Friday 23 March 2011

The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) congratulates the Anglican Bishops who celebrated the prevention of family violence work being carried out in New Zealand Communities. The Anglican Bishops, supported by the Anglican Social Justice Commission, held a short service on the steps of the Wellington Cathedral this morning to draw attention to the family violence prevention work of Christian and other social service agencies.

During this service Bishop Muru Walters drew attention to the possible intention of government to move funding away from such initiatives as the “It’s not Ok” campaign along with Te Rito and Child Advocate programmes in order to provide additional funding for Whānau Ora. He asked that a full evaluation of the value of the existing family violence prevention programmes be implemented prior to any decisions being made, “Only then will the government be properly placed to make such an important and life-changing decision”.

“NZCCSS has been very concerned with the reports of these funding changes”, said Trevor McGlinchey, NZCCSS Executive Officer. “We are very supportive of the Whānau Ora programme. However, to make funding changes without undertaking the research to assess its effectiveness means there can be some very serious consequences from rushed and ill-informed decisions”.

The government has promoted more collaborative ways of working together both between NGOs and between government departments. The current Te Rito and Child Advocate programmes have been at the forefront of this work. They have brought together NGOs and government agencies to achieve effective results for families and children.

“It takes time to develop and build up these kinds of relationships and without active support these networks could easily fall apart. Without Child Advocates and Te Rito coordinators we could have family support organisations working in silos again, one not knowing what the other is doing”, said McGlinchey. “NZCCSS congratulates the Anglican Bishops for their leadership in this area. We support their call for a full evaluation of these programmes to be implemented prior to any funding decisions being made”.

ENDS

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