Barnardos Aotearoa is welcoming the Government’s $275 million Social Investment Fund announced today, saying the initiative has real potential to transform lives — especially if it puts tamariki at the heart of its investment.

“This is a positive and timely step forward,” says Barnardos Chief Executive Officer, Matt Reid. “If we want to improve lives long-term, we must start where it matters most — in childhood. Because we know that childhood shapes a lifetime.”

This week’s UNICEF global report ranked New Zealand fourth lowest out of 36 high-income countries for child wellbeing. Barnardos says the finding is a wake-up call and must influence how social investment decisions are made.

“Our frontline kaimahi support tamariki growing up facing adversity, including violent homes, families facing impossible choices between food and rent, tamariki missing out on early learning and young people calling our helpline with nowhere else to turn,” says. “We know the challenges. We also know what works.”

Barnardos is championing for two flagship solutions aligned to Government’s priorities around first 2,000 days and preventing state care — Te Korowai Mokopuna and Te Korowai Rangatahi — to be considered in future phases of the fund. Both are designed and proven to create lasting change by intervening early and walking alongside children and whānau facing complex challenges.

• Te Korowai Mokopuna places a whānau support worker inside our Barnardos early learning services to help families overcome barriers like housing instability, intergenerational harm, mental distress and poverty — before those challenges escalate. We know this approach works: our core social services deliver a social return on investment of $18 for every $1 spent.
• Te Korowai Rangatahi is proposed a fully integrated Barnardos model of care, supporting rangatahi before, during, and after therapeutic residential placements – ensuring relationships and reducing future need.

“These are not short-term fixes. They are long-term investments in children’s futures,” says Matt Reid. “Because when we support children, we shape not just better individual outcomes — but a better Aotearoa for generations to come.”

Barnardos looks forward to engaging with the Government and the Social Investment Agency on future funding rounds and stands ready to scale proven, child-centred solutions across the motu that will generate significate returns on investments.

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