A Fairfor Go all A Fair Go Childrenfor all Children Actions to address child poverty in New Zealand

Michael Fletcher and Máire Dwyer

A report for the Children’s Commissioner and Barnardos ChildrenA Fair Go for all Children A Fairfor Go all ChildrenA Fair Go for all Children Actions to address child poverty in New Zealand

A report for the Children’s Commissioner and Barnardos

Michael Fletcher and Máire Dwyer August 2008 C o n t e n t s

2 Foreword – Children’s Commissioner Dr Cindy Kiro

3 Acknowledgements

4 Executive summary and summary of proposals for action

11 Chapter 1 The case for action 14 Chapter 2 The consequences of child poverty 18 Chapter 3 Child poverty in New Zealand 30 Chapter 4 Supporting families to combine employment and parenting 37 Chapter 5 Ensuring adequate financial support for all families with children 44 Chapter 6 Making the child support system work better for children and parents 48 Chapter 7 Education and skill development 55 Chapter 8 Making an impact on poor health, poor housing and deprived neighbourhoods 63 Chapter 9 Setting targets and achieving them 65 Chapter 10 Conclusions

Tables 8 Summary table 19 Table 1: How much is not much? Examples of 2007 dollar values of poverty thresholds for one-child households, before housing costs (dollars per week) 22 Table 2: Child poverty rates in the OECD (%) c 2004: 50 percent of contemporary median threshold, before housing costs 24 Table 3: Which children are in poverty? Estimates of numbers of children below poverty threshold and poverty rates by household characteristics, 60 percent of constant value median income after housing costs 25 Table 4: Child poverty rates by ethnicity, 60 percent of constant value median income after housing costs 2003/04 40 Table 5: Family Tax Credit rates structure 45 Table 6: Distribution of Child Support Entitlements: Annual amounts per custodian, 2007 year

Figures 20 Figure 1: Child poverty rates, using selected thresholds, before housing costs 20 Figure 2: Child poverty rates, using selected thresholds, after housing costs 23 Figure 3: Changes in income inequality in New Zealand, Gini coefficient and “80/20” measures (disposable incomes after housing costs) 27 Figure 4: Living standards for families with dependent children, by income source (2004) 28 Figure 5: Real value of core benefits plus family benefits/family tax credits 1973–2007 49 Figure 6: Apparent enrolment rates in early childhood education, by age (1990–2007) or policiesoftheChildren’s CommissionerorBarnardos. and theprofessionalopinionsexpressedbyauthorsdonotnecessarilyreflectofficialview, opinions This reportwascommissionedbytheChildren’s CommissionerandBarnardosthecontentofthisreport ISBN 978-0-909039-27-1(Online) ISBN 978-0-909039-26-4(Print) References

1 Foreword 2 oreword r o w e r Fo quality ofthereport. busypeople,for thecontributionmadebythesevery contributedtothe andalsotoanumberofotherswhohave the areasofchildhealth, housing, socialpolicy, andchildwelfare. education Iwanttorecordmypersonalthanks This reporthasincluded extensiveinvolvementbytheReferenceGroup, in composedofpeoplewithknowledge children andtheirfamilies, improvementscancontinue tobemadeforthem. how butwemustalsolookat for Families schememadein forourpoorandmostvulnerable 2007willcontinuetoimprovethesituation April children. beenalmostnoimprovements,There have orminimalimprovements, forothers. Extensiontothe Working ofchildpoverty, beensubstantialimprovementsintherates There have especiallyforsomeparticulargroupsof the waywecareforourchildren. society committedtovaluesoffairnessandequalityforourcitizens, shouldthisbeclearer andnowhere thanin children reallydogetthebestpossiblestartinlife, oftheirparents. irrespectiveofthesocialstatus We liveina ofchildpoverty.the rate This shouldneverberepeated. Furthermore, wemustredoubleoureffortstoensurethat We mustlearnthelessonsofpast. 1980sand1990s, Duringthelate NewZealandexperiencedadoublingin donottakeaccountoftheireffectonchildren.and socialpoliciesthat thepoorestaremostoftenchildren. inourcountry that They aretheoneswhowillbearbruntofeconomic social andeconomicpriority. oftheimpoverished, viewstheNewZealandpublicmayhave Whatever itistrue The commonconclusion ofallthesereportswastheurgency andimportanceofaddressingchildpovertyasa possibledata.the latest Christian CouncilofSocialServices. There aremutuallyreinforcingthemesinallofthese, butthisreportincludes before thereleaseofChildPoverty Action’s Report, “Left Behind”, earlierthisyear, andbeforethereportof the lifeexperiencesandopportunitiesofchildreninNewZealand. The workforthisreportbeganin2007, long This reportwascommissionedbymyofficeandBarnardosbecauseoftheimportancechildpovertyinshaping August 2008 Children’s Commissioner Kiro Dr Cindy frompovertyandsocialexclusion,leading away ontoamorepositivefuturenotjustforthem, butforallofus. ‘big ticket’itemsandsomearesmall. forchildren’sAll ofthemwillcontributetoapositivetrajectory development The reportincludes constituteanaction listforreducingchildpoverty. aseriesofproposalsthat Someoftheseare Hewitt, working forManukauCityCouncil. Finally, thanks tothetwoexternalpeerreviewersDrSimonChapple, whoisbasedwith theOECD, andRex co-sponsors andtheJRMcKenzie Trust. call ofdutyintheirworkforthisreport. Also, thankstotheotherfundersofreport, Barnardos whoareits In particular, mythanksofcoursetotheauthorsMichaelFletcherandMáireDwyer, gonebeyondthe whohave and artworkswillbereleasedovertimeinotherdocuments. their perspectivesarereflectedinquoteswithinthisreport. Moreoftheir comments andsomeoftheirphotos worked ondefiningpovertyfromtheirperspective. Thentheyputtheirthoughtsintowordsandpictures. Someof In tandemwiththewritingofthisreport, selectedgroupsofchildrenandyoung peoplefromaroundNewZealand

Alan Johnson Craig Dr Elizabeth Mike Coleman John Cody Members oftheReferenceGroup, fortheirexpertadviceandcommentsondrafts: the project. The OfficeoftheChildren’s Commissioner, BarnardosandJRMcKenzie Trust for commissioning andfunding people. The authorswouldliketothankthefollowing Acknowledgements Commissioner, thisprojectandprovideduswithsupportassistancethroughout. who managed Finally, we wouldparticularlyliketothankDrEmmaDavies, principaladviser, OfficeoftheChildren’s Photovoice project. Thanks alsotoKodak 150disposablecamerasand toJRMcKenzie fordonating Trust forfundingthe to thePhotovoiceproject. Healthlinks and the Otago Youth Wellness Trust for their partnership, in and valuable contribution participation House, Te Aka OraCharitable Trust, YMCA Wanganui, YMCA Palmerston North, Streets Ahead 237, Porirua Thanks toOtahuhuRaiseUpnRepresent, Kidz Creative Art Club Te Puru, Paeroa NewZealandChildren’s Art The coverart, byDevinfrom Te Puru, hasbeenselectedfromthePhotovoiceproject. selected tobeincluded inthisreport. itimpactsuponthem.the issuesofpovertyandhow been Someoftheirdescriptionspovertyhave experiences ofpoverty. the Children’s Commissioner’s Photovoiceproject: Te Puru, Paeroa, Gisborne, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Porirua andDunedinwhotookpartintheOfficeof allofthechildren,The authorswouldliketoacknowledge youngpeopleandparentsfromOtahuhu, andRexHewittforpeerreviewingthereport. Dr SimonChapple real experiencesofNewZealandfamilies. ofissuesinthe familieswithchildrenandassistingustogroundouridentification to supportlow-income Key informantsinPorirua, andManukauforsharingtheirexperiencesinthecourseofworking Horowhenua Dr Nikki Turner Sarah Te One ProfessorRobertStephens Associate childrenandyoungpeopleperceive This projectprovidedvaluableinsightsintohow This ishowIseeit:Childrenandyoungpeople’sviews

Acknowledgements 3 Executive summary and summary of proposls for action 4 s l a s o p o r p f o y y r r a a m m m for action m u u s s d e n v a i t u c e x E countries for which comparable data isavailable.countries forwhichcomparabledata working formany growth wage The keydriverswerelow andDevelopment(OECD) forEconomicCooperation ofthe20Organisation more inNewZealandthanany 1980sandtheearly1990s. rosesharplyinthelate Child povertyrates Duringthisperiod, inequalityrose and societyasawholeintheshortlongterms. become apolicy priorityinrecentyearsascountriesrespondtotheconsequencesforchildren, theirfamilies New Zealandisnotaloneinfacingtheseissues. Across muchofthedevelopedworldchildpovertyhas andpoorereconomicperformance. productivitygrowth lower hardship andsocialexclusion. Inthefuture, theongoingcostsarehighforsociety, socialcosts, withgreater social terms, upwithplentyandthosewhoregularlyexperience itdrivesawedgebetweenthosegrowing Child povertyaffectsusall. Inmoneyterms, thereareextrahealth, welfare, andothercosts. education In uppoor. childrenwillgrow adult earnings. theirown ahigherchancethat uppooralsohave Childrenwhogrow the future and can lead to long-term health problems, decreased potential for gainful employment and lower attainment.poor educational Poverty over experiencedintheearlyyearsorforlongperiodscastsashadow daily livesandtheiropportunitiesexposesthemtotherisksofillness, socialandemotionaldamage, and lives freeofhardship, fullyinsociety. toachievetheirfullpotentialandparticipate Poverty limitschildren’s themtolivehealthy allows therighttoadecentstandardofliving;livingthat Children have supplementary assistance is currently too low to provide an adequate safety net for many children. safetynetformany toprovidean adequate assistance iscurrentlytoolow supplementary families receivingaworkandincome benefit. There is thevalueofmainbenefitsand clear evidencethat ofthemwillbein orwithonlypart-timework;many poverty areinhouseholdswithout paid employment leastoneadultisinfull-timework.where at almosttwo-thirdsofchildrenin that The most recentfiguresshow forchildreninhouseholds wherethereisnofull-timeworkersixtimeshigherthanfor those The povertyrate Poverty arealsosignificantly higher amongMaoriand rates Pacifica childrenthan Pakehachildren. in sole-parentfamilies, forchildrenincouplehouseholds. ofpovertyisfivetimesashighthat therate childpovertyisunevenlydistributed acrosssociety.Of particularconcernisthefactthat For childrenliving improvement sincethen. However, offsetsomeofthesegains. basiclivingcostswillhave recentrisesinmany reflect thefullimpactoflastparts Working for Families package, beensome sotheremayhave themorerestrictive50-percent-of-medianincome threshold.children (16percent)below These figuresdonot 60-percent-of-median incomepovertyline, aftertakingaccountofhousingcosts. This figureincluded 170,000 available, in 2006/07, the 230,000or22percentofallchildrenwerelivinginhouseholdswith incomesbelow families withdependentchildrenreceivesomeassistance. However, data accordingtothemostup-to-date generous countriesintheOECDitsfinancialsupportforchildren. three-quartersofall approximately Now measures. Working forFamilies hasbeensignificant. Beforeitsintroduction, NewZealandwasamongtheleast andabsolute reducedthenumbersofchildreninpovertyNewZealandonbothrelative have package Since then, astrongeconomy, growth, andwage ofemployment andthe higherrates Working forFamilies families, andreductionsinwelfarepayments. highunemployment “Variation policy ingovernment OECD in child poverty levels appears toaccount countries.”

for ( most ofthe Unicef )

between variation

and othersupporttoequipthemprovidetheseessentialsfortheirchildren. We allbenefitfromthehealthy develop totheirfullpotential. responsibility, aprimary While parentsandcaregivershave theyneedfinancial enough food, clothing, shelter, adequate andhealthcarethelearningexperiencesopportunities to do notcontinuetomissoutonthebasics. accessto Endingchildpovertymeansensuringchildrenhave children that The well-documentedshort-andlong-termconsequencesofchildpovertymakeitimperative arelivinginfamiliesdependentonacorebenefitorNewZealandSuperannuation. allowance fivechildrenwhosedisability issufficientlyseverefortheircarerstoreceivethechilddisability of every caringresponsibilities,those withgreater foryoungchildrenorilldisabled familymembers. Two out foundjobs,As moreparentswhoareinapositiontoworkhave familiesonbenefits aremorelikelytobe of MaoriandPacifica children, mustbehighpriorities. areas, inlow-income services andensuring they meettheneeds quality earlychildhoodcareandeducation communities. tobemostacute inlow-income This problemappears Therefore, increasingthesupplyof parentstowork, theneedsofchildrenand enablemany accommodate ortoworkthehourstheywant. there arestillnotenoughaffordable, to services high-quality earlychildhoodcareandeducation policyearly childhoodeducation’ forthree-andfour-year-olds andtheincrease inthechildcaresubsidy, attainment.effects onsubsequenteducational Evenafterthewelcomeintroductionof ‘20-hours free who areinpaidemployment. Italsopromoteschildren’s cognitiveandsocialdevelopment, withlasting is vitalforsupportingparents earlychildhoodcareandeducation Access togoodqualityfreeorlow-cost low, needstobeincreased12months. andthe14-weekperiodofpaidleave sinceitwasintroducedin2002. greatly andemployers employees However, themaximumpaymentsaretoo youngtheybenefitfromone-on-onecare.When childrenarevery hasbenefitedbabies,Paid parentalleave warmth andhealth. houses withinfiveyearsisalsowelcome,state asitwillimprovethequalityoftheirenvironment, andtheir houses, families. willimprovehousingforchildreninlow-income The government’s all toinsulate initiative supplement,increasing themaximumvalueofaccommodation andprovidingincentivesforinsulating families withchildrenmeetingtheHousingNewZealand ‘severe’ and ‘significant’ housing-needcriteria, housing.quarter ofMaorichildrenliveinovercrowded Expandingsocialhousingsufficientlytohouseall to ill-health, poorerlearningenvironmentsandfamilystress. Around halfofPacifica childrenandovera Damp, areacommonexperienceofchildrenlivinginpoverty, coldhousingandovercrowding andcontribute youngchildren. increases inexpenditurethroughtaxcreditstowards home, arevitaltoimprovinghealthoutcomesforpoorerchildren. The proposalsforactionalsosuggesttilting (GP) frombirth, from freeaccesstoafter-hours away theyhave andthat andGPservices medicalattention health ofbabiesandchildren. Ensuringchildrenareenroledwith Wellchild andageneralmedicalpractitioner incomesupportandaccesstohealthcaresafeguardthe needtoensureadequate Government services start good a theearlyyearsoflife. thewisdomoftiltingpublicexpendituretowards Developmental sciencesubstantiates children Giving substantial progress, moreisneeded. particular difficulties. beendone, dealhasalready Agreat orisunderway;buttomakefurtherand labour market, education, health, welfareandhousingpolicies, aswellsupporttohelpfamiliesfacing fronts,Lasting solutionstochildpovertyrequireactiononmany including economicmanagement, taxation, development ofNewZealandchildren. Similarly, wewillallpaythepriceforgettingitwrong.

