Report important to child safety, Children’s Commissioner says

The Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee report released today contains information that is vitally important to creating a safer environment for children in New Zealand, Children’s Commissioner Dr John Angus said today.

“Having access to good data so risk areas can be analysed and measures taken to keep children safer, including changing laws if necessary, makes reports such as this significant,” Dr Angus said.

“I support the Committee’s recommendation that there is a major push to reduce deaths from Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) with good information so parents know how to put babies to sleep safely. I also support the call in the report for a more coordinated approach to services for children across the health and welfare sectors.

“Getting a clear picture of what risks children and young people face growing up in New Zealand is important and can only come about through reports such as this.

“Another significant contributor to what we know about the position of children and young people is the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study, led by Auckland University. This study will follow a group of 7800 children from before they are born until they become adults and will give good information about what works to nurture children well.

“These studies add to the good data we have on the economic and social position of children in New Zealand to give an all round picture. This information can be used to prioritise services for children and to assess the impact on children of policy proposals the Government considers.

“In such a way, outcomes for children as a group can be improved.”

You can download the most recent photo of the Children’s Commissioner Dr John Angus from: http://www.occ.org.nz/media_speeches_and_submissions/images_of_john_angus

ENDS

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