Families and whānau, communities, hapū and iwi

Strong, safe and resilient families raise healthy, well-balanced children. Resilient families pull together in tough times and support each other. Most families can call on their extended whānau for the support they need, but not all families can.

We fund programmes to support communities to develop solutions that best fit their specific needs. We do this through various funding programmes.

Programmes we have provided for families and whānau, communities, hapū and iwi in 2008/2009 include the following:

Early support

Family Start
We contract to provide intensive, home-based support services for families with high needs. The Family Start programme targets those 15 per cent of families with the greatest needs, who have young children up to five years of age.
 
The initiative is made up of three components:

• The Family Start programme - provides home-based support services for families with high needs, ensuring that children have the best possible start in life.
• Family Start Study Awards - makes up to 50 study awards available each year to help family/whänau workers and supervisors employed in Family Start sites to gain a tertiary qualification in social work, health or early childhood education.
• Family Start Early Learning programme - provides financial assistance for up to 1,750 Family Start/Early Start client children so they can get access to early childhood education.

6,500 families received these services from 32 sites.

Strengthening Families
Strengthening Families (SF) is a whole of government initiative, administered by the Ministry, which co-ordinates a network of support for families requiring multi-agency assistance.

SF brings together a family and all the agencies that have a part to play in helping that family. Together, the family and the agencies develop an action plan that reflects the family's needs.

The early connection of families to services and the willingness of both government and community agencies to collaborate in providing the most effective service for each family, enables us to shift the focus from dealing with the consequences of difficulties in children's lives, to preventing things from going wrong in the first place.

Supported by 11 different government agencies and a variety of local community organisations, this community-based initiative operates across nearly 60 locations in New Zealand, each with its own network. SF is tailored to local needs and circumstances within each area, is overseen by a Local Management Group and is supported by key government agency regional heads through a SF Regional Governance Group.

Last year, over 1,500 families with social service providers participated in Strengthening Families.

Integrated Service Response
The Integrated Service Response (ISR) is a family-focused case management approach to working with some of our most at-risk families.

The aims of the approach are to:

• provide intensive support to high-needs and vulnerable families
• expand the services to support these families.

While the ISR currently operates from 53 sites, over this year we've worked towards expanding the service to 10 additional sites (in 2009/2010), particularly as the labour market conditions have greatly increased the demand for Work and Income's frontline services.

Parent Support and Development programmes

Parents as First Teachers (PAFT)

This programme provides information, support and encouragement to parents to help their children develop during the crucial early years. It targets families/whänau on low incomes, young mothers, single parent families and those who lack family or community support or parenting information.

Home Interaction Programme for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY)

 This is a home-based child development programme which helps parents to build up the learning skills of their 4 - and 5-year-old children. Together, parents and children work through a series of activities to help prepare children for school.

6,465 families were visited regularly by parent educators.

Young parent childcare payments
This initiative provided financial assistance for the cost of up to 30 hours of early childhood education a week. This is to encourage young parents under the age of 18 years, who are unable to access any other financial assistance, to remain in or return to secondary education. It is designed to remove childcare costs as a barrier for young parents to participate in school.

Strategies with Kids, Information for Parents (SKIP)
Strategies with Kids, Information for Parents (SKIP) is a programme consisting of resources and practical solutions to promote and support positive parenting. SKIP has grown from a strong research base and is well supported by national parenting and education based organisations such as Barnardos and playcentres.

This year, the initiative supported 54 new community projects
(up from 42 in 2007/2008) helping many families to learn more positive parenting.

We formed new partnerships with businesses, youth related organisations and sports groups, including The Warehouse, Plunket, Kid Safe, and the Wellington Lions rugby team.

Budget Services
The Budget Services programme helps individuals and families to achieve their financial goals by giving them free access to financial education and group seminars, and to confidential one-to-one budget advice and assistance. This is provided by skilled budget advisors working in community-based, non-government agencies.

The service focuses on managing the household budget, not on providing advice on commercial or business finances. It is critical to family wellbeing and safety, and consistent with Family and Community Services' goal of delivering services that help families to become resilient, equipped and able to look after themselves and their children. In 2008/2009, budget service providers reported an increase in demand and a greater complexity of cases resulting from redundancies, mortgagee sales and other financial difficulties arising from the economic downturn and recession.