Executive summary and summary of proposls for action 5 Executive summary and summary of proposls for action 6 lives when empirical evidence shows that poverty has a foundational effectontheirdevelopment. povertyhasafoundational that lives whenempirical evidenceshows the overalllevelofsupporttoyoung childrenwouldhelpreducechildpoverty, andtargetatimeinchildren’s need moreparentalcare, whenchildrenareyounger. andfamilyincomes arelikelytobelower Increasing Currently, family taxcreditspaymoreforolderchildren. youngerchildren oddswiththerealitythat This isat reduce childpoverty. benefitswouldbettermaintainbenefitlevels overtimeandcouldhelp toadjustingworking-age approach changes. ofpriceand wage levelandadjustingthemannuallyusingacombination adequate A similar an pensionsat levelofpovertyamongtheelderlybyproviding oldage low achieved aninternationally Regarding benefitrates, isinstructive. theexampleofNewZealandSuperannuation NewZealand has effect onsuchchildren. account, someofthesechildrenarelivinginseverehardship. This hasanimmediate, andoftenlasting, benefit cuts. Mostchildreninfamiliesdependentonbenefitsarepoorand, once housingcostsaretakeninto families, formany aretoolow remainslessthanitwasbefore the1991 benefit rates andtheirbuyingpower andoutofpoverty.employment However, childpovertyremainshighamong familieslivingonbenefits. Core receiving abenefit. enabledsomeparentstomoveinto have growth Thischangeandstrongemployment intheOECD.lowest tothose relative offamilieswithemployment These changestiltedsupportinfavour Before Working forFamilies, NewZealand’s expenditureonfinancialsupportforchildrenwasamongthe financially receiving them. children with Working forFamilies significantlyincreasedthevalueoffamilytaxcreditsandnumber offamilies families Supporting balance theirworkingliveswithfamilyaspirations. andchoosingacareer,about gainingqualifications inthefuturetheywillbebetterable to that knowing a Such improvementshelptocreate ‘virtuous circle’, whereyoungpeoplefeelmorehopefulandpositive child poverty. otherswhoarenotworkingcouldimprovetheirfamily’s Many incomewithpart-timework. part-time workliveinpoverty, canbepart-timeislikelytoreduce soincreasingtherangeandskilllevelofjobsthat Better part-timejobsareanotherpartofthestory. Morethan40percentofchildrensoleparentswhohave skills. rewardsknowledge-based economy that is allthemoreimportanttoincreasetheirproductivity, theyandtheirchildrencanthriveinan sothat school. theseadvantages, poor parentstodaydidnothave work As many learningandskillsdevelopmentat theyachievegoodresultsat andtheyaresupportedsothat qualityearlychildhoodcareandeducation have enhance theiropportunitiesinthelabourmarket. For thenextgeneration, thismeansensuringallchildren In thelongterm, andskillsto thebestwaytoincreaseparents’earningsisimprovetheirqualifications also needed. making iteasierforfamiliestocombineworkandparenting. is Betteraccesstoout-of-schoolcareservices proposalsaboveareimportantwaysof andearlychildhoodcareeducation The paidparentalleave child poverty. work to Supporting parentsinwork, andensuringtheygainfinanciallyfromtheiremployment, iscriticaltoreducing parents Supporting

six percent. parents donotlivetogether. In Australia, asimilarpolicy insole-parent familiesby reducedthepovertyrate theincomesameasbeneficiaries’otherearnings,treating childrenwhose couldreducepoverty formany the governmenttooffsetcostofbenefit. Passing onthesepaymentstothecustodialparent, and families.separated At presentchildsupportpaymentspaidtocustodialparentsonbenefitsareretainedby childreninsole-parentor system workbetterforchildrenandparentswouldreducepovertyamongmany poverty thanthein-worktaxcredit, mostofwhichispaidtobetter-off families. Making thechildsupport wouldprobablybemore effectiveinhelpingparentstotakeupworkandreducingchild school services Similarly, andout-of- services orfreeearlychildcareandeducation furtherimprovingaccesstolow-cost and allowing childsupport paymentstobepassedon custodialparentsonbenefits. and allowing communities, in low-income leave, childcareandeducation of freeorlow-cost increasingtheavailability inthelifecycle anearlierstage towards ofpaidparental andtheduration whileextendingremuneration families arethoselivinginthemost significanthardship. Thesecondprioritywouldbetotilttaxcredits is toaddresscorebenefitrates, becausethey areplainlyinadequate. Thechildrenlivinginbenefit-dependent for publicandpoliticaldebate. said,That inouropinion, themosturgent nextsteptoreducingchildpoverty Some proposalsaregivenahigherprioritythanothers. Choosingprioritiesforexpenditureisrightlyamatter four keythemesdiscussedabove. wheretheyarediscussedin the report. numberindicates The page The proposalsforactiondiscussedinthisreportaresetoutthe table below. They aregroupedunderthe Proposals for action We achoicetomake. have Letusensureitisafairanddignifiedchoice. essentials expectedforlivinginmodernNewZealand, andthechancetodevelopashealthycitizens. thosewhocareforthem, thebestpossiblestartbyensuringthat have andchildrenthemselves, the have choices governmentsmakedoadifference. Secondly, children astakeinmakingsurethat weallhave Two thingsare clear: firstly, thegovernmentcanimpact directlyonchildpovertyandhasdoneso;the fronts. ofactionsisneededacrossmany successful apackage others arespecificandshortterm, buteachcancontributetoreducingchild povertyinNewZealand. To be of reducingchildpovertyinNewZealand. Someofthemarebroad, measures, long-termpreventative while These proposalsforactionareofferedasadvicetotheChildren’s CommissionerandBarnardos, asameans encounter adverseeventssuchasdeath, orillness, separation themimpoverished. leaving tobebornparentswhoarethemselvespoor,significant numbersjustbecausetheyhappen orwho upon theinvestmentwearewillingtomakeasasocietyintheirinterests. We cannotaffordthemtofailin resources amongallNewZealandchildren. Achieving goodoutcomesforNewZealandchildrenwilldepend willcontributetoafairerdistributionof This reportcanvassesanumberofwide-rangingoptionsthat thetargetswouldprovidemeansforindependentmonitoringacrossgovernment. reporting against responsibilityforoneofthespecificareasconcerned.also have New Zealandresponsiblefor MakingStatistics relevant communityorganisations. doesnot oversightshouldrestwithaministerand departmentthat Ultimate ofchildpovertyaremorelikelytobeachievedwithbroad-basedbuy-in,progressive elimination andworkwith the outcomesofothervulnerablechildren. High-levelcommitmentandastrongcross-agencyforthe agenda children’s andlifeopportunities, accesstoservices tosettargetsforMaoriandPacifica children, andtotrack plans Targets focusourefforts. ofincomepoverty,As well assettingtargetsforthealleviation itisimportanttotrack action and Targets

Executive summary and summary of proposls for action 7 Executive summary and summary of proposls for action 8 Summary table of proposals for action for proposals of table Summary achievements to match average qualifications andachievements. qualifications average achievements tomatch parents’schoolparticipation,Set targetsforraisingteenage and qualifications outcomes. and professionaldevelopment, withtheobjectiveofachievingequitableeducation schools, suchasreadingrecovery linkedtospecificprogrammesandinitiatives Provide extrasupportandfunding(inadditiontodecilefunding) lower-decile entitlement. childhood careandeducation In themediumterm, rangeandnumberofhoursfreeearly extendtheage oftheFamilyforthcoming evaluation Startearlychildhoodhubspilot. households,to threeyearsfromlow-income takingaccountofthelessonsfrom 18months childrenaged forat-risk Provide freeearlychildhoodcareandeducation acrossdeciles. services care andeducation grants andrunningcosts, inearlychildhood toequaliseaccessandparticipation GrantsSchemeforestablishment Substantially increasefundingviatheDiscretionary communities. development andcommunityrenewalinlow-income local government, communitiesandbusiness, toprogrammesofinfrastructure Further developlongterm, commitmentsbetweencentralgovernment, collaborative housing-need criteria. toallfamilieswithchildrenwhomeetthe timely allocation “severe” and “significant” Expand thestockofpublic, localauthorityandnon-profitrentalhousingto ensure inallareas. Progressively extendfreemedicalvisitstochildrenofallages thebest-performingOECDcountries. tomatch rates Improve immunisation alltimes,at withoutcost. Ensure children can get after-hours and weekend medical and attention prescriptions allchildrenareenroledin Ensure that birth. Wellchild at andageneralpracticeservice start good a children Giving

Page 58 56 56 56 56 53 53 35 51 51 62 Review the design and operation of the childcare subsidy withaviewtomakingit ofthechildcaresubsidy Review thedesignandoperation leave. four weekspaternity ofpriority, asamatter leave) weeks paternity andsubsequentlyto12monthsplus time earnings, tosixmonths(plus four andextendtheperiodofpaidparentalleave full- leasttwo-thirdsofaverage adultfull-timeearningstoat under halfofaverage fromitscurrentlevelof forpaidparentalleave Raise themaximumpaymentrate work to parents Supporting relatively moreassistanceforyoungchildren. relatively andtoprovide Restructure thefamilytaxcreditso astoreducethenumberofrates living increases. overtime, withwages maintainrelativity rates aswellbeingadjustedforcost-of- mechanism, usedforNewZealandSuperannuation, suchasthat toensurebenefit Review themechanismforannualadjustmentstobenefitrates, andconsidera 2008 incometaxreductionsonearnedincome. firststep,As animmediate match theeffectofBudget rates to increasebenefit to meettheneedsofbeneficiaries, especiallythosewithdependentchildren. Review theadequacy ofcorebenefitrates, toensurebenefitassistanceissufficient all for children with income families adequate an Ensuring incrementally,Increase theminimumwage aseconomicconditionsallow. improve incentivesfortenantstoenterworkorincreasetheirhoursofwork. rentformulato income-related Change theHousingNewZealandCorporation beneficiaries totherealvalueithadwhenwassetin1996. thresholdforsole-parent Restore the30percentpart-timeworkabatement of use, subsidy. thanthroughtheOutofSchoolCareandRecreation rather throughdirectsupporttoprovidersonthebasisofhours Fund out-of-schoolservices communities. andextended schoolservices,out-of-school services givingprioritytolower-income developmentofaffordable Substantially increasefundingtosupporttherapid easier andfairertouse, increasingtake-upandensuringadequacy.

