WHAT'S BEING DONE?

Polices and legislation to fight child poverty must be thought about carefully and based on evidence and a range of shared values. If this is not done they will not secure “sustained political support or achieve their objectives” (Boston & Chapple, 2014, p. 85).Values include thinking that children should have the equal, fair opportunities to flourish and that by doing this all of society benefits.

This post will discuss the policies and legislation at a macro level as the New Zealand Government and other organisations do their part to rid child poverty. 

The Vulnerable ChildrenAct 2014  is legislation by the government in order to protect vulnerable children and help them “thrive, achieve and belong” (Children’s Action Plan, 2015). This act wants to help and protect New Zealand children and help them in every way in order so they don’t slip between the cracks. This includes helping families in poverty as children in these families miss out on the possibilities that they could be having. The help given to these families are built on foundations of: better public services, easier access to health and education, a productive and competitive economy creating jobs, improving incomes and opportunity, and justice.

The government, from July 2015, has enabled zero-fee health checks for children under 13 years old. This enables families to bring their children to the doctor free of charge. Free prescriptions are also included in this package. This encourages parents to take their children to the doctor when their children are sick as cost is not a concern. The earlier illnesses are treated the easier they are to manage and possibly cure.

Health checks for under 5s are also included in this including support through Plunket. B4 school checks are done before children go to school. During this free check children are checked for concerns such as health, communication, and sight and hearing. By having check-ups when needed and taking part in health tests health practitioners are able to support families and children who need help.

The “working for families” package was a policy introduced by the Labour government in 2004. It was designed to make it easier to work and raise a family. It pays extra money to New Zealand families, with children, earning under a certain wage bracket (Working for Families, n.d.). 

This package also making housing affordable by giving an accommodation supplement to working families and also to people without children.

The government is also helping insulate housing by offering free insulation. People who are a Community Services Card holder and have someone in their household who has a respiratory condition (like asthma) may be able to get their house insulated free (New Zealand Government, 2015).  This will help families who are in poverty as insulation can make heating homes easier.

The government helps families pay for early childhood education by subsidising all children who attend an early childhood service. For 3 to 5 year olds the cost to attend a setting is subsidised for up to 6 hours a day and up to 20 hours a week (Ministry of Education, 2015). This is a policy set in place to encourage participation in early childhood settings. This in turn takes one pressure off families who want to send their children to a setting but cannot afford to do so.

Here are two organisations that are working to rid New Zealand of child poverty: 

• UNICEF NZ 
• KidsCan

UNICEF NZ 

“UNICEF NZ is a member of the non-government sector group ‘the UNCROC Monitoring Group’ established by the Children’s Commissioner in February 2011 to monitor the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The UNCROC Monitoring Group includes representation by two Independent Crown entities; the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and the Human Rights Commission.” (Unicef, 2016). 

Unicef believes that no child should experience severe and persistent poverty. Through donations, Unicef will make sure that children’s voices are heard and help change the future for kiwi kids and make their future fair.

Watch this video made to promote Unicef's work in child poverty: 

Video: Make my future fair. (Unicef NZ, 2015). 

KidsCan

KidsCan through the ‘In Our Own Backyard’ programme which through monthly contributions of $15 Kiwi families can support a child which enables KidsCan to provide a “child with the essentials they need to get through the school gates in a position to learn” (KidsCan, n.d.).  

What else?

Fonterra provides milk for children in any primary school that would like to take part in its programme. The benefits of drinking milk include getting nutrients such as calcium to keep bones strong and vitamin B12. Fonterra state that “around two thirds of kiwi kids don’t consume enough calcium” so this programme makes a difference (Fonterra, 2016). 

Watch this ad to promote Milk in Schools: 

Fonterra Milk for Schools TV (Fonterra Milk for Schools, 2013). 

The literature shows that the government and other organisations are doing what they can to tackle child poverty in New Zealand. I believe that the government is doing the best they can to support families in poverty and are still trying to improve the systems that they have in place. It will be interesting to watch what the government offers and continues to offer for families in the next election in 2017.

The next post will discuss how these polices and legislations
  influence the pedagogical implications for practice in early childhood settings. 

References: 

Children’s Action Plan. (2015). Legislation. Retrieved from:        http://childrensactionplan.govt.nz/legislation-/

Fonterra Milk for Schools. (2013, May 28). Fonterra Milk for Schools TV ad 15future [Video file].                   Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ifQV4dmOXs

Fonterra. (2016). Nutrition. Retrieved from: https://www.fonterramilkforschools.com/benefits/nutritional/

KidsCan. ( n.d.). Support a child. Retrieved from: https://www.kidscan.org.nz/get- involved/support-a- child?gclid=Cj0KEQjwipi4BRD7t6zGl6m75IgBEiQAn7CfF7sdD- dS5MPohk4Br5JNO9z_Wm5m69YQe43hyLZ9r7gaAotg8P8HAQ 

Ministry of Education. (2015). For parents. Retrieved from: http://parents.education.govt.nz/early-learning/early-childhood- education/20-hours-ece-2/

New Zealand Government. (2015). Insulation and energy efficiency. Retrieved from: https://www.govt.nz/browse/housing-and-property/insulation-and-energy- efficiency/

Unicef NZ. (2015, November 21). Make my future fair [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8WlbQj1ax8 

Unicef. (2016). Child poverty in New Zealand. Retrieved from: https://www.unicef.org.nz/learn/our-         work-in-new-zealand/Child-Poverty-in- New-Zealand 

Working for Families. (n.d.) Working for Families. Retrieved from: http://www.workingforfamilies.govt.nz/