The Green Paper for Vulnerable Children - Ministry of Social ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Information-sharingSeveral questions around who should share what information and under what circumstanceswere asked in the Green Paper.What information should professionals be able, or required, to share aboutvulnerable children?All information to be shared: About half of the submissions responding to this question calledfor all information to be shared. Support was strongest with frontline workers and the generalpublic. Support for sharing all information was lower with NGOs and the lowest in submissionsfrom other organisations. Submissions in support of sharing all information commonly drew onarguments such as:• the safety of the child is paramount• protection for children must come before rights to privacy.The only clear way is to share as much as possible, to ensure nothing is missed.The risk of this is too much personal information being shared, but that is a riskworth taking due to possible consequences of under-reporting. (frontline worker)However, submissions cautioned:• the information shared must be accurate• those with access to information must use in it a professional way.All information. And with that comes the requirement for absolute integrity andprofessionalism on behalf of all the services involved. This should be reflected in theremuneration of these professions and the raising of the social standing of people inthese fields. (general public)To do this well, professionals need to be trained and there needs to be a very clear setof protocols to guide the process. (NGOs)Relevant information only: A large minority of answers to this question argued for only relevantinformation to be shared. Submissions from other organisations were most likely to argue forthis approach. NGO submitters responding to this question were slightly more likely to supportthe sharing of relevant information only, than they were to support sharing all information.The level of support was even across all groups of submitters.As much as needed. People need to hear about what’s going on. (NGO)Whatever is needed and relevant to assess the case fully so the proper outcome canbe decided upon. (general public)Anything that affects their safety and well-being. (general public)As little as possible: A small minority of submissions argued that minimal information shouldbe shared.Types of information that should be shared: Very few submissions discussed the type ofinformation that should be shared. A minority called for information on education, health andwelfare to be shared. A small minority of submissions called for sharing information about familycircumstances and police/youth justice information.136 Make Child-Centred Policy Changes
How much personal information should be shared between theprofessionals and others who are working with a particular childor family/whānau?As much as possible: A clear majority said all information should be shared, and a majoritysaid at least as much as necessary to keep a child safe. A clear majority of NGO submissionssupported sharing only enough information as necessary to keep individual vulnerablechildren safe.A small minority of submissions that advocated for information-sharing argued the rights ofchildren should take precedence over the rights of adults, particularly with regard to child safetywhich was the ‘bottom line’.Professionals need to know as much as they can about who they are working with. Too often,we spend too much time finding out what other people already know. (frontline worker)At the end of the day, if a kid is seriously harmed or dies, it reflects on the entire nation,and it’s not enough to stand back and say we protected someone’s rights while they violatea child’s rights. We have to protect those who can’t speak for themselves and rely on us.So bottom line – individual rights are second to the rights of the child. (general public)Share all information: Submissions taking the position all information should be shared argued that:• freely sharing information would give professionals more time to do their jobs, fostercollaboration, and enable them to see a single problem in the context of a family’s entire needs• a lack of information-sharing enabled professionals to assume that someone else wouldtake responsibility for a child’s safety and wellbeing.All of it. Knowledge is power and we need to be very transparent and informed. That waypeople do not fall between the cracks in our existing system. If we know help is required,we can assist. If not, we are all ignorant and the young are even more vulnerable –common sense, really. (general public)Supporters of this idea often discussed the ethical principles employed by professionals.These submissions argued professionals should be trusted to use information in the bestinterests of a child.All of it. If you don’t know the full background, you don’t have the full picture.Any professional person working in this field would be mindful of the confidentiality.