Page 36 36 35 33 41 38 38 38 32 58 32

Executive summary and summary of proposls for action 9 Executive summary and summary of proposls for action 10 Over time, phaseoutthein-worktaxcreditandraisefamilycredit, oncethe the establishedtargets. NewZealandresponsible foranannualreportonprogresstowards Make Statistics oneofthespecific areasinvolved. responsibilityforany have doesnot oversight forachievingthegoalstoaseniorministeranddepartment that Secure high-levelcommitmentfromallgovernmentagencies, givingultimate Establish goalsregardingchildpovertyincluding: targets and goals Setting ofsharedparentingandblendedfamilies. responsive tothegrowth itisfair,to ensurethat toreducingchildpovertyandis contributesappropriately Undertake afullreviewofthechildsupportsystem, similartothereview in Australia, liable parents. Remove thepenaltyondomesticpurposesbenefitbeneficiarieswhodonotname otherearnedincomeforthepurposesofbenefitabatement. like any Pass onchildsupporttocustodialparentswhoarebenefits, payments andtreat government debtdoesnotresultinchildpoverty. toensuringtherepaymentof Develop betterwhole-of-governmentapproaches rental levelsandestablishaperiodicreviewofmaximumpayments. supplementpaymentssotheyreflectactual Increase themaximumaccommodation working families. tomiddle-income forlow- assistance toandreduceeffectivemarginaltaxrates toincrease Progressively raisethethresholdforfamilytaxcreditabatement costs. parents tomeetthesework-related beenexpanded, familieshave areas andforlow-income makingiteasierforworking inlow-income andaffordabilityofchildcareout-of-schoolservices availability - - - - children infostercare. children, childreninmigrantandrefugeefamilies, childrenwithdisabilitiesand households andbetweenwithchildrenthosewithout and health, linkedtochildpovertyoutcomes milestones intermediate measurable targets for specific population groups,measurable targetsforspecificpopulation including Maoriand Pacifica decreasing netincomeinequalitybetweenthepoorestandwealthiest clear intheareasofeducation, measurabletargetsforkeyindicators housing, ofchildpoverty,an overalltargetfortheelimination withtwoorthree 47 43 58 42 41 64 64 64 47 47 The case for action Chapter 1: old age; therewillbefewerworkersto careforuspracticallyandsupporteconomically.old age; today. forcareinour somereaderstoconsidertheimplications Enlightened self-interestmayencourage olderthan65willbe much higherthanitis isaged that workforce whentheproportionofpopulation ofthepopulation.ageing A childborntodayandstartingworkinabout20yearstimewillbe enteringthe is akeytothesocialandeconomicdevelopmentofNewZealand. This ismadeall themorecriticalby development ofourproductivehumancapital. Promotinghealthyearlychildhooddevelopment, inparticular, into thefutureandcompeteeffectivelyonworldstage, wecannotaffordtosacrificethehealthy success willinfuturedependincreasinglyonhighlyskilledworkers. IfNewZealandistocontinueprosper One economicargumentgoesrighttotheheartofsocialand sustainability: globaleconomic adults. olderandbecomedisadvantaged burden asthechildrengrow costs forthetaxpayertoo, inadditionalhealth, andsocialexpenditurenow, education andinacontinuingtax earnings, andlower less employment andahighriskofanti-socialorcriminalbehaviour. There arelarge school.health anddolesswellat Inthelongerterm, withpooradulthealth, childhoodpovertyisassociated undermines children’s entitlementto a goodqualityoflife. poor Itincreasesthelikelihoodtheywillhave short-andlong-termconsequencesofchildpoverty. 2documentsthemany Chapter From thestart, poverty sight ofthechild, standardofliving. theirparticularneedsandrighttoanadequate live. The problems cannotbesolvedbyfocusingsolelyonchildren’s parents. runstheriskoflosing That plan toreducechildpovertyneedstakeaccountofthewidercontextinwhichchildrenandfamilies Any anddothebestingivingallchildrenagoodstartlife. childpovertyrates lowest the have Zealand cantaketoaddresschildpovertyandbecomeamongthosecountriesintheworldthat it runscountertoNewZealanders’desiregiveallchildrenafairgo. New This reportproposesactionsthat us all;itiseconomicallycostlynow, ourfutureeconomicprosperityandsocialwell-being itthreatens itplacesontheirlivesandfutureopportunities.poverty andthelimitsthat However, childpovertyaffects arestillblightedbypovertyandhardship.lives ofmany upin Childrenbearthedirectimpactsofgrowing improvedoverthepastfewyears,While thelivingstandardsofmostNewZealandchildrenhave thedaily Poverty isonourconscience but at thebackofourminds but at but a word that meansalot but awordthat Poverty isjustaword… but anon-goingcycle Poverty isjustacycle not beingaltered by Sa’o,by Otahuhu but whenseen. not actedon… not whensaid but leftaside. but whynot? Poverty

The case for action 11 The case for action 12 separately. Somechildrenlivewithgrandparentsandotherfamilymembers, orinblendedfamilies. Some form duringtheirchildhood. This maymeanlivingwithtwoparentstogether, oneparent, orbothparents differentfamilyarrangements.Children liveinmany Mostchildrenwillexperiencemorethanonefamily need theresourcesandtimetoprovidefornurturetheirchildren. bycare,children aresustainedinthebasicsandstimulated andopportunities. education Adults aroundthem start inlife, regardlessoftheirparents’incomeandcapabilities. Endingchildpovertymeansmakingsure childgetsagood every 4to10isensuringthat The startingpointfortheactionplanoutlinedinchapters theneedtodevelophighlyskilled, • theunnecessarilyhighshort-termandlong-termhealth, • socialequityandchildren’s standardofliving rightstoanadequate • In short, thecaseforactionisthreefold: their currentrightsandwellbeing. strictly andnarrowly, forthemostpartthereisnoconflict, asinvestinginchildren’s futuresmeansensuring disabilities, byit. maybeundervalued too While theriskisrealifasocialinvestmentcalculusapplied theexpenseofvaluingthemascitizensinpresent,at somechildren, orthat suchasthosewith over-emphasises thisinvestmentapproach expresseddisquietthat Some have childrenasfutureworkers, generous supportforbothparents inwork, andallfamilieswithchildren. benefit dependency child-poverty rates, toaminimumandinmaintaininglow provide arethosethat In somecases, benefitswillbelong-termarrangements. aremostsuccessfulinkeeping Thecountriesthat due toillness, disability, ofus. canstrikeany orcaringresponsibilities–circumstancesthat unemployment besomechildrenwhosefamiliesdependonbenefits for someoftheirlives.There willalways Thismaybe income. access toadequate allchildrenhave 5considerstheneedforsystemtoensurethat Chapter childhood andafter-school to supportpaidworkarecentraltoreducingchildpoverty. careservices andpaid parentalleave. wages are tostayconnectedthepaidworkforcethroughadequate Goodearly arecrucialifchildrentothriveandparents that 4discussesthesupportandcommunityservices Chapter toooftensuchchoicesdonotexistforpoorfamilies.addressed isthat fathers, fathers, particularlyseparated wanttospendtimewiththeirchildren. Oneofthechallengestobe beliefs, children;andmore moremotherswanttoworkwhentheyhave twopersistenttrendsareapparent; home whilethechildrenarelittle, ortoworkpart-time. andareinfluencedbyculture While choicesvary youngage. fortheirchildrenfromarelatively will needgoodcareandeducation Otherswillprefertostay extendedfamilyactivelyinvolvedintheircare.will have Someparentswillwanttoworkfull-timeandso consequences ofchildpoverty highlyproductiveworkerstoensureourcontinuedprosperity. (From youngpeople’s definitionofpoverty, group Dunedin) make, opportunities, Poverty is… withthe andwelfarecostsassociated education choices taken away.”

choices you not getting

proper can’t

Chapter 9 discusses the importance of setting goals and targets and monitoring progress towards ending 9discussestheimportanceofsettinggoalsandtargetsmonitoringprogresstowards Chapter cycleintergenerational ofdisadvantage. neighbourhoods. Suchactionsarecriticalforthelong-termpreventionofchildpovertyandbreaking healthcare;andgalvanisingofresourcessupportindeprived live inhealthyhousingandgetappropriate children andskilldevelopmentfromtheearlyyearsthroughschooling;ensuringthat They covereducation livingstandardsforchildren. 7and8outlinewaysofensuringgoodopportunitiesadequate Chapters children livinginbenefit-dependentfamiliestohelpliftsomeofthoseoutpoverty. 6discusseschildsupportandthedesirabilityofpassingonpaidbehalf Chapter care of its young is a society with a death wish.” care ofitsyoungisasocietywithdeath New Zealandhistorian, anthropologistandauthorDame Anne Salmondputit: doesnottake “A societythat It isnotonlyaboutsocialjustice, butaboutthepresentandfutureprosperity ofoursociety. As noted ofchildpovertyaneconomicandsocialpolicyThe caseformakingtheeradication priorityiscompelling. their children. decisions aboutschooling, trainingandwork, tertiary throughtobetterlivingstandardsfor whichwillflow decently paidemployment, youngpeoplewillbeoptimistic enoughtomakesound makesitmorelikelythat goes withpoverty.that thesupportistheretomakeiteasiercombineparentingwith that Knowledge children andfamilies. Mostofthememphasisedthesensehopelessnessandlossbeliefinfuture marginalised children’s viewsonpovertyandtheperspectivesofsomeadultsworkingwithlow-income totheseproposalsforaction.There isacruciallong-termdynamic Inpreparing thisreport, weheardsome child poverty. somebriefconclusions. 10draws Chapter

The case for action 13 The consequences of child poverty 14 prevalent amongpoorchildren. for riseintheincidenceofandhospitalisation NewZealandhadarapid Developmental delayandillnessessuchasgastroenteritis, feveraremore earinfections and rheumatic HM Treasury, 2004). born prematurely, ofone(ChildPoverty birthweightandtodiebeforetheage Review, alow tohave citedin household (Shaw, Blakely, Cramptonand Atkinson, 2005). Childrenbornintopovertyare morelikelytobe duringchildhoodthanachildfromhigh-income a1.4timeshigherriskofdying household hasonaverage under 15eachyear(HM aged Treasury, 2008). InNewZealand, upinalow-income achildgrowing Kingdom, thelivesof1400children forexample, childpovertywouldsave eradicating that itisestimated income families. incomeonchildren’s impactoflow The negative healthiswellestablished. IntheUnited Children inpoorfamiliesaresignificantlymorelikelytobesickandinjured, thanchildrenfromhigher- The health effects of poverty duration, isasignificantriskfactor, raisingthelikelihoodofadverseoutcomes. uptobehealthy,grow successfuladultsdespitetheexperience. said,That poverty, especiallyifitisoflong because otheraspectsoftheirenvironmentandfamilycircumstancesincreaseresilience. will Many result fromacomplexmixoffactors. For some, long-termeffects otherswillavoid povertywillbetemporary; childexposedtopovertywill sufferlastingeffects.Not every Children’s lifechancesandlong-termoutcomes to increasetheirriskofvariouspooreroutcomesasadults. susceptibility toillness, achievement. poorhealthoutcomesandeducational through These effectsflow The biggestdirecteffectsareonchildren’s –especiallyyoungchildren’s – development, resultingin ontheconsequencesofchildpoverty. brieflysummariseskeyevidencefromtheliterature This chapter s e c n e u q e s of childpoverty n o c e h T Chapter 2: 1 properly(86percent)compared with64percentofMaorifamiliesand47Pacificato affordeat the highestsocio-economicareas. properly, affordtoeat socio-economicareassaidthey couldnotalways lowest comparedwith sixpercentin properly; oneinfivesaidtheycould properly”. “sometimes affordtoeat Forty percentofhouseholdsinthe aboutfour-fifths NutritionSurvey affordtoeat In the2002National ofhouseholdssaidtheycouldalways in aweeklybudget(Wood, 2001; Waldegrave etal., 1999;Jamieson, 1999). spendingonfoodisoften themostdispensableitem that impact ofpovertyonfamiliesconsistentlyshow and mentaldevelopment, health(including obesity)andsocialparticipation. NewZealandstudiesofthe inlifeisthroughtheimpactofpovertyondietand,later wellbeing, thusonimmediate aswell asphysical and barrierstoaccessinghealthservices. One ofthedirectlinksbetweenchildpovertyandpooreroutcomes throughpoornutrition,The effectofpovertyonchildhealthisoftenmediated housing, coldorovercrowded heart disease, alcoholanddrugdependence, 26(Poulton age etal., andworseoralhealthat 2002). of withhigherrates uppoorisassociated growing foundthat Health andDevelopmentLongitudinalStudy Poverty duringchildhoodhaslastingeffectsonadulthealth. InNewZealand, theDunedinMultidisciplinary in the1980s. (Turner and Asher, 2008). levelled outinrecentyears, ofillhealthremainhighbyOECDstandards, rates andarehigherthantheywere preventable diseasesduringthe1990s, withariseinchildpoverty. whichcorrelated While thistrendhas

This is a survey of school students that used the New Zealand Index of Deprivation (NZDep)toclassify usedtheNew ZealandIndexofDeprivation ofschoolstudents that schools. This isasurvey 1 Families beable withEuropean childrenwerethemostlikelytoalways

families. beabletoaffordeat Householdswithmorethanfivechildrenwerealsolesslikelytoalways violence (Lievore andMayhew, 2007). of andperpetration victimisation withlater being avictimof familyviolenceduringchildhood is correlated socio-economic status,young cohabitingadultsoflow children. particularlywhentheyhave Witnessing and etal.,Dubowitz 1989; Wilson andHorner, 2005). ofpartnerabusetendto be foundamong The highestrates linked withpoverty, housingandalcoholdrugabuse(Cadzow, overcrowded Armstrong andFraser, 1999; inthepresenceofothersocialproblems,Violence andchronicneglecttend toescalate andaresometimes inNewZealand. betweenpovertyandthephysicalabuseneglectofchildren alsoapplies correlation 14 timesmorelikelytobeharmedbysomeformofabuse. While theseareUSfigures, the itislikelythat or more, Van derKolk the poorerchildrentobe44timesmorelikelysufferneglectand (2001)estimated with anannualincomeofUS$15,000orlesschildreninfamilies withanannualincomeofUS$30,000 (Dubowitz, Zuckerman, BithoneyandNewberger, 1989; Van derKolk, 2001). Comparing childreninfamilies communities visibilityofchildabuseinlow-income bythegreater cannot plausiblybeexplainedaway done intheUnitedStates, withpoverty thehigherrisksofchildphysicalabuseandneglectassociated and Pandey, 1996). casesofabuseandneglectis While mostoftheresearchonreportedandsubstantiated Poverty withhigher risksofthephysicalabuseandneglectchildren(Gelles, isalsocorrelated 1992;Drake were damp(Butler, Williams, Tukuitonga andPaterson, 2003). Pacific morethanathirdof theirhomes Islandsthat Pacifica mothersreportedthat showed Family Study ofHealth,groups, thannon-Maori(Ministry poorerhealthstatus 2002). have fromthelongitudinal Data betweenethnicgroups. disparitiesinhealthstatus Disparities inpovertyexacerbate Maori, acrossallincome theywillberegisteredwithadoctor.likelihood that friendships andsocialconnections, andschool, earlychildhoodeducation andtoattend andreducesthe housingcanleadtofamilies movingoften,unsatisfactory whichinturnaffectschildren’s abilitytomaintain their homeforthemtodohomework(AdolescentHealthResearchGroup, 2003). Insecureor achievement;morethanonein10NewZealandstudentsreportthereisnotenoughspace educational violence withinhouseholds(AucklandRegionalPublicHealthService, 2006). Italsointerfereswith tuberculosis andmeningococcaldisease, stress andraisetheriskof housingcanexacerbate overcrowded spread ofinfection, inNewZealandwiththeprevalenceofinfectiousdiseasesincluding andbeingcorrelated etal., Chapman (Howden 2007;Housing, andHealthStudy, Heating 2007). As wellascontributingtothe infections, asthma, fever, rheumatic tuberculosis, skindiseases, depressionandothermentalillness. Damp, coldhousinghasbeendirectlylinkedtoawiderangeofillnessesand diseasesincluding respiratory earners.beneficiaries andlow power, housinganditemssuchasmilkproducts, for outstrippedincomegrowth breadandpetrolhave demandhasnotdiminishedsignificantlysincethen,foodbanks suggestthat as increasesinthecostsof (Wynd, between2001and2004withimprovedemployment somewhat 2005). Anecdotal reportsfrom ofHealth,properly (Ministry 2003). Foodbank expandedconsiderablyinthe1990s, services theirusefalling “Poverty is… to payrent, lot offriendsifmoving alot.” (From youngpeople’s definitionofpoverty, group Paeroa) always moving –stressful. move inthemiddleofnight– scary. Don’tmake a moving houses,

