from the Youth Matters bulletin show:
“We are grateful for all the people who make a difference in our lives: the teachers who go the extra mile; the parents, who even despite their lack of education, are involved in our education; the government who protects us and builds facilities for us; the businesses who reach out to us; and the volunteers who mentor and support us. But we are still far from realising our dreams. We reach out to you to help us fulfil this generation’s true destiny. We are not a lost generation. We are people with huge potential and great hopes.”
The 2015 Child Gauge presents evidence on the state of young people in the country. Data from the Child Gauge shows that the majority of young people continue to live in poverty when measured as average household income, but also by various other dimensions of poverty, many interconnected. Income, for instance, impacts (still) on the kind of education one can access; which in turn influences skills levels and employment opportunities. Income also impacts on the kind of housing one can access, which has an effect on health, stress levels, and so on. These may seem as endless barriers to a less deprived life, but the 2015 Child Gauge argues that, with a concerted effort, it is possible to think about interventions that could help break the cycle of poverty.
Several “structural” interventions are possible, such as the extension of the social grant system, or ways to improve teaching and learning to prevent drop-outs, or to connect more young people to employment opportunities. But change also depends on young people themselves, their agency and resilience.
Youth do not simply “undergo” their context, they also act upon that context. They have dreams and aspirations that need to be supported and taken into account when designing interventions. In 2015, as part of the broader Child Gauge project, a group of inspiring young people held a series of discussions with other young South Africans in their communities, and then worked with a team of research experts to draw on data from the South African Child Gauge 2015 and to present their own message to South Africa.
7 June 2016
http://www.uct.ac.za/usr/press/2016/2016-06-07_CIPII.pdf
Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says more than $1.9 million has been paid to support 1725 children and young people in care through the Extraordinary Care Fund.
The fund, which was set up as part of the Children’s Action Plan, provides financial assistance when children and young people in care are experiencing difficulties that are impacting on their development, or when they are showing promise in a chosen field.
“Five funding rounds have been held since the Extraordinary Care Fund was established in 2014 with more than 70 per cent of successful applications supporting children who face challenges,” Mrs Tolley says. “Grants could cover additional tutoring costs, or courses to improve their ability to learn, as well as orthodontic work or counselling not covered by other agencies.
“Those showing promise were funded to attend national and regional sports tournaments or received grants for private music or dance lessons where they were assessed as progressing above their peers.”
Children can receive one grant per financial year up to $2,000. Applications are assessed by a panel comprising of representatives from Fostering Kids NZ, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, X Factor Education and MSD staff.
“These grants can make a significant difference for children and young people growing up in care. They deserve every opportunity to heal, grow and succeed and this is one way we can support them and their caregiver families to do that,” Mrs Tolley says.
Applications for the next funding round are open until 24 June 2016. More information can be found at http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/extraordinary-care-fund.html
9 June 2016
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1606/S00093/19-million-in-support-for-young-people-in-care.htm
BYC chief executive James Cathcart is to leave the organisation by
the end of the year, it has been announced.
Cathcart, who joined
BYC in 2008, said it was the right time to step down but hopes to find
another role to continue his 30-year career in the youth work sector.
“I’ve worked for BYC for eight years and thought a lot about the timing of this move,” he said. “I’m considering a number of options and opportunities, but hope to continue to be an advocate of youth voice in my next role.”
In a letter to council members, Jon Foster, BYC chair, said: “James has worked tirelessly to grow our organisation and championed our youth-led principles and practice with passion and determination. In an increasingly difficult time for youth charities, James has led us diligently ensuring we continue to campaign, empower and inspire young voices when they have most needed to be heard. While we are extremely sad to lose him, we wholeheartedly wish him the best in his future endeavours.”
Under Cathcart's tenure, BYC has campaigned on lowering the voting age to 16; the need for a dedicated youth minister; a return to pre-2010 funding levels for youth services; and better mental health for young people. The BYC’s UK Youth Parliament was also granted access to the House of Commons for its annual debate until 2020 by MPs.
However, Cathcart said there is still a lot to do before he steps down including youth select committee evidence sessions on racism and religious discrimination; promoting the Make Your Mark campaign; hosting the annual sitting of the UK Youth Parliament in York; and the planning of the BYC’s annual council meeting to renew their manifesto and board.
He added: “Our society needs to embrace and engage the skills, talent and idealism of youth, if it is to benefit from undoubted added-value that the next generation want to contribute.”
Details about the recruitment process for a new chief executive will be posted on the BYC website shortly.
“The successful candidate will need to be committed to working to a youth-led board and putting our members at the heart of what we do,” Foster added. “They will be a hands-on leader, getting to know and supporting young representatives in our national projects and the board, and allowing space for their public voice to be heard.”
Adam Offord
6 June 2016
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/1157625/byc-chief-to-step-down
Children and youth are often the most vulnerable victims of the scourge of radicalization and violence, the President of the United Nations General Assembly emphasized today, urging the international community to advance its own thinking and refine its responses to addressing the challenges of violent extremism.