162 MSD-funded services nationwide provided budget advice and education for communities.

Eliminating family violence

Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families
In June 2005, the Taskforce for Action on Violence within Families was established to address family violence issues and to implement a work programme that would start to change the way New Zealanders viewed family violence. The taskforce consists of Chief Executives, and decision-makers from the government and non-government sectors, the judiciary and Crown agencies. Our Chief Executive is the chairperson.

In 2008/2009, the Taskforce oversaw progress in a number of areas, including the development and implementation of the Māori and Pacific Programmes of Action, new work on preventing child maltreatment, the Campaign for Action on Family Violence, and changes to domestic violence legislation. The Campaign for Action on Family Violence is one of the Taskforce's most visible initiatives.

Mäori and Pacific Programmes of Action
In August 2008, the Taskforce agreed to the Māori and Pacific Programmes of Action. The programmes are practical frameworks for addressing the issue of family violence in these communities over the coming years. The Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment who has delegated responsibility for the Government's response to family violence, launched both Programmes on 31 August 2009.

As part of the development and the implementation of the Māori Programme of Action, the Māori Reference Group is working alongside iwi, hapū and Māori practitioners around the country to focus on the tools and strategies Māori themselves need to tackle issues of violence within their own communities and spheres of influence.

The development of the Pacific Programme of Action included consultation with a range of Pacific peoples. To achieve its mission, the approach of the Programme is based on the strengths of Pacific communities and driven by these communities. The Pacific Programme of Action aims to harness strong leadership from within the communities and to help develop future leaders.

Child Maltreatment Prevention
In October 2008, the Taskforce agreed on a programme of work to prevent child maltreatment. It consists of an integrated, cross-sector approach to preventing child maltreatment and draws on the growing evidence and knowledge base about the impacts of maltreatment on children.

The programme of work also focuses on interventions that will reduce the prevalence of maltreatment among under two-year-olds, as very young children are the most vulnerable to maltreatment. There is clear evidence to demonstrate that if we intervene early we can significantly improve outcomes for these children, and in the long-term for society at large.

In 2008/2009, four reviews relating to child maltreatment were completed in the health, education, social services and community sectors. These reviews identified areas where we can improve our investment in existing services and programmes, as well as areas where there are future opportunities to address key gaps in the prevention of child maltreatment.

Printed resources are:

• Are you OK? booklet

• It is OK to ask for Help

• Protecting Children is Everyone's Business

• Community Action Toolkit.

Family Violence Prevention
Our Family Violence Prevention initiative consists of a number of programmes including communications, a Community Action Fund, assistance to Children who Witness Family Violence, and Whānau Violence Prevention.

During 2008/2009, the Campaign for Action on Family Violence continued its media advertising campaigns in partnership with groups such as the Families Commission, local government agencies, sports and youth related organisations. It also continued to identify campaign champions and spokespeople. The campaign deals with all aspects of family violence.

Resources produced to support the It's not OK campaign have proved popular with communities all around New Zealand. All resources can be viewed and ordered through the campaign's website.

Among other initiatives, we continued to support and promote the 0800 Family Violence Information Line, and to further develop the campaign's website as an effective medium for providing information and advice.

This year the Wellington-based netball team, the Suzuki Pulse, supported Women's Refuge and the It's not OK campaign by promoting the message that women and children have the right to live free from violence.

In September 2008, as part of a joint project between our SKIP initiative, The Warehouse and the DIY Father, Alfred Nagaro (one of the faces of the Its not OK campaign) we worked with over 50 dads at The Warehouse's North Island Distribution Centre in South Auckland to share stories and ideas about what it means to be a great dad.

"This was an exciting work-based parenting initiative. There is no rule book or training manual so these dads got together to share stories, ideas, tips and photos about what it means to be a great dad and to help other dads be the best fathers they can be," says Alfred.

The Community Action Fund - supported 49 projects (a total of 146 since February 2007) to help non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other community initiatives to prevent family violence.

Children and Young People who Witness Family Violence - contracted
44 agencies (up from 30 in 2007/2008) to employ child advocates who support agencies working with these children and young people.

Whānau Violence Prevention - funded training and support to nearly
 100 Maori practitioners to provide interventions by Māori for Māori.

Results of the It's not OK campaign for 2008/2009:

• 95 per cent awareness of the campaign - up from 87 per cent in 2007/2008

• one in five people have taken action as a result of the campaign

• nearly six out of 10 people believe they could influence someone else's behaviour.
  

