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Child, youth and family:  A review of reviews through the lens of cultural responsiveness

The guest blog post is by Miriama Scott no Ngati Kahungunu, Rangitane a member of the Tangata Whenua Social Workers Association, currently working as Maori Cultural and Clinical Liaison, Mauri Oho, Whirinaki, Counties Manukau District Health Board.

Miriama’s post comments on the recent history of Child, Youth and Family policy reviews. She highlights key aspects of previous reviews by extracting statements referring the need for cultural responsiveness to Māori whānau and mokopuna. Miriama challenges the current ‘Expert Panel’ to address the historic failures of prior policy statements.

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Child protection, predictive analytics and privacy

This Radio New Zealand ‘Insight Programme’ explores the New Zealand government’s proposed use of predictive risk modelling to predict the likelihood that a parent will abuse a child.  The programme includes the voice of the RSWs very own Emily Keddell.

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Tolley- Social services shakeup could introduce privatisation

 

From Q&A this morning- Interview with Anne Tolley 

Corin  Dann ….could we see the likes of a company that runs a private prison, Serco, which in the UK is looking at child services, involved in an area like that?

Anne Tolley If they can deliver good results for people, why not? I mean, I’m very involved in the development of the Wiri contract. That’s a service-based contract. It’s not just running a facility; that’s delivering 10% better than the public service in rehabilitation. That’s going to make an enormous difference to the families of those prisoners. So if private enterprise can deliver those sorts of results, I wouldn’t hesitate to use them. But there will still be in communities the desire and the people who want to be involved at the NGO level, many in the volunteer sector, because we’re good people, and they want to contribute.

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Social Bonds – can private investment in welfare work?

This Radio NZ programme (broadcast on Nine To Noon, on Tuesday 16 June 2015) discusses the NZ Governments proposals to trial the used social bonds in the mental health sector.

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The sudden importance of social media to social workers in New Zealand

In just two months the New Zealand social work profession has undergone a transformation, or at the very least has risen, shaken itself off and shown a renewed confidence in the value of its own opinion. Over these two months, since Minister Tolley’s CYF Review announcement at the beginning of April, there has been an intense succession of disturbing new social policies, funding crises, service delivery disasters and heartbreaking news stories all related to the services provided (or not) to New Zealand’s most vulnerable. There has been no rest for the wicked problems which when not regularly bubbling to the surface of the cauldron, have been happily stewing away at the bottom, preparing to rise again. And no rest for many social workers, who found themselves compelled to respond in ways that surprised even themselves.