|
Otago Daily Times
December 11, 2003
CYF
Letter to
the Editor
by Suzanne George, Dunedin
I feel that CYF, the Civic Creche children and I are being made scapegoats by
Katherine Rich, National list MP, as her political pawns regardless of
whether CYF's cases are allocated or unallocated (27.11.03).
Mrs Rich apparently tries to cut her cloth to fit her political viewpoint
when she states that I am "diminishing" CYF work by claiming it is
only the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. I'm on their side, so Mrs Rich
should stop twisting my words.
During the 1980s and 1990s successive governments have implemented economic
reforms which affect children. There was a refusal by government officials to
inquire into the child sex ring discovered in 1984, and we now have
discriminatory government policies towards low-income families (ODT ,
29.11.03). The National Party sold, from memory, 13,000 state houses and
forced low-income families to pay market rents when in power.
Forensic psychologist Nigel Latta works with people who rape and kill, and
says we've got to stop blaming overworked social workers. Mr Latta suggests
that we are always going to have a high death rate of children and violent
crime in this country as long as no-one is prepared to do anything about it.
Says Mr Latta: "For that we are all to blame."
earlier report:
Otago Daily Times
November 27, 2003
CYF
Letter to
the Editor
by Katherine Rich, National List MP, Dunedin
I am beginning to wonder what planet serial ODT
correspondent Suzanne George (17.11.03) is on. She writes that she finds my
alarm over the rising rate of notifications to Child Youth and Family
"pathetic". Unusual. What sort of response does she expect any
member of Parliament (or any New Zealander for that matter) to have to rising
abuse? Surely not ecstatic delight?
Ms George also gets it wrong when she refers to my comments about
"allocated CYF cases". I have made no such comments. My comments
are about unallocated CYF cases - cases which are registered by the
department as a result of a call to CYF but sit waiting to be given
officially to a social worker. Currently, Child Youth and Family receives
more than 31,000 notifications of potential abuse or neglect each year. Of
those notifications, there is currently a waiting list of more than 3000
children waiting to see a social worker. In September, 57% of urgent cases
were not seen within the seven-day prescribed timeframe. No New Zealander can
say this is acceptable.
While Ms George diminishes CYF's work by saying it "only acts as the
ambulance at the bottom of the cliff", we must remember that there are a
lot of children at the bottom of that cliff as a result of abuse and neglect
from their families. They deserve an effective Child Youth and Family service
and for that "ambulance" to turn up when needed, well resourced and
well staffed. That's why we must continue to advocate for positive changes to
be made to CYF so that children receive better
|