Having to unable

The consequences of child poverty 15 The consequences of child poverty 16 families. in competenciesinchildrenwhoparticipated socialandattitudinal greater alsoshowed The study competency, andtheaddedvaluederivedfromECCEwasmoremarkedforchildrenlow-income five. with werealsostronglyassociated education inECCEandthequalityofthat Thelength ofparticipation withdifferencesinchildren’s werethefactorsmoststronglyassociated qualifications age at competencies The achievement. educational isbeneficial forlater high-qualityECCEservices at attendance that (ECCE)services. earlychildhoodcareandeducation attend There isstrongevidence, hereandoverseas, accesstoand communitiesinNewZealandarealsolesslikelytohave Children livinginlow-income access tofewerresourcesandsourcesofstimulation, whicharevitalforearlycognitivedevelopment. achildwillhave Poverty withanincreasedriskthat duringthefirstfewyearsoflifeisalsoassociated outcomes(HM IQandconsequentlypoorereducational ahigherriskoflow they have Treasury, 2008). even before birth. Because children born into poor households are more likely to be born with low birthweights, The impactofpovertyonchildren’s outcomesstarts cognitivedevelopmentandsubsequenteducational thedetrimentaleffectsoffamilypovertyonabilityandachievement. was foundtopossiblyexacerbate school orearlyyears. Poor qualityschooling, withhighneighbourhoodpoverty, whichiscorrelated who livedinextremepovertyorforalongtime, income hadoccurredduringpre- andwhenlow e v i t outcomes,and achievement-related i theseeffectswereparticularlypronouncedamongchildren andthat n g o c withpoverty.factors associated They concludedtochildren’s familyincomewasstronglyrelated that ability n o y t poverty and, usingUSlongitudinalstudies, incomeitselffromthoseofother distinguishedtheimpactoflow r e v o p with betweenanarrayoffactorsassociated Brooks-Gunn andDuncan(1997)examinedtherelationships f o s t c a development, education andadultearnings p m i e h T summarised in the diagram opposite. summarised inthediagram yearsis andinlater throughtopersonalandsocietalcostsnow The waythecostsofchildpoverty flows andlivingstandardsacrosstheboard. economic growth for society. productivity,The lower thehigherwelfare, on andothercostsareadrag remedialadulteducation substantial, andlabourmarketoutcomeshave attainment These effectsoneducational wide-rangingcosts adult incomes(Ballentyneetal., 2003). and Machin, 1999). withlower childhoodpovertyiscorrelated NewZealandresearchalsosuggeststhat effectsandnon-financialaspectsofhousehold background(Gregg,taking accountofeducation Harkness and incomeevenafter childhoodpovertyaffectsadultemployment butthereisevidencethat attainment; from non-poorhouseholds. This ispartlyduetotheconsequencesofeffectpovertyoneducational andearningsoutcomesinadulthoodthanchildren worseemployment uppooralsohave Children whogrow and spacetodohomework, disadvantage. canreinforceeducational al., 1996; Wylie andHodgen, 2007). Poverty knock-ons, home suchasthe absenceofInternetconnectionsat forliteracy,scores onaverage numeracy, logicalproblemsolvingandsocialskills, werestillevident(Wylieet ECCE. 16, Byage ECCEservices, inthemosthighly-rated intermsofhigher thebenefitsfromparticipation Competent Children longitudinal study of longitudinalstudy Wellington familyincomeandmothers’ childrenfoundthat

The cost of not ending child poverty: A simplified map simplified A poverty: child ending not of cost The fromHirsch,Adapted 2006 consequences Future childhood poverty in Impact of Costs to the child child the to Costs ------achieve lifegoals psychological wellbeing, abilityto continuing disadvantage hardship inadulthood, linkedto aspirations, lossofconfidence. during childhood injury, physicalabuseandneglect physical illnesses consequences for own children. consequences forown poorer healthinadulthood, chanceofmaterial greater social exclusion –reduced knock-on effectondevelopment higher incidenceofaccidental higher incidenceofmentaland andsocialhardship material and for social spending social for society and for Consequences - - - - - health, crime consequences suchaspoor unsupported. childbearing whenyoungand care, anti-socialbehaviour, school, spendingonprotective remedial education child problems–eg. health, of disadvantage. cyclecaused byintergenerational individuals toreachpotential resulting fromfailureof extra spendingonlong-term extra services, problemsin extra spendingonpreventable further spendingonpoverty reduced economiccapacity

The consequences of child poverty 17 Child poverty in New Zealand 18 medianincomeafterhousing thestricter50percentofcontemporary 170,000(16percent)werebelow • 230,000children, • After takinghousingcostsintoaccount: thestricter50percentthresholdbeforehousingcosts. 140,000(13percent)werebelow • 210,000children, • Before takingaccountofhousingcosts: resultsfor2006/07: approximate following g n i v yieldsthe medianincome–themostrecentdata benchmarks of60percentand50contemporary i l e r Using themeasuresmostcommonlyusedbyOECDcountriesandinEurope– a n e r d l i h c 21, andinthisreportareexplainedtheboxonpage measures usedintheliterature d n a l a The numberofchildrencountedasliving ‘in poverty’dependsonthepovertymeasureused. The main e Z w e N y in poverty? n a m w o H onpovertyamongchildrenlivinginbenefit-dependenthouseholds.also providesinformation poverty, ofSocialDevelopmentLivingStandardsSurvey. fromtheMinistry itreportsinformation The chapter amongparticulargroupsofchildren.poverty andrates Inadditiontoincome-based measuresof NewZealandcompareswithotherdevelopedcountries.and how onwhichchildrenarein Itprovidesdata living inpoverty, data, usingthemostrecentlyavailable overtime, describes thetrendinchildpovertyrates onchildpovertyinNewZealand. setsoutsomeofthekeydata This chapter Itreportsthenumberofchildren Child poverty inNew Zealand Chapter 3: 2 thestricter50percentafterhousingcoststhreshold. 130,000(12percent)werebelow • the60 percentof1998constantvaluemedianincomeafter 170,000children(16percent)werebelow • the50percentthreshold beforehousingcosts 70,000(7percent)werebelow • the60 percentofmedianincomethresholdbeforehousing 140,000children(13percent)werebelow • approximately: that The 1998constantvaluepovertylinesshow median(Perry,contemporary 2008)). (by2007the60percentthresholdonthismeasurerepresentedonly51of povertyrates lower figures. the2007median, fallensignificantlybelow The1998 medianhasnow sothesemeasuresshow threshold. Usingthealternative asawholerises(asithasinNewZealandrecently),income forthepopulation sotoodoesthepoverty povertymeasures,These figuresareallbasedonrelative whenthe medianormiddle whichmeansthat

Unless otherwisestated, in thissectionandthenexttwosections comes from Perry (2008), the data whichcontainsthemost up-to-date estimates available. estimates up-to-date costs threshold. income afterhousingcoststhreshold are takenintoaccount housing coststhreshold costs aretakenintoaccount or22percentofallchildren, or20percentofallchildren, 2 1998 constantvalue median the60percentofcontemporary werebelow the60percentthresholdbeforehousingcosts werebelow threshold(asusedin

The SocialReport relative poverty Measuring child poverty. ) givesdifferent

(dollars perweek) much? not is Examples of2007dollarvalues ofpoverty thresholds forone-child households, before housingcosts much How 1: Table receive eachweek, beforepayingforhousingcosts. isexactlyonthepovertylinewould represent theamountofmoney(aftertaxesandbenefits)afamilythat thedollarvaluesfortwodifferenthouseholdtypes.provides somecontextbyshowing These figures muchmoneythesepovertylinesrepresent. itisnoteasytodeterminehow In isolation The tablebelow 3 account thenumbersstillremainsignificantlyhigherthantheywereduring1980s. generally returnedto, orslightlybelow, their1980slevels. However, oncehousingcostsaretakeninto show,As thetwographs beforetakingaccountofhousingcostshad by 2006/07childpovertyrates 2000/01, someimprovement, mostmeasuresshow improvedbetween2003/04and2006/07. andallhave there wasaperiodwhenconstantvaluemeasuresofpovertywerefalling, povertywasnot. butrelative Since largeincreasesinchildpovertybetween1989/90and1993/94.Figures show 1and2below After 1993/94 Trends inchildpoverty

We do not have comparable data earlierthan1981/82. We comparable data donot have 50% 1998-basedconstantvaluemedian 60% 1998-basedconstantvaluemedian median(2007) 50% contemporary median(2007) 60% contemporary Poverty line Poverty one child one adult, One $370 $355 $430 $305 3 one child one Couple, $490 $475 $570 $405

Child poverty in New Zealand 19 Child poverty in New Zealand 20

Percentage below threshold 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Figure 2: Child poverty rates, using selected thresholds, after after thresholds, selected using costs rates, housing poverty Child 2: Figure before thresholds, selected using costs rates, housing poverty Child 1: Figure

Percentage below threshold 1980 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Source: fromPerry, data 2008 1980 Source: fromPerry, data 2008 1982 1982 1984 50% Relative 60% Relative 50% 1998Constantvalue 60% 1998Constantvalue 1984 50% Relative 60% Relative 50% 1998Constantvalue 60% 1998Constantvalue 1986 1986 1988 1988 1990 1990 1992 1992 1994 1994 1996 1996 1998 1998 2000 2000 2002 2002 2004 2004 2006 2006 2008 2008 5 4

Questions cover ownership of householdgoods,Questions coverownership warmclothing, goingwithoutfood, inabilityofchildrenoradultstoattend Various scales areusedindifferentcountries, leading toimportantdifferencesinmeasured poverty;soitisimportantthat doctors because oflackmoney, accesstocashfor emergencies, and soon. comparisonsare basedonthesamescale. international health, it cantakesometimeafterhouseholdincomerisesforafamilytomoveoutofhardship. set-upcosts,accommodation withpoverty, purchasesandotherfactorsassociated thecostofcatch-up suchasill deprivation. neededtoavoid Equally, theassetsandreserves of alongperiod)familymaystillhave becauseofdebts, deprivation and aremuchmorealigned(Perry,populations 2002). income,This isbecause duringashortperiodoflow (orthebeginning poverty figure dependsontheprecisemeasureusedforeachindicator). However,at overalongerperiod, looked thetwo income areincomepoor alsodeprived(the giventimeonlyabouthalfofallhouseholdsthat any at that shown Studies have between overlap The ranging from ‘severe hardship’(scoresunder15)to good’(scoresover45).‘very including specifically affect children. certain items that standard assignsascorerangingfrom0to60, derivedfromasetof40self-rated, economicliving-standarditems, conductedin2000and2004.is acompositelivingstandardsindexconstructedfromsamplesurveys The ELSIliving deprivation constructed inseveralways.and InNewZealand, ofSocialDevelopment’s Ministry tosuchthingsashouseholdgoods,in relation standards food, housing, healthcareandeducation. Suchmeasurescanbe living of assessactuallivingstandardsdirectly,Measures ofactualconsumptiongoodsandservices anddefinedeprivation measures Direct intolivingstandards.translates inhousingcostscanmakealargedifferencetothewaygivenlevelofincome variations isthat ofthelatter advantage beforeoraftertakingaccountofhousingcosts(andsubsidies).value povertylinescanbecalculated The thepovertybenchmarkovertime. at measures seektomaintainaconstantbuyingpower andconstant- Bothrelative lineforoverallmovementsinconsumerprices.median incomesforsomegivenyear)andthenadjustthat These society. elsein totheincomesofeveryone povertymustbedefinedasrelative builtintothemthenotionthat measures have across thecommunity. Commonlythisiseither50percentor60ofcurrentmedianincome. Inthiswayrelative given levelorpovertyline. a ofpeoplewhoseequivaliseddisposablehouseholdincomefallsbelow Poverty aremeasuredasthepercentage rates lines Poverty ofaone-adulthouseholdwith$20,000 equivalised incomeequaltothat in NewZealand, an afamilyofoneadultandtwochildrenwouldneeddisposableincome$35,000tohave of thenumberadultsandchildrenlivingthere. For example, usingthe1988RevisedJensenScale, extensivelyused poverty measures only anindirectmeasure, yearstobeareasonableproxyforunderlyingpoverty. provenovermany theyhave Income quantifiable thanothermeasures, andmakeitpossibletocomparegroupsregisterchangesovertime. Although measures Income povertymeasuresareusedfrequentlyinthisreport. theyaremorereadily that theadvantages They have poverty Income Measuring childpoverty Constant-value equivalise poverty lines choose a level of equivalised disposable income (often defined as a percentage of povertylineschoosealevelofequivaliseddisposableincome(oftendefinedaspercentage Relative disposable household income – that is, disposablehouseholdincome–that thehousehold’s incomeisadjustedtotakeaccount poverty line measures set a poverty benchmark that changesasincomesriseorfall poverty linemeasuressetabenchmarkthat 5 is classifiedThe population into seven bands of living standards, 4 . Economic LivingStandardsIndex (ELSI)