(general public)Share enough information as is necessary: Submissions proposing sharing as muchinformation as necessary to keep a child safe argued that:• agencies should be able to share whatever was necessary and appropriate to get a“complete picture” of a child and/or their family, address a child’s issues, or ensure the“best outcome for the child”• information should only be shared if it were relevant to the child’s physical safety.As much as is appropriate to ensure the safety of the child – we need to stop beatingabout the bush and say it like it is. Not sharing enough information with those workingwith a child leaves the child and the worker in a vulnerable position. We need toremember the focus is THE CHILD. (frontline worker)Practice Changes Policy Changes Show Leadership Share Responsibility Children / Young People Executive SummaryThe Green Paper for Vulnerable Children Full Summary of Submissions137
Page 2 and 3:
Published by the Ministry of Social
Page 4:
Ministerial forewordWhen I launched
Page 9 and 10:
MethodologyHow submissions were ana
Page 12 and 13:
The role of government: Children an
Page 15 and 16:
Features of an action plan: Some su
Page 17 and 18:
Make child-centred policy changesTh
Page 19 and 20:
Mandatory reporting: A small number
Page 21 and 22:
Improving service deliveryWe want t
Page 23 and 24:
The community and government: In th
Page 25 and 26:
What does it mean to thrive, belong
Page 27 and 28:
When abuse is occurring: A minority
Page 29 and 30:
A third party that would act as a m
Page 31 and 32:
What kind of information can be sha
Page 33 and 34:
A good school, with good teachers w
Page 35 and 36:
Children and young people: Free-for
Page 37 and 38:
Meet their physical needs: Adults s
Page 39:
SchoolsChildren and young people wa
Page 42 and 43:
Lower taxes, increase income: Relat
Page 44:
Listen to usI reckon adults should
Page 47 and 48:
Q&AParents and caregivers:Question
Page 49 and 50:
There must be better financial supp
Page 51 and 52:
Clearly something is wrong because
Page 53 and 54:
When a child is notified or abuse i
Page 55 and 56:
The gap between rich and poor is to
Page 57 and 58:
Mental health: A small minority of
Page 59 and 60:
I would love to see a strengthening
Page 61 and 62:
Increase community action on child
Page 63 and 64:
Not allowing alcohol to be readily
Page 65 and 66:
Some submissions specified the poss
Page 67 and 68:
Supporting familiesMoney and resour
Page 69 and 70:
Through paid employment: A minority
Page 71 and 72:
This theme was raised by a large mi
Page 73 and 74:
Other submissions echoed the idea o
Page 75 and 76:
We believe that the primary respons
Page 77 and 78:
Show leadershipAn important element
Page 79 and 80:
Q&AA Vulnerable Children’s Action
Page 81 and 82:
Raise awareness: A minority said an
Page 83 and 84:
• Improving education.Fund altern
Page 85 and 86:
A Vulnerable Children’s Action Pl
Page 87 and 88: Goals and actions for a Vulnerable
Page 89 and 90: School ageEducation: A small minori
Page 91 and 92: Q&ALegislation changes:Question and
Page 93 and 94: What other actions or principles wo
Page 95 and 96: Other: A small minority of submissi
Page 97 and 98: • reviewing child support provisi
Page 99 and 100: families in. Service-based strategi
Page 101 and 102: Vulnerable Māori children need to
Page 103 and 104: What could be improved to ensure th
Page 105 and 106: Are the children aggressive (there
Page 107 and 108: Work in partnership to deliver serv
Page 109 and 110: Similar to the question and answer
Page 111 and 112: Reallocating funding: Submissions c
Page 113 and 114: Reduce funding when not child-centr
Page 115 and 116: • new motorways and bike tracks
Page 117 and 118: Review government spending to get b
Page 119 and 120: Support for universalism: A small m
Page 121 and 122: MSD has funded a vast array of inte
Page 123 and 124: SummaryPrioritising carers, family
Page 125 and 126: • prioritisation should be consid
Page 127 and 128: What services do you think should b
Page 129 and 130: • carers needed a realistic, live
Page 131 and 132: Q&AWatching out for vulnerable chil
Page 133 and 134: Ten years ago I would have said “
Page 135 and 136: This should be managed by key peopl
Page 137: What negative consequences are impo
Page 141 and 142: Under what circumstances should the
Page 143 and 144: Health professionals: A small minor
Page 145 and 146: As much as is fiscally practical. I
Page 147 and 148: from community meetings, other orga
Page 149 and 150: The ‘one child-one-record’ syst
Page 151 and 152: needs assessment, culture, mental h
Page 153 and 154: Removing funding and contractual ba
Page 155 and 156: Need to link agencies that have peo
Page 157 and 158: To support New Zealand families we
Page 159 and 160: The primary level services Plunket
Page 161 and 162: Q&ABetter connecting vulnerable chi
Page 163 and 164: All services should feed through sc
Page 165 and 166: Improving service deliveryThe Green
Page 167 and 168: What other opportunities exist to d
Page 169 and 170: Practice ChangesPolicy Changes Show
show all

The Green Paper for Vulnerable Children - Ministry of Social ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?