Turner Judy: General Debate 
Turner Judy: General Debate 
[Volume:620;Page:15675] 
JUDY TURNER (United Future) 
: 
 One of the very best pieces of news that I have received since arriving in Parliament happened for me last week. It occurred when the Hon Ruth Dyson let me know that the Government was prepared to extend the amendments to the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act so that non-governmental organisations could be contracted to do some of the vital work that the Department of Child Youth and Family Services has traditionally had sole responsibility for. This single decision has the potential to contribute to a real reduction in some of New Zealand’s more shameful negative social indicators affecting children and their families. 
EvelineHerfkens speaking at the 57th annual conference of the United Nations Department of Public Information and non-governmental organisations at the UN headquarters in New York said that non-governmental organisations were the prime movers for change in extracting promises from Governments and through their passion and energy provide a voice to the poor. She said: “Don’t let your Government off the hook to be accountable to its own people on how your own resources are being used.” 
Recent New Zealand research indicates that for every dollar provided to a non-governmental organisation voluntary agency between $3 to $5 worth of services are delivered to the community. The project on the value added by voluntary agencies reported that the annual accounts of these organisations did not adequately reflect their full value and what they added to social well-being and to the economy. New Zealand non-governmental organisations are staffed with highly competent transparent and accountable professionals who are well able to provide quality services in a timely and cost-effective manner. The work of non-governmental organisations generally arises in response to specific needs perceived within a community. They have strengths in targeting resources and services where they are most required and first-hand familiarity with the challenges faced by New Zealand families resulting in creative and innovative solutions. 
United Future’s proposal would see the staff of the Department of Child Youth and Family Services continuing to do the vital child protection work that occupies much of their present workload while being relieved of the equally important intervention work when families present with medium to low-risk concerns. At present these needs are either neglected or responded to in an untimely way due to the huge workload the Department of Child Youth and Family Services carries. 
Child protection needs to remain the statutory responsibility of a Government department due to the intrusive nature of that intensive investigative work. However preventive work can be and should be contracted out to the agencies that already have a credible track record in working with families who could do with a bit of extra support during a difficult season in their lives. 
So what should we see start to happen as a result of a differential intake system? Firstly we should see a reduction in the unallocated cases that sit in the in tray at the Department of Child Youth and Family Services. Statistically 99 percent of these cases are at the lower end of the criticality spectrum and because the Department of Child Youth and Family Services rightly prioritises its attention to urgent cases they often get missed out. 
Secondly because Department of Child Youth and Family Services social workers will have more time to devote to quality and to intensive casework the numbers of renotifications to the department should decrease as it is able to give families the level of attention they need. Thirdly and most important over time we should start to see a marked reduction in the number of critical child protection cases requiring statutory interventions. The reason is that if non-governmental organisations can intervene in a timely way early on before a crisis occurs the demand for protection services over time will decrease. We should remember that a larger percentage of high-risk interventions are second and third notifications that with earlier help may never have had to deteriorate to such a serious level of abuse requiring such devastating outcomes. 
While United Future is delighted at this step forward that the Government has agreed to take we continue and will continue to advocate for the full implementation of other aspects of our policy. Ultimately we would like to see the de-stigmatisation of what it means to get help for one’s family and ensure that families have access to the wide range of services available without having to resort to becoming an emergency. 
At United Future’s recent annual conference a party member described his interest in our party by saying that we influence outcomes through positive relationships. This is truly one of those moments.