Nine-point plan for children act review

Press, 5 October 1984, Page 3

Nine-point plan for children act review

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington A nine-point policy on which the review of the Children and Young Persons Act should be based has been outlined by the Minister of Social Welfare, Mrs Hercus.

She outlined the policy in Auckland last evening to women lawyers of the Auckland District Law Society. The principles which should apply to the act and its review were:

• The prevention of risk situations by providing support for the family and communities.

Poverty, inadequate housing, unemployment, and unequal access to basic services were tragically and inextricably linked with family crisis, child neglect, delinquency and social alienation, Mrs Hercus said. • Family support.

There had to be a presumption of leaving or placing a child in a family group.

There had to be a recognition of a child’s need to have and maintain, or establish and maintain, a stable relationship in the context of a family.

• Family autonomy. Mrs Hercus said the independence and integrity of the family had to be recognised and supported. Intervention between the child and the family — where the child was in need of care or protection — should be kept at a minimum that was consistent with the safety of the child. Where the child had committed an offence, intervention again should be kept to the minimum that was consistent with the maturity of the child and the protection of the community. • Voluntary access.

Help was used most effectively when it was in response to the child’s or family’s own perception of their needs, Mrs Hercus said. Informal communitybased responses were often better than formal and remote institutionalised procedures.

Coercive intervention should be the last resort, justified only by the gravity or urgency of the situation, or by the fact that other measures had failed. • Pluralism.

Services should recognise the cultural diversity of New Zealand, provided in a culturally appropriate and sensitive manner, she said. Where a child was removed from his or her family every effort had to be made to ensure that the child’s cultural, ethnic, and community identity was protected and advanced. • Flexibility.

Legislation and the service ought to provide a wide range of options, Mrs Hercus said.

• Participation. As far as practicable, the child and the child’s family should be consulted and invited to participate in all significant decisions affecting the child. • Planning and accountability. Mrs Hercus said that all intervention should be based on time-limited and goaldirected plans which had been, as far as practicable, discussed with the child and family, and which were subject to independent review.

• Accessibility. The right of the child and the child’s family to access to services should not be impeded by incomprehensible procedures, delay, or inability to get legal advice and representation, Mrs Hercus said.