Campaign champions include:

• Super Māori Fullas

• Breakers Basketball

• Poverty Bay Rugby Union

• Women's Refuge

• Suzuki Pulse Netball.

Family Violence Intervention programme
This programme acknowledges that New Zealand has a high rate of family violence and that many victims are likely to be beneficiaries of Work and Income. This makes Work and Income Service Centres an excellent point of contact to identify and support them.

Work and Income case managers have been trained to identify and respond to people who are living in or leaving violent family situations.

The programme ensures that Work and Income staff:

• have a greater awareness of the effects of family violence and an awareness of the barriers victims face to participating fully in the community
• provide a safe environment for people experiencing family violence
• develop close links with local family violence service agencies
• are able to help people experiencing family violence get access to appropriate support services.

Supporting Communities and Community Organisations

Community Response Fund
 In May 2009, the Minister of Social Development and Employment announced the creation of a new fund to support critical social services in New Zealand during the economic downturn. The fund is a short-term fund designed to help those community-based social services facing severe cost and significant demand pressures that struggle in the current economic environment to provide vital services to our most vulnerable individuals and families.

The Government has made up to $40 million available in the first year of the short-term fund that provides one-off grants for 12 months, or for shorter periods, to providers of critical social services.

In the first round 164 community organisations received a grant, with a total amount of $8.8 million awarded. Successful providers will receive funding from September 2009. Sixty-four per cent of this funding went to community organisations experiencing an increase in numbers of referrals for services and assisting more families under stress.

Regional panels comprising funding advisors from other government organisations, community representatives and ourselves, decide which applications to fund.

In the first round, we received 249 applications for assistance from the fund.

Heartland Services
The intention of this initiative is to make government services more accessible to rural, remote and disadvantaged communities.

Heartland Services Centres provide a one-stop-shop for a number of government initiatives. They also provide the opportunity to improve links between government and the community. Heartland Services has the potential to be the starting point for more co-ordinated planning and processes, and the delivery of more services.

Last year 25 government agencies and 55 NGOs delivered services from Heartland Services Centres.

Community Links
Community Links connect people to integrated social services, supporting them to achieve positive outcomes. We work together with community-based providers and other government services in the shared Community Link environment. We know that joining up is a more effective and efficient way to deliver services to our common clients, and for us. We also know the community sector plays an essential role in the support of children, young people and families.

In 2008, we opened our first Community Link site in Linwood. Since then, we have established seven new Community Link sites in Glen Innes, Rotorua, Huntly, Flaxmere, Naenae, Ashburton and Kamo. We are working towards increasing the Community Link presence across New Zealand in the next financial year.

Community Initiatives Fund
The Community Initiatives Fund (CIF) provides financial support to community leaders for innovative social development initiatives. CIF funding is available across New Zealand for projects that help to fill the social development needs of a community. Applications are considered by regional panels and then put through a national moderation process chaired by Family and Community Services, before receiving ministerial approval.

Funding is time limited for 1-3 years and covers the costs of the community leaders' fees and immediate expenses only. It is expected the sponsor of the project or other community groups will contribute towards the costs of the project, thereby demonstrating community support.

Eight community-based projects were funded in 2008/2009 with 95 per cent of expected outcomes being achieved.

Settling In - Refugee and Migrant Social Services
The aim of Settling In is to help refugees and migrants develop the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to become fully-functioning participants in their new communities. The programme focuses on a wide range of outcomes including health and wellbeing, social connectivity, host community relationships and family lives, parenting and eliminating family violence.

During 2009/2010 we will consolidate the programmes currently underway, as well as formally establish the Settling In programmes in Palmerston North, Albany and Tauranga.

We have funded more than 30 projects with 24 territorial authorities to assist refugees and migrants. More than 60 ethnicities have been participating

Improving the Community-Government relationship

The Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector worked throughout the year on building the capacity of the community and voluntary sector to engage with government and for government to improve its relationship with the sector. On the government side, the Office ran Good Practice in Action seminars for public servants so that an increasing number of public servants are better informed about how to engage effectively with the community and voluntary sector.

On the community side, the Office convened and funded the sector to develop a report on Building Better Government Engagement (BBGE) which included options for building engagement skills, knowledge and values about the public service. It also organised regional and online discussion groups for the sector.

The Office also examined the impact the economic recession may have on the non-profit sector, consulting with other government departments, community leaders and philanthropists. As a result, it has set up a web page on the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector website that provides links and access to information about practical ideas to help community groups do things differently during the recession.