“This is a subject that, in many ways, I wish we did not have to discuss,” said Mogens Lykketoft, President of the UN General Assembly, at the opening of a High-level Thematic Conversation on Children and Youth affected by Violent xtremism, noting that he, like many participants, have children and grandchildren of his own.
“And it is frightening to think that at a given moment, our youngest people could have their lives, hopes and futures so deeply affected by violent extremism,” he added.
The event, being held today at UN Headquarters in New York, includes four panel discussions addressing the versatile nature of threats of violent extremism to children and youth, as well as examining ways to strengthen prevention efforts and reinforce existing strategies to counter violent extremism with a specific focus on children and youth.
Mr. Lykketoft said it was worth remembering that many children and young people are themselves the targets and victims of violent extremist acts, including in recent years in Norway, Nigeria, Pakistan and beyond.
“Regrettably, however, millions of other children and young people are also vulnerable to radicalization and to becoming violent extremists themselves, whether in Copenhagen or Cairo, in South Carolina or Syria,” he said.
He noted that the event was therefore an important opportunity for the General Assembly to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the subject, particularly in light of the Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism and as the international community embarked on the 10-year review of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
“It is an opportunity for Member States and the UN system to advance their own thinking on how best to tackle these challenges; to understand what it is that leaves children and young people so vulnerable to radicalization,” Mr. Lykketoft said.
“There is a great deal at stake and I believe we all have a great deal to learn,” he added.
3 June 2016
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54133#.V1U8zZVf2Uk
UK
The quango in charge of youth justice is intent on bidding for cash from the Department for Education’s social care innovation fund, it has emerged.
The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has called on organisations in the sector to partner up with it to apply for the funding, which is worth a total of £200m for the period up to 2020.“We are keen to support partners (including local authority, third sector or private sector) who are making innovative proposals that will improve delivery in youth justice and for which the YJB will be able to add value,” the YJB's monthly bulletin states.“We are particularly able to add value in one of the key characteristics required for successful bids – dissemination of effective practice.”The two policy areas for the 2016 to 2018 phase of the social care innovation fund are "rethinking children’s social care", and "rethinking transitions to adulthood for young people in the social care system".The YJB adds that areas in which it may also be able to add value include quality assurance, providing data to assess impact, sharing knowledge of what may be effective in working with children and young people, signposting other similar projects, providing data to help build the business case, and endorsing proposals.The call from the YJB comes after recent news of cuts for youth offending teams (YOTs). Last month the YJB confirmed that the annual grant it provides to YOTs has been reduced by 12 per cent for 2016/17, from £76.1m to £67m, a total cut of £9.1m.
Last month a review of the justice system in relation to children in care, established by the Prison Reform Trust and conducted by Lord Laming, calculated that around half of the children currently in custody in England and Wales have been in care at some point.Projects previously funded through the innovation programme have included the tri-borough councils of Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster, which received £4m to “completely redesign” the delivery of children’s social care. Meanwhile, the Hackney-based Pause Project, which helps women who have had successive children taken into care, was given £3m to expand the programme to other authorities.
1 June 2016
80 community members who attended the Whangarei CPAG post budget lunch today left disappointed and angry at the lack of solutions to child poverty provided by the Government in the 2016 Budget.
People came to find out how the 2016 Budget would address the hardships they see daily faced by children, young people and families. People were aghast at the Government’s inaction in the face of the poverty crisis.
“This budget does nothing meaningful for children living in cars or sleeping in garages – my fear is that emergency housing will become normalised. We need good quality affordable homes for families on low incomes – this budget does nothing to deliver that,” says Adrian Whale, Whangarei CPAG member and chair of Tai Tokerau Emergency Housing Charitable Trust.
“We’ve begun to tolerate poverty in a way we’ve never done before, poverty has fallen off the agenda of this Government and fallen completely off the agenda in this Budget. It is clear that the Government has no coherent strategy for eliminating or even reducing child poverty,” says Ngaire Rae, Whangarei CPAG spokesperson.
The government has underinvested in social services for years and the line of investment they’ve undertaken will mean in another five years the level of child poverty will be catastrophic.
We need to see an increase in benefit levels for families on low incomes, increased social housing availability, and the inadequacies of the Working For Families package fixed. “Income matters and until incomes are increased for our poorest families we will not see any real change,” said Ngaire Rae.
The gathering heard about health and housing by Nevil Pierse, from He Kainga Oranga, Wellington School of Medicine, Mike O’Brien from CPAG who gave an analysis of the Budget. This was followed by a discussion on the issues faced by low income families in Whangarei.
Nevil Pierse described the Budget as “tragically disappointing” considering what is known about the impact of poor housing on our children’s health. He presented research which linked cold, damp, overcrowded, mouldy housing to 300 child deaths over the last 14 years. “While some people are making a killing on the housing market, our children are being killed by poor housing” said Adrian Whale.
Whangarei CPAG stated clearly that the Government’s acceptance of child poverty is intolerable and we will continue to demand a clear commitment from decision makers to take meaningful action to improve the lives of families in need.
30 May 2016
Whangarei Child Poverty Action Group
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1605/S00920/disappointing-budget-fails-children-again.htm
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