Child poverty in New Zealand 21 Child poverty in New Zealand 22 Source: FörsterandMirad’Ercole,2007, Annex Table A.5.3, citedinPerry, 2008 Table 2: Child poverty rates in the OECD (%) c 2004 c (%) OECD the in rates medianthreshold,50 percent ofcontemporary before housingcosts poverty Child 2: Table period. improved muchoverthat just under15percent(Perry, 2008), tootherOECDcountrieswillhave soitisunlikelyourrankingrelative countries, Sweden, Finland, NorwayandDenmark. In2007, usingthismeasurewas ourchildpovertyrate the USA, buthigherthanthoseof oftheNordic rate Australia andtheUK–threetimesaverage wassimilartothoseofIreland,rate Germany, CanadaandJapan, considerablylessthanthoseofItalyand 20th outof30OECDcountries, andabovetheOECDmedianof12percent. At 15percent, ourchildpoverty h t foraround2004, available.using data NewZealandwas data that Itshows themostrecentcross-country i w e r moved to, a orclose to, usinga60percentofmedianline. theaverage Table 2comparesOECDcountries p m o c usingtheOECD50percentofmedianapproach, wasstillabovetheaverage buthad the NewZealandrate d n a l ofotherdevelopedcountries. a inNewZealand2004wereabovetheaverage Child povertyrates By2007, e Z w e N s other countries? e o d w o H Australia Luxembourg Greece 2000 Japan New Zealand2004 Canada Germany Ireland Spain Portugal United States Poland Mexico Turkey Italy 26 12 12 13 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 21 22 22 25 Belgium Sweden Finland Norway Denmark Switzerland 2001 France Iceland Austria Hungary Czech Republic United Kingdom Slovakia Korea Netherlands 12 10 10 11 11 12 4 4 5 5 7 8 8 9 9 Gini Coefficient (x100) 40 in unemployment during the 1980s, low wage growth for low- tomiddle-incomeworkersandreductions in duringthe1980s, forlow- in unemployment growth wage low New Zealandsincethemid-1980s. The mainfactorsincreasingincomeinequalityovertheperiodwerearise One ofthekeydriversrisingchildpovertyin1990swasasubstantialincreaseincomeinequality Income inequality citedinPerry, data since 2004(Eurostat 2008). average,The morerecent2007figureof20percentbringsusequaltotheEU fallen althoughittoomayhave of20percent. pointshigherthantheEuropeanUnion(EU)average percent measurewassixpercentage that,Another sourceshows 26percentin2004, at NewZealand’s usingthehigher60 childpovertyrate 6 coefficient Gini Zealand, New in (disposable incomesafterhousingcosts) measures inequality “80/20” income in and Changes 3: Figure tootherOECDcountries.relative improvedourstanding whetherthemostrecentreductionsininequalityNewZealandhave soon toknow exists (Perry, 2008). Almost allofthisincreaseoccurredbetweenthemid1980sandmid-1990s. Itistoo ofthe24OECDcountriesforwhichcomparabledata 2000s inequalityrosemoreinNewZealandthanany betweenthemid-1980sandmid- that comparisonsofchangesinincomeinequalityindicate International through Working forFamilies contributedtotheimprovementsince2001. willhave thanitwasin1986.inequality isstillmuchgreater Wage growth, andredistribution higher employment the periodwhenchildpovertyrosemostrapidly. hasclosedThe gap since2001, somewhat although ratio’. twocommonmeasuresofincomeinequality–theGinicoefficientand Figure shows 3below ‘80/20 the valueofwelfarepayments, theendof1980sandin1991. particularlyat 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38

The 80/20 ratio is the ratio oftheincome ofahousehold80percenttheway upthe (equivalised) incomedistributiontoa istheratio The 80/20ratio (and so is more affected by changes in the densely populated lower-middle(and soismoreaffected bychangesinthedenselypopulated partofthedistribution (Perry, 2007)). household 20percent fromthebottom. household The Ginicoefficient takesintoaccountdifferencesin incomebetweenevery 1980 Source: Perry, 2008 6 incomeinequalityrisingsharplybetweenthemid-1980sandmid-1990s–broadly shows The graph 1982 1984 P80/P20 GiniCoefficient 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4

P80/p20 Ratio

Child poverty in New Zealand 23 Child poverty in New Zealand 24 Table 3: Which children are in poverty? characteristics 60percent ofconstantvalue medianincomeafterhousingcosts in are Estimates ofnumberschildren below poverty threshold andpoverty rates by household children Which 3: Table higherpovertyrates. Childreninbiggerfamilieshave • Livinginasole-parenthouseholdmeansmuchhigherriskofpoverty. • s p u o r g h increasesachild’s Beinginahouseholdwherenoadulthasfull-timepaidworkgreatly riskofpoverty. c i • h w d n Several pointsstandout: a r o o higher riskofpoverty. Keycharacteristicsofthechildrentypicallyinpovertyaresetout Table 3below. p e r a unevenlydistributed,Child povertyisvery orcircumstancesexposechildrentoamuch andsomesituations n e r d l i h are most atriskof poverty? c h c i h W Three ormorechildren One ortwochildren household in children of Number Other householdtypes(multi-adult, etc.) Sole-parent household Couple household type Household All children rate is higher still for very largefamilieswith fiveormorechildren. is higherstillforvery rate children. sampleistoosmallfor a moredetailedbreakdown, thepoverty While thesurvey itislikelythat forhouseholdswithonlyoneortwo oneandahalftimestherate three ormorechildrenisapproximately forchildrenintwo-parenthouseholds. over fivetimesashightherate households wereinpoverty. While thisisconsiderablylessthanthepeakof77percentin1996, itisstill value povertylineandaftertakingaccountofhousingcosts, 49percentofchildreninsole-parent (Perry, 2008). proportion inhouseholdswithnofull-timeworkerhasrisenfromaboutone-halftoalmosttwo-thirds ofallchildreninpoverty,One ofthemostsignificanttrendsbetween2003/04and2006/07isthat the

children in poverty in children of Number 170,000

forchildreninhouseholdswith The povertyrate 24,000 65,000 82,000 n/a n/a

Usingthe60percentconstant for the group the for rate Poverty 20% 14% 18% 49% 16% 9%

Table 3: Continued 3: Table 7 ethnicity by rates 60 percent ofconstantvalue median incomeafterhousingcosts2003/04 poverty Child 4: Table (NZDep) from theCensusandNewZealandIndexofDeprivation findings areconsistentwithotherevidenceabouttheethnicdistributionofpovertyanddeprivation, suchas with childrenof ‘other’ ethnicitiesbecauseofsmallsamplesizes, higherpovertyrates. alsohave These more likelythanPakeha childrentobelivinginhouseholdspoverty. Pacifica children, groupedinthisdata quality ofthedata. However, Maorichildrenareconsiderably that earlieranalysisforthe2003/04yearshows becauseofdoubtsoverthe survey byethnicityarenotreportedforthemostup-to-date Child povertyrates The ethnicity of children livinginpoverty Source: Perry, Perry, 2008(andBryan perscomm., for ‘part-time only’rate)

NZDep is a geographically-based measure of relative deprivation acrosscommunitiesthroughoutNew Zealand(Salmond, deprivation measureofrelative NZDep isageographically-based Crampton and Atkinson, 2007). Other (including Pacifica children) Maori Pakeha/European child of Ethnicity All children Work status of adults adults of status Work Ofwhich: None full-time One ormoreinfull-timework Self-employed household in - - out ofwork part-time only “What is Am Iinpoverty? I’ve seenmanyworse off. had thelack ofpower, nofridgeandwashing machine.

poverty?... 89,000 22,000 111,000 55,000 7000 poverty in children of Number

Many would say For thepast4years wehave 7 ” . (Bessie, Paeroa) 31% 49% 8% 6% group the for rate Poverty 58%

I amalthough 23% 40% 27% 16%

Child poverty in New Zealand 25 Child poverty in New Zealand 26 y e v r u S s d r a d n a t S g is, (that At thetimeofMSD2004LivingStandardsSurvey beforetheintroductionof n Working for i v i L e h t Direct measures of hardship –data from Zealand childrenexperiencelongperiodsofpoverty. the60percentpovertyline,benefit beingbelow alargenumberofNew that thesefiguresstillindicate However, thefigureisstillsubstantial;and, highlikelihood offamiliesinreceiptamain giventhevery Development, 2007a). ofSocial supported bymainbenefitsfromjustunderoneinfour2002tofive2006(Ministry There isevidencetosuggestsomereductioninrecentyears, withafallintheproportionofchildren at leastfiveoftheirfirstsevenyearslife(Ballandwere supportedbyamainbenefitfor Wilson, 2002). oneinfiveofallchildrenborn1993 that whichshowed Social Development(MSD)benefitreceiptdata of comesfromananalysisofMinistry onpovertyduration information A differentsourceofindicative (Ballentyne etal., 2003). of medianpovertythresholdinbothyears, 50percentthreshold thelower and6.6percentwerebelow year.following For theyears1997/98and1998/99, the60percent 16.5percentofallchildrenwerebelow childreninpovertyoneyearwerestillthe many todeterminehow linked annualincomedata ofpoverty. inNewZealandontheduration available There islimitedinformation However, uses onestudy children’s currentwellbeingandfutureoutcomes(Brooks-GunnDuncan, 1997). ofpoverty,The longertheduration (continuous, to thelikelydamage spells)thegreater orinrepeated Poverty duration more children) had lower average living standards that thosewithoneortwochildren. livingstandardsthat average more children)hadlower meals. reportedabove,Also consistentlywiththeincomepovertyestimates largerfamilies(withthreeor not buyingchildren’s books, friendsoverfor orplayandnothaving limited spacetostudy childrenhaving toputupwith feelingcold,reported theylacked39percentofbasicssuchashaving worn-outshoes, having (children’s shoes, schooloutings, etc)” (Jensenetal., 2006). To illustrate: theseveresthardshipgroup only inconsumptionofitemsforthefamilyasawhole(heating, holidays, etc), butalsoinchild-specific items ‘severe’ or ‘significant’ hardship. Families inthe werefoundtobe ‘severe’category “highlyconstrainednot measures reportedabove, familieswithchildrenareineither ahighproportion(58percent)ofbeneficiary standards forfamilieswithdependentchildrenbyincomesource. Consistent withtheincomepoverty below, report, whichistakenfromthe2004LivingStandardsSurvey thedistributionofliving shows degree ofhardship, asawhole(Jensenetal., comparedwith24percentofthepopulation 2006). Figure 4 Families), groups, livingstandardofalltheage average with38percentinsome childrenhadthelowest

Population percentage 35 Figure 4: Living standards for families with dependent children, children, dependent with (2004) families source for income standards by Living 4: Figure 8 ofSocialDevelopment,(Ministry 2007). for whomachilddisabilityallowance physical ormentaldisabilityrequires constantcareandattention. Overall, 40percentofthe36,207children receiving acarer’s benefit–alsoreceivedachilddisabilityallowance, whichispaid whereachildwith At theendofJune2006, morethan10,000peoplereceivingacarer’s isonein10ofthose benefit–that parentswillcarefull-timefortheirdisabledchildren, that the commonexpectation thanbeemployed. rather this arenotknown, adisabledchildonparentalrelationships, butitmayreflectboththestrainofhaving and tobesignificantlyover-representedChildren withdisabilitiesappear families. inbeneficiary Thereasonsfor poverty hasaparentwithself-reporteddisabilityorlong-standing healthcondition(Harker, 2006: 26). the extentofill-healthinpoorfamilies, theUK, forexample, oneinthreechildren hasestablishedthat neighbourhoods, andforallethnicities(Worth andMcMillan, 2004). on While thereisnoNewZealanddata poor according toanumberofindicators, wealthyandrelatively thiswasthecaseinbothrelatively andthat the groupclassified theirhealthasfairorpoor, ofotherwomen thanthat waslower theirhealthstatus that morethan30percentof ofdomesticpurposesbenefitrecipientsfoundthat A smallNewZealandsurvey significantly poorermentalhealth. tosocio-economicfactors), (thisislargelyattributed health thanpartneredmothersonaverage and parents aremorelikelytoreportill-health;andsinglemothers, whotendto bepoorer, worsephysical have ofchildpovertyamongfamilieswhereaparenthaspoorhealtharesparse. on rates Data However, poor I 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Source: Jensenetal., 2006 The child disability allowance is not income-tested and is available tofamilieswithdisabledchildren. isnotincome-testedandavailable The childdisabilityallowance ll-health, disability andchildpoverty Comfortable livingstandard Severe hardship Income-tested benefit 8 waspaid, livedinbenefit-dependentor superannuitantfamilies Good livingstandard Significant hardship Income sourceoffamily Very goodlivingstandard Some hardship Market income Fairly comfortablelivingstandard

Child poverty in New Zealand 27 Child poverty in New Zealand 28

Dollars per week ($2007) 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 200 It wasonlypartiallyoffsetbytheintroductionof Working forFamilies reforms. preceding threeyears, resultedinanevidentdecreasethevalueofcore assistanceofabout17percent. 2007. in1991,The reductions incorebenefitsrates ofbenefitsinthe alongwiththenon-indexation familieswithnootherincomeovertheperiod1973- tobeneficiary family support/familytaxcredit)payable therealvalueofcorebenefitsplusfamilyassistance(familybenefit,Figure shows 5below familycare, next twoyears, thenumberofchildrenreliantonbenefitswillincrease. thereisariskthat – 176,000childrenwereinsole-parentfamiliesonbenefits. If, asisforecast, risesoverthe unemployment there werestill199,000childrenlivinginfamiliesdependentonbenefits. Sevenoutofeightthesechildren improved. Nonetheless, in25years, isthelowest thepointwhereunemployment evenat inMarch2008 leastonefull-timeworkerhas tomiddle-incomefamilieswithat ofchildreninlow- the situation that wage), coupledwiththeextrasupportgiventoworkingfamiliesthrough Working forFamilies, meant have minimum In recentyears, (included andrisesinwages inemployment increases thestatutory growth on benefits Poverty amongchildren dependent care thanPakeha children. Pacifica familymemberswhoaresickordisabled, childrenaremorelikelytohave andtobeininformalfoster dependent families(3396of7502childreninJune2006). toCYF. ofthesechildren areknown Many Maoriand children forwhomanon-means-tested, unsupportedchildbenefitororphan’s benefitispaid, liveinbenefit- povertywhenmovedintoaninformalorformalfoster-carenecessarily escape arrangement. Nearlyhalfofthe of all, fromfamiliesreceivingbenefits(Rochfordand andaredisproportionately Walker, 1996). Achilddoesnot ofChild,Children whocometotheattention Youth andFamily (CYF)arearguablyamongthemostvulnerable Other children vulnerable to poverty Figure 5: Real value of core benefits plus family benefits/family tax tax benefits/family family plus benefits 1973–2007 core of credits value Real 5: Figure Jan 73 Sources: andConsumerPriceIndex basedonMSDBenefits data Authors’ estimates Jan 75 Jan 77 Jan 79 Jan 81 Jan 83 Jan 85 Jan 87 Jan 89 Jan 91 Jan 93 Jan 95 Jan 97 Couple, 2children Sole parent, 2children Jan 99 Jan 01 Jan 03

Jan 05 Jan 07

A recent report from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) does however provide some insight into how providesomeinsightintohow of Social Development(MSD)doeshowever A recentreportfromtheMinistry trace overalltrendsintheamountofassistancepaidtofamiliesonbenefits. available,actual totalpaymentstobeneficiarieswith(andwithout)childrenarenot soitisimpossibleto anassesseddeficiencywhere theyhave totheircosts. ofincomeinrelation average onthe Time seriesdata reducedpaymentstobeneficiaries assistance supplementreplacedthespecialbenefitin2005willhave benefit.the accommodation Ontheotherhand, reductionsinthird-tierassistancewhenthetemporary paid toasignificantnumberofbeneficiariessince1992/93, supplementreplaced whentheaccommodation beneficiaries. Inparticular, increasedtheassistance supplementwillhave increases intheaccommodation Figure 5, however, onlytellspartofthestory, asitdoesnotinclude to changesinotherassistancepayable of mediandisposableincomes(MSD, 2007c). central Auckland, theNorthShoreandmostruralareas), wasbetweenabout30percent and35percent supplement who livedinaccommodation ‘Area 2’or is,‘Area 3’(that andcities, mosttowns excluding the after-housing-costs familieswithchildren ordomesticpurposesbeneficiary incomesofunemployment after-housing-costs low beneficiarieswithchildren.very incomesformany in2006 that reportshowed That high housingcostsinteractwiththefullbenefitpackage, including supplement, accommodation todeliver

Child poverty in New Zealand 29 Supporting families to combine employment and parenting 30 to expect to have both low-paid elder-care both low-paid to expecthave childpoverty. workersandlow frail elderlyneeding care, wewillneedacommitted, skilledand stable elder-care workforce. Itis notreasonable families.standards oftheemployees’ Looking tothefuture, of alargerpopulation whenNewZealandwillhave scales forskill, valueofcaring, stemfromassumptionsabout thelow directlyontotheliving andtheyflow little over$12perhourforoftendemanding andskilledwork a care-givers in2006was$17,600pa, worksoutat betweenfull-andpart-timeemployees) which (averaged Of theseworkers92percentarefemale, 30andover. and86percentaged earningsfornursinghome Average workers, ofthemmothers. many innursinghomesandhospitals.A goodexampleisthecare-giversemployed structure ofcertainindustries. Often, female byprime-age andindustriesdominated theseareoccupations In someareas, andlimitedskillrecognitionintheinstitutional wages riskofentrenchinglow NewZealandisat providefewopportunitiesforstafftoadvancemoreskilled,employers better-paid positions. However, industries unevenandinmany is very trainingandapprenticeships thedistribution of industry growth.supporting wage addition totheircorepurposeofraisingproductivity, andtheywillconfervaluablelong-runbenefitsby literacy, trainingandmodernapprenticeships. industry These areallimportantpovertypreventionpolicies, in Since 1999thegovernmenthasputsubstantialadditionalfundingintoadulteducation, especiallyadult qualitycareforchildren: • paidparentalleave • jobfactors: • The threeareasare: combine thecareerwithfulfillingtheirfamilyaspirations. andplanacareer, youngpeopletoobtainbetterqualifications encouraging theywillbeableto that knowing to balanceworkandnurturingchildren. Importantly, a thepotentialtocreate theyhave ‘virtuous circle’, work. acentralroleinmakingitpossible There are strongconnectionsbetweenthemandtogethertheyhave discussesthreeareasoflabourmarketpolicyThis chapter arecentraltobettersupportingparents that and caringfortheirchildrenisdifficult. parents intheworkforce, parents, buttherearestillmany especiallysoleparents, forwhomcombiningwork balance ofincentivestowork. bettersupportfor NewZealandhasmadeconsiderableprogresstowards safetynetforbeneficiarieswithoutunderminingtheoverall also makesiteasiertomaintainanadequate in reducingchildpoverty, particularlybutnotonlyintheNordiccountries. Strongsupportforworkingparents tothelabourforce,Policies supportparentssotheycanstayattached tobeeffective that beenshown have the hoursandconditionsofworkdonotadverselyaffectchild’s supportandcare. e at leastoneadultisinpaidwork–aslong upinahouseholdwhere childrenbenefitfromgrowing that n i b m resources, toensuretheirwellbeing. thetimeandaccesstoservices There iswell-documentedevidence o c Parents, fewexceptions, o withvery thefinancial wanttobeableprovidefortheirchildrenandhave t s e i Introduction l i m a f g n i t employment andparenting r o p p u S Chapter 4: 9 , t n e m p o l e v e d l l i k s t l u d a , s e g a w : s r o job quality andflexible work t c a f b o J

Data fromDepartment ofLabourwebsite,Data www.dol.govt.nz continuingadultskilldevelopment, andout-of-schoolservices. accesstoaffordableearlychildhoodcareandeducation jobquality,

9 . rates, wage These low andthevirtualabsenceof flexiblework, andwages promoted throughthegovernment’s Better Work, Working Betterprogramme. respond. andemployees employers Moreadaptive, responsive and flexibleworkplaceculturesarealsobeing with arighttorequestflexiblework fromJuly2008. Thisisausefulstep, althoughitremainstobeseenhow (Flexible Relations The Employment Working Arrangements) Amendment Act 2007willprovideemployees homealonewhensheorheissick. achildat informalcarearrangementsorleave make unsatisfactory and maintainingfamilies’incomes. Too frequently, families, low-income especiallysoleparents, areforcedto jobs thantheyareinlower-paid jobs, wheretheyareevenmoreimportantforensuring children’s wellbeing schooleventsandsoforth.attend At present, flexibleworkprovisionsaremorecommoninbetter-paid skilled arrangements,holidays; andflexibilityinleave parentscantaketimeoffwhenachildissickorto sothat There aretwocrucialkindsofflexibility: flexibilityinworkinghours, bothdayto dayandduringschool motherswhodonotwanttoworkfull-time(McPherson,part-time workattracts 2005). recognition ofthosewhowanttoworkpart-timeisthekeyimprovingproductivity, of astheavailability amongfull-timeworkers(Francesconicompared withthat andGosling, 2005). better McPhersonarguesthat However, inthepart-timeworkforce (andwages) ofevidencepointstopoorerskillutilisation body agrowing work part-time, andpart-timeworkplaysanimportantroleinhelpingfamilies balanceworkandparenting. largepart-timeworkforcebyOECDstandards.New Zealandhasarelatively mothers, Many inparticular, connection tothelabourmarket. isastrongincentiveforwomen,available inparticular, toobtainhigherskills, andtomaintaintheir theriskofchildpoverty.against is Inthelongerterm, paidparentalleave adequate that theknowledge shores uptheirfutureearningsand, parentsseparate, inasocietywheremany providesavitalprotection child povertyaswellforNewZealand’s economicprosperity. Women’s tothelabour force attachment maximise theiruseofskills, andarefairlypaidfordoingso, stronger. grows This isimportantforpreventing continuetoincrease,achievement andlabourforceparticipation women forensuring that therationale period(DepartmentofLabour, timeinthat any thanat and ishighernow 2008). As women’s educational These issuesarenottrivial. Women’s hasnearlydoubledoverthepast30years labourforceparticipation ofSocialDevelopment,parents want(Ministry 2006b). work someofthelongesthoursinOECD(Callister, 2005), mostNewZealand isalsosomethingthat equity working withcaringforchildren. A moreequalbalancebetweenthepaidworkofmothersandfathers, who gender and tojobflexibilitymakeiteasierformothers,to paymoreattention andothercarerstocombine fathers work As wellasprovidingopportunitiesforcontinuingskilldevelopmentandhigherearnings, willneed employers part-time Flexibility, “ job he shouldhave.” now gettingsomequalificationssoIcan have Lifting skills …I starteddoingacoursetohelpmysonandmyself tobeablegivemysonthelifethat a better chance at a normal life… abetterchance atanormal (Fleur, teenparent, Wanganui)

one dayfinda I’m

Supporting families to combine employment and parenting 31 Supporting families to combine employment and parenting 32 The minimum wage plays an important role in protecting against very low incomesandinexertingupward low very playsanimportantroleinprotectingagainst The minimumwage (HallandScobie, businessestoinvestincapital discouraging 2005). in poverty. Aside frombeingbadforchildpoverty, productivityby canalsodamage payrates low are low, themoreredistributionthroughtax-benefitsystemisneededtoensuretheirchildrendonotlive distribution. effectsforgovernment. hasflow-on growth This low Themoreparentswhosemarketincomes endofwage at thelower since themid-1980s, inwages growth asignificantfactorinwhichwasthelow inthepastthreeyears. growth inincomeinequalityNew Zealand wage 3highlightedthegrowth Chapter littleoverthepast20years, risen very hasbeenonlypartlyredressedbystronger have andtheresultinggap forthelesswell-paid wages An importantelementofthechildpovertyproblemfacingNewZealandisthat Wages Proposal part-time workasaviableoptiontoliftincomeabovethebenefitlevel. toinclude andKiwiSaver paid parentalleave part-timeworkers, legitimising aresignificantstepstowards flexiblework, toallow employers benefitssuch as toencourage andthedesignofemployment Initiatives week. not,These thresholdshave however, beenraisedsincetheywereintroducedin1996. forafurther$100ofearningsper of $80aweekinearnings, rate at alower ofbenefits andabatement Part-time asanoptionforsoleparentsbythedisregarding workcombinedwithapart-benefitisencouraged longer-term Ithasadynamic tochildrenbyprovidingparents(and benefitontheincomeavailable • time offworkaroundthetimeababyisbornandfamiliestospendmore bothparentstohave Itallows • Itpromotes bonding, • through severalmechanisms: From thepointofviewchild, itcanplayacrucialroleinchildwellbeingandpreventingpoverty Paid (PPL)hasanumber ofobjectives, parentalleave including promotinggenderequityinthelabour market. Paid parental leave Proposal measures, whichsitalongsidepoliciesdesignedtoimprovetheskilllevel oftheworkforce. also beenrisingwithstrongerlabourdemand.have These areimportantlong-termpovertyprevention from$7perhourin1999to$12 minimum wage 2008.April Inthepastthreeyearsorso, wages closepressure onallwages totheminimum. The governmenthasprogressivelyincreasedthestatutory career withraising afamily. theywillbeableto combinea and confidencethat especially mothers) withmoresecurityofemployment together duringtheearlymonthsof ababy’s lifewithoutaseverelossof incomeordropinlivingstandards. mothers tobreastfeed. Increase the minimum wage incrementallyaseconomicconditionsallow.Increase theminimumwage value ithadwhenwassetin1996. thresholdforsole-parentbeneficiariestothereal Restore the30percentpart-timeworkabatement childhealthanddevelopment, health, andmaternal bymakingitpossiblefor

that policies and support need to fit with the life-stages ofchildrenandtheirfamilies, policiesandsupportneedtofitwiththelife-stages that andaccommodate income whilepromotinggoodchilddevelopmentandwellbeing. takenhere Itisconsistentwiththeapproach basedonhelpingfamiliestoearnadecent Enhanced PPLprovisionsareacriticalelementofstrategy Proposal $96.4million(Familiesof approximately Commission, 2007). $356million, theseproposalswouldcostapproximately estimated inadditiontocurrentPPLexpenditure bondingwiththeirbabies. isrecommendedtosupportfathers’ partner leave The Families Commission extension oftheperiodentitlementto12months. An additionalfourweeks’ ‘use itorloseit’paternity/ In linewiththeFamilies Commission, ofpayment, wesupportanincreaseinthemaximumrate andan fivepercent(OECD,spends approximately 2007). andfamilyleave, onmaternity 30 percentofgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)percapita whereasNewZealand Commission, 2007). Onaverage, foreachbabyborn, OECDcountriesspendanamountequivalenttoabout generous intheOECDcountrieswithpaidparentalleave, isabout40percent(Families wheretheaverage maximum ofabout12percentwomen’s earnings, annualaverage NewZealand’s PPListheleast ofwomen’spercentage majorityofOECDcountries. inthegreat weeklyearningsthanthat average At a regarding thecareoftheirinfants. Equallyimportantly, ofpaymentrepresentsalower themaximumrate breastfeeding asrecommendedbythe World (WHO), HealthOrganisation ortomeetparents’aspirations (Familiesno provisionforpaidleave Commission, 2007);anditisnotlongenoughtoprovideforsixmonths inNewZealandisshorterthanallotherOECDcountriesexcept available Australia andtheUS, whichhave employed, butungenerousbycomparisonwithotherdevelopedcountries. At 14weeks, ofleave theduration New ZealandPPLprovisionsarebroad, theyinclude inthat parentswhoworkshorthoursandtheself- parents, couplesorone-incomewherethemotherisearner. low-income tocoverthelostearnings. beenabletosave a goodincomeorthosewhohave Itisinsufficient forsole worksonlyforfamilieswithasecondearneron is about20percentlessthanthelegalminimumwage that before tax. of$480perweekfora40hourweek.This islessthanthecurrentminimumwage A maximum Payment is100percentoftherecipient’s weeklyearnings, average uptoamaximumof$391.28perweek months areentitledto12jobprotection. also entitledtopaidleave. peoplearenow Self-employed employer, foraminimumof10hoursperweek. for12 workedforthesameemployer whohave Employees isdependentonsix-month’sto thepaidcomponentofleave withthesame continuousemployment Twelve weeksPPLwasintroducedinNewZealand2002andextendedto142004. Entitlement different familystructuresandcircumstances. four weeks paternity leave. four weekspaternity ofpriority, as a matter leave) months (plusfourweekspaternity andsubsequentlyto12months plus full-time earnings, leasttwo-thirdsofaverage earnings toat andextendtheperiodofPPLtosix adultfull-time forPPL fromitscurrentlevelofunderhalfaverage Raise themaximumpaymentrate “Poverty is… (From youngpeople’s definitionofpoverty, group Dunedin) at hometolookafterbrothersandsisters.” as parents needtowork. Children having to Children left homealone stay

Supporting families to combine employment and parenting 33 Supporting families to combine employment and parenting 34 expenditure on childcare was the fifth-lowest intheOECD,expenditure onchildcarewasthefifth-lowest (OECD,average andlessthanhalftheOECD liftedNewZealand’s willhave These initiatives our in2003that performance sincetheOECDestimated funding through Working families. formany forFamilies substantiallyreducedthecostofECCEservices have the forthree-andfour-year-old‘20-hours-free’ ECCEinitiative childrenandanincreaseinchildcare subsidy New ZealandhasmadesignificantadvancesinrecentyearsfundingECCE. Inparticulartheintroductionof parents, especiallysoleparentsandsecondearners, totakeuppaidemployment. Access toaffordable, reliable, hasasecondbenefit: goodqualityECCEservices itiscriticalinallowing 7). (thisisdiscussedfurtherinchapter attainment educational betterinlater performonaverage goodqualityECCEservices childrenwhoattend other countriesthat benefits forchildren. confirmsresearchfrom NewZealandevidencefromtheCompetentChildren study confersimportantdevelopmental (ECCE)services Attending qualityearlychildhoodcareandeducation e r a Education c and d o o Care h d l i h Childhood c Services? y Early l r are a e What e l b a d r o f f a o t and education andout-of-school services s s e c c A 10 dependingonannualincome.with threerates Families needtherefore, theirtotalannual tobeableestimate population. atake-up rate, the reportdoesnotestimate proportionofthetotaleligible itisclear low thisisarelatively that (MSD, wasbeingpaidinrespect ofonly34,300childrenpre-schoolage childcare subsidy 2008b). While ofSocialDevelopment According totheMinistry Working forFamilies update, evaluation in August 2007the enoughqualifiedstaff. 20-hours-free assistancebecausetheydonothave to ensuretheirviability. Someservices, suchassomekohangareocentres, alsodonotqualify for the thecostofadditionalnon-freehours hasrisenassomecentresseek and thereisanecdotalevidencethat toand fromtheworkplace); fortravel needs40to50hours’childcare(allowing but afull-timeemployee The firstissueisaffordability. The20-hours-freepolicy hasmadeECCEmoreaffordableforsomeparents, needtobeaddressed.There aretwokeyissuesthat and livinginpovertystressonabenefit. people.for many adecentincome comingintothehome Oftenitisthedifferencebetweenchildrenhaving The absenceofaffordableECCEthequality, parentswantisabarriertoemployment typeandhoursthat Northern EuropeanandNordiccountriesdo. 2007: 135). However, ofthe many totheextentthat NewZealandstilldoesnotinvestinECCEservices

It should be noted that the average paymentper recipienthasincreasedfrom$28pwto $78pwafterthe theaverage It shouldbenotedthat Working forFamilies changes. for services varies and tends to be proportionate to the ratio ofqualifiedteacherstochildren. totheratio variesandtendstobeproportionate for services playgroups, playcentres, kindergartens, forinfantsandpre-schoolers. andfull-dayservices Funding services,nanny home-basedcare, casualcrèches, kohangareo, andculture-focused language- regulations. ofEducation aresubjecttoMinistry children that There isaconsiderablevariety, including include forpre-school-age (ECCE)services alltheformalservices Early childhoodcareandeducation 10 There arelikelytobeseveralreasonswhy thistake-upislow. ispoorlydesigned,The subsidy

a much less effective way of reducing or preventing child poverty in the short and longer term (see chapter 5). a muchlesseffectivewayofreducingorpreventingchildpovertyintheshortandlongerterm(seechapter leastpartlyfundedbysimultaneouslyphasingoutthein-worktaxcredit, canbeat of-school services whichis work incentiveformothersinparticular(Jaumotte, expansionofECCEandout- 2003);andweconsiderthat with free20hoursECCEprovisionforthree-andfour-year-olds. Free oralmostfreeECCEisanimportant the childcaresubsidy. began universalprovisionthat wouldbuildonthemovestowards Suchanapproach areprovided, relianceon rangeandhoursforwhichno-costservices thangreater extending theage rather the developmentofwidespreadaccesstoaffordableECCEislikelybeenhancedmoreeffectivelyby Work and Income has made efforts in recent years to facilitate people’s access to their entitlement. Over time, than theyforesaw. complexforbothparentsandcentres, isalsorelatively ofthesubsidy Administration although income inadvance, andriskendingupindebtasaresultofaccidentalover-payments iftheirincomeishigher ‘participation’ willrepresent onlyabriefschool-holiday programme. ‘participation’ formalOSS programmeovertheyear(Bellett andDickson, inany participate 2007). cases Inmany over thepastdecade, beengrowing tohave appears stillonlyabout50,000children While participation OECDcountries(OECD,many 2007). of OSS andtheiruseinNewZealandislimited. ontheavailability Data available in is fiveto13.at presentcomparedwithwhat for childrenaged areunderdeveloped Services inNewZealandprovideafter-school,Out-of-school services schoolholidayandbefore-school programmes combine paidworkwithcaringforchildren. wefocusonparents’needforaffordable,In thischapter reliableOSSprogrammestoimprovetheirability in school-based, after-school services, especiallyinlower-income areas, 7. isdiscussed furtherinchapter common inthehomeenvironmentsofchildrenpoverty. The benefitstochildrenofincreasinginvestment insportandaccesstocomputers assist withhomework,provide opportunitiestoparticipate whicharenot their jobchoicesandpay. From a child’s perspective, theendofschoolday activitiesat supervised these hours, forpaidworkisrestrictedtobetween9.30amand2.30pm. theiravailability This severelylimits hours. If parentsorothercarersneedtotakechildrenschoolandhome, andtake careofthemoutside (OSS)as of-school services ‘an emergingpriority’(OECD, 2007). people’s Schoolhoursseldommatch work In itsreportonreconcilingworkandfamilylife, Access to out-of-school services Proposals under-represented groups. 7. This isdiscussedfurtherinchapter inequitable, by moreneedstobedoneincreasesupplyandliftECCEparticipation andsuggeststhat ECCE placesforonlyaboutone-thirdofchildrenunderfive(Salvation Army, 2008). is Thissituation City, forexample, ofchildpovertyandsole-parentfamilies, whichhashighrates hasfull-timeequivalent largeregionaldisparitiesinprovision, fewerservices.very communitieshaving Manukau withlow-income enough full-time-equivalentECCEplacesforabouthalfofallchildrenunderfive. Moreimportantlythereare ofECCEplaces.The secondissueistheavailability inparticipation, Despiterecentgrowth therearestillonly (See chapter 7 for proposals on making ECCE services moreavailable). 7forproposalsonmakingECCEservices (See chapter In themediumterm, rangeandnumberofhoursfreeECCEentitlement. extendtheage use, increasingtake-upandensuringadequacy. withaviewtomakingiteasierandfairer ofthechildcaresubsidy Review thedesignandoperation Babies andBosses , theOECDdescribesprovisionofout-

Supporting families to combine employment and parenting 35 Supporting families to combine employment and parenting 36 $13,000pa. providers,approved grant(assumingnoadditionalproviders)from$11,500to average sufficienttoraisethe year actionplanforOSS, startinginthe2007/08year. There wasamodestincreaseinthefundingpool for In its10-yearplanofaction, operate,daily hoursinwhichOSSservices andsuitablepremisescanbedifficulttofind. etal., provision(Murrow theprivate which discourages 2005). staffforthelimited Itisdifficulttoemploy theybreakeven, itishardtorunOSSprogrammessothat New Zealandisthat letalone makeaprofit, onereasonforthelimiteddevelopmentofOSSin ofOSSassistancedeterminedthat A 2005evaluation the benefits. CYF-approved, tooutweigh largelybecausethoserunningthemjudgetherequirementsandredtape again programme.approved asignificantnumberofOSSprogrammesarenot that Anecdotal evidenceindicates andunfair’(BellettDickson,to navigate 2007). an Also, at onlyforattendance isavailable thesubsidy thesystemwas onOSSheardfromparentsandcarersthat Commission consultation ‘too complex, difficult familyincome another istheriskofendingupindebtasaresultincorrectlyestimating process; complexity of the application is the administrative take-up of the subsidy One likely factor in the low study.or approved (OSCAR)(Adema, subsidy and recreation 2006). islimitedtoparentsinemployment Eligibilityforthesubsidy 4500)five-to14-year-olds2004/05 onlyabout0.7percent(approximately outofschoolcare receivedany services, theECCEservices. largelyinresponsetotheneedsoffamilieswithchildrenattending In facilities.sometimes dedicated SomeECCEprovidersarebeginningtoofferOSS alongsidetheirpre-school outofcommunityhallsor providersoperating the restwereamixtureofcommunityandprivate-sector and governmentfunded(BellettDickson, 2007). onschoolpremises; Justunderhalfofthemoperated In 2006therewere600OSSproviders, wereCYF-approved programmes that runningabout1000separate 12 11 Proposals isanimportantchildpovertypreventionmeasure. availability all childrenwillneedtheseservices, andfew willusethemforthewholeperiodcovered, buttheiruniversal some OSSbetweenthehoursof8amand6pm, childpoverty. aspartofacampaignagainst Obviouslynot schoolsoffer andsecondary allprimary UK governmenthasmadeacommitmenttothegoalofensuringthat needed inthewayofoptionsforworkingparentsandtheirchildrenaroundNewZealand. Bycontrast, the 8.benefits isfurtherdiscussedinchapter islaudable, Whilethisinitiative is itfallsalongwayshortofwhat The OSSplanproposestoestablish12 schools;theirpotential programmesinlow-decile ‘extended services’ to runonshoestringbudgets, andtherearenotargetsformeetingdemand. investment orothermeasurestoimprovetheaffordabilityandaccessibilityofOSS. continue Suchservices www.msd.govt.nz dependingonannual income. threedifferentrates ispaidat annualincomewould resultin The subsidy Mis-estimating assistance being paid at a higher rate than it should have been, than itshouldhave ahigher rate toberepaid. assistance beingpaid at andhaving than throughtheOSCARsubsidy. throughdirectsupporttoprovidersonthe basisofhoursuse,Fund out-of-schoolservices rather and extendedschoolservices, givingpriority tolower-income 8). communities(alsoseechapter developmentofaffordable out-of-schoolservices Substantially increasefundingtosupporttherapid 12 However, theplanlacksambition, andofferslittleinthewayofcommitmentstoadditional Choices forLiving,CaringandWorking , thegovernmenthasestablishedafive- 11 . A Families

2007; Coraketal., 2005). oftheUK(Sutherland,at presentabouthalfthat afterredistributionthroughtaxesandbenefitsis poverty rate l l country. ofchildpoverty, a similarmarketrates SwedenandtheUKforexamplehave yetSweden’s finalchild r o the marketdistributionofincomes. The contributionofsuchsystems, however, to fromcountry variesgreatly f t by childpovertygenerated Redistribution throughthetax-welfaresystemplaysacriticalroleinmitigating r o p p u s e t a l u a q families i withchildren e c d n a a n g i n f i r u s n E Chapter 5: 13 low, high. unlessthepaymenttochildrenisdisproportionately aretoo levelofpoverty amongchildrendependentonbenefitsifcoreadultrates not possibletoensurealow in childpovertyoutcomes(Sutherland, 2007). Children andtheadultscaringforthemshareresources. Itis toalladults,of supportavailable andtherefore tothosecaringfordependentchildren, isasignificantfactor but thetotalincomereceivedbyfamilieswithchildren. thelevel that comparisonsdemonstrate International (2007) pointsout, forchildpoverty, matters that itisnotjustthegenerosityofchildassistancepackage areimportantinreducingchildpovertyforseveral reasons. corebenefitrates Adequate Firstly, asSutherland household income. 50percentofthemedian. Eventhosewithpart-timeworkwerebelow anafter-housing-cost have Island towns) as30to35percentofthemedianequivalised incomeaslow supplement Areas 2or3(suchasSouthand West Auckland, mostof Wellington andmostsmaller South benefitwithnootherincome andlivinginaccommodation domestic purposesbenefitorunemployment inJune2006afamilyonthe that terms. ofSocial Developmentestimates 3alsoreportedMinistry Chapter level offinancialsupportprovidedtobeneficiaries–withorwithout dependentchildren–hasfalleninreal assistancesupplementmakeprecisenumericalcomparisonsdifficult,temporary itis theoverall clear that supplementandspecialbenefit/ assistancesuchastheaccommodation While changesinsupplementary Benefit rates, evenincluding familytaxcredits, their1991level–see remainwellbelow Figure 5, 3. chapter rates benefit Core socialcohesion,through greater lesscrime, socialspendinginotherareas. andlower shared byusall–eitherdirectlyintheformofbenefitsreceivedourselvesorourrelatives, orindirectly, children, paidemployment. whetherornottheyhave welfaresafetynetare The benefitsofanadequate financialsupportforallfamilieswith needstobedoneensureadequate focusesonwhat This chapter ofurgentpriority.households dependentonbenefitsisamatter would gainonly$17.46perweekifitwasonabenefit $35,000pa)andnotreceivingabenefit;whereasthesamefamily credits ifworking(earningjustbelow Working forFamilies. For couplewithonechildgainedanextra$142perweekintax examplealow-income Increasingly, thesearechildreninfamiliesdependentonbenefitincome, lessfrom whoreceivedrelatively And yet, despitethesegains, alargenumberofchildrenstillliveinpoverty, sometimesseverepoverty. a substantialadditionalinvestmentinchildren, intheorderof$1.6billionperannum. at leastonefull-timeearner). households(especiallythose with beneficiary Working for Families represented and the Working forFamilies package, hasreducedtheprevalenceofpovertyamongchildreninnon- among certaingroupsofchildren. Inparticular, growth, strongemployment coupledwithincreasesinwages NewZealandhasmadestrongprogressinrecentyearsreducingchildpoverty that 3showed Chapter benefits or that tofamily taxcredit,benefits or that due totakeeffecton 1October2008. working familiesdepending ontheirrentandwheretheylive. Nordotheyinclude theannualcost-of-livingadjustments to affected somebeneficiariesand willhave supplementthat These figuresdonot takeintoaccountchangesinaccommodation 13 . Improvingtheadequacy ofsupportforchildrenin

Ensuring adequate financial support for all families with children 37 Ensuring adequate financial support for all families with children 38 be an upward adjustment of benefits to maintain relativity afterthetaxcuts.be anupwardadjustmentofbenefitstomaintainrelativity dollars, willnotincreaseasaresultofthetaxcuts. sobenefitrates firststepthereshould Asanimmediate The caseforreviewismadestrongerbytheBudget2008tax-cutannouncements. Benefitsaresetinnet isurgentlyneeded. areviewofrates benefitincomesarecontributingtochildpovertyandthat inadequate levelsforcorebenefitrates, appropriate butit is It isbeyondthescopeofthisreporttoestimate clear that help reducechildpoverty benefitswouldbettermaintainlevelsovertimeandcould tosettingandadjustingworking-age approach levels,adequate changes. ofpriceandwage andadjustingthemannuallyusingacombination A similar pensionssetat levelofpovertyamongtheelderlybyprovidingoldage low achieved aninternationally Regarding corebenefitrates, isinstructive. theexampleofNewZealandSuperannuation NewZealandhas qualify missout, costly. andareadministratively circumstances assumedtobeunusual. They aremoredifficulttoaccess, somepeoplewhoshould sothat assistance supplementandspecialneedsgrantaredesignedforoccasionaluseonlytomeetparticular isamorewidespreadproblem.in addressingwhat Third-tier assistancemeasuressuchasthetemporary Reliance onhighly-targeted ‘third-tier’ assistanceforbeneficiarieswithextracostsisunlikelytobeeffective ofwhomprovidesomefinancialassistanceorcarefortheirchildren. custodial parents–mostlymenmany ‘make workpay’. Finally, andthisisoftenoverlooked, aconsiderablenumberofsolebeneficiariesarenon- young childrenarealsorecognised. supportforECCEandOSSisaneffectivewayto This reportarguesthat course, workincentivesremainandthecostsofworkingwhilecaringfor sothat aneedtocombinestrategies cost-effective waytoreducechildpovertyintheshorttermthanliftingvalueoftaxcredits. There is, of Secondly, thepoorestfamiliesareprimarilythoseonbenefits, that now rate isamore liftingthecorebenefit 14 children tothetimewhentheydo. intheirlives, dependent somestage oflife whenapersondoesnothave are parentsat stage fromthat children tothosewhodo;or,transfer fromthosewhodonothave ofadultswho giventhehighpercentage raising children, andthesocialbenefits or public-goodelementofdoingso. Theycanbethoughtofasa design ofsuchschemesvariesbetweencountries, torecognisetheadditionalcostsof buttheyallserve (FTCs) Tax countries’socialassistance regimes. inmany creditsforfamilieswithdependentchildrenfeature The credits tax Family Proposals

Using the60percent ofmedianpovertymeasurehowever, amongover65 higherpovertyrate NewZealand has arelatively year olds(Perry, 2008). Review themechanismforannualadjustmentstobenefitrates, andconsideramechanism, suchas reductions onearnedincome. firststep,As animmediate match theeffectofBudget2008incometax rates to increasebenefit of beneficiaries, especiallythosewithdependentchildren. Review theadequacy ofcorebenefitrates, toensurebenefitassistanceissufficientmeettheneeds time, as wellasbeingadjustedforcost-of-livingincreases. over usedforNewZealandSuperannuation, withwages that maintainrelativity toensurebenefitrates 14 . targeted system to one where the majority of families with dependent children receive some – and in many targeted systemtoonewherethemajorityoffamilieswithdependentchildrenreceivesome–andinmany The significanceofthesechangesshouldnotbeunder-estimated. NewZealandhasmovedfromatightly- it Throughthein-worktaxcredit(IWTC)(andremovalofchildcomponentsomebenefitrates) • ItincreasedthenumberoffamiliesentitledtoFTCs, • Itincreasedthetotalassistanceprovidedthroughtaxcredits, • Working forFamilies changedNewZealand’s FTCsinthreekeyways: 15 each subsequentchild. toonlytworates, structuredown This wouldsimplifytherates one(higher)forthefirstchild, and onefor those whoareolder. butraisetheyounger-child Onewayofdoingthiswouldbetoraiseallrates most. rate time. For to thesereasonsthereisacaseforraisingthelevelofassistanceyoungerchildrenrelative In couplehouseholds, part- onepartnerismorelikelytobeemployed itisduringthepre-schoolyearsthat example,aged sixorunder. achild about60percentofdomesticpurposesbeneficiaries(withchildren)have labour-market andthefamilyismostinneed ofassistance. familyincomesarelowest experience)that For outcomes. Moreover, limited itistypicallywhenchildrenareyoung(especiallyifparentsandhave a child’s earlyyearsismoredetrimental intermsoflong-termdevelopmental, healthandeducational costs thanyoungchildren. While thereisevidencetosupportthisargument, povertyduring itisalsotruethat and dependent child(see Table 5). arehigherforolderchildren, higher Rates have teenagers onthegroundsthat credit tax age ofthechildandwhetherornots/heisoldest ofFTCdependingonthe There arecurrentlyfiverates credit family tax the of in-work structure Rate families,many particularlysecondearners. balance betweentargetedanduniversalassistance, on andtheimpactofhigh effectivemarginaltaxrates issues needtobeaddressed: firstly, thestructureofFTCsupportandspecificallyIWTC;secondly, the FTCs should evolve The to challenge support ahead all is families to more determine effectively.how Two key prices, suchasbread, productsandpetrol, dairy hadanoffsettingimpact. willalsohave in thesefamiliestosomedegree, althoughitistoosoontoquantifytheeffect. Recentincreasesinsome the mostrecentdata. reducedthenumbersofchildrenlivinginpoverty The mostrecentincreaseswillhave the Working forFamilies package. Inparticular, in beencaptured notalloftheeffectsIWTCwillhave setoutinthisreportdoesnotincludeAlso thechildpovertydata theeffectsoflast-introducedparts Zealand’s intheOECD(Stephens, expenditureonfinancialsupportforchildrenwasamongthelowest 2003). towards thecostsofraisingchildren.cases significant–financialsupport Before Workingfor Families, New

‘Effective marginal tax rate’ (EMTR)refersto theamountataxpayerorfamilyloses in incometaxandreductionother ‘Effective marginaltax rate’ benefit fromearning more. assistance suchastax creditsorbenefits, outofanextra dollarearned. high thereislittlefinancial WhereEMTRsare very tilted support in favour of non-beneficiary families in paid employment relative tothosereceivingabenefit. relative familiesinpaidemployment ofnon-beneficiary tilted supportinfavour someentitlement. families withchildrenhave years. overmany erosion ofthevaluefamilysupportandchildtaxcreditbyinflation 15 three-quartersofall approximately now sothat makingupforthe goingalongwaytowards

Ensuring adequate financial support for all families with children 39 Ensuring adequate financial support for all families with children 40 most ofitsexpendituregoestofamilieswithincomesfurtherupthescale, between forwhomthegap Moreover, theIWTCisintendedasameasureto totheextentthat ‘make workpay’, itisalsopoorlytargeted; youngchildren. longtime–sole-parentfamilieswithvery risk ofbeingpoorforarelatively ofotherfamilymembers). orthat (their own isat Italsodoesnothingtopreventchildpoverty inagroupthat account ofthedifficultiesfacedbyparentswhocannotworkbecausesickness, redundancy ordisability ofthestructuretaxcredits. the IWTCshouldnotbealong-termfeature that The policy istooblunttotake somebeneficiariestomoveoffbenefitsandintopaidemployment.encouraged Nonetheless, itisourview Although Working forFamilies hasnotyetbeencompletelyevaluated, theIWTChas itislikelythat children whoareworkingtherequirednumberofhoursandnotinreceiptamainbenefit. The IWTC structure rates Credit Tax Family 5: Table 16 forthefirstchildandsubsequent children. largedifferentialbetweentheFTCrates avery create through theFTC. asubstantial impactonchildpovertyrates,This couldbeexpectedtohave althoughitwould theIWTCbeabolishedandanequivalent $60perweekbepaidinrespectofthefirstchildafamily that be done. Intheirrecentreport costtoparents. low andOSSat made inexpandingaccesstoECCEservices There arevariouswaysthiscould Our view, therefore, the IWTCshouldbephasedout–notimmediately, is that butonceinvestmenthasbeen of soleparentswitholderchildren(assumingtherearenofactorssuch asillnessordisabilityinvolved). opportunities. cost, low at strongerworkexpectations Oncethissupportisavailable itisreasonabletohave access high-qualityECCEandOSS, whichsupportstheirdevelopmentandimprovesaccessto enablingsoleparentstoworkthanacashpayment.effective at Furthermore, itdoesso byensuringchildren support parentswhoareinpaidwork. Access toreliable, affordableECCEandOSSislikelytobemore increase fundingforassistanceandservices, arebeneficialtochildrenandalso suchasECCEandOSSthat A moresustainablewayofreducingchildpoverty, andthenumberoffamiliesdependentonbenefit, isto determining whethermovingfrombenefittoworkisfinanciallyworthwhile. and irrespectiveofchildcareorafter-school carecosts, eventhoughtheycanbecrucialfactorsin costs forparents–thesamepaymentismadewhetherthereareone, two orthreechildreninthefamily, income onbenefitsandinworkislesssalient. Itisalsopoorlytargeted intermsofwork-related

The IWTCpaysfamilies withdependentchildrenupto$60pw foronetothreechildrenandanextra $15pwforeach subsequent child, aslongthefamilyisnotinreceipt of abenefitandwork30hoursifcouple, or20 hours ifasoleparent. Subsequent children, 16–18 Subsequent children, 13–15 Subsequent children, 0–12 First child, 16–18 First child, 0–15 16 isintendedtoprovideafinancialincentiveworkbypayingextrafamilieswithdependent Left Behind (St Johnand Wynd, 2008), theChildPoverty Action Groupproposed As at 1 April 2008 April 1 at As $85pw $67pw $57pw $95pw $82pw From 1 Oct 2008 Oct 1 From $89.44 $68.40 $59.98 $99.96 $86.29

Proposals ofmain benefitscouldbedeveloped.‘grandparenting’ arrangementsoramendmentstotheabatement without theIWTC, wouldearnlessthantheyonabenefitworkingpart-time. For thisgroup (oftenworkingneartheminimumnumberofhourstoqualify)who, wages lowest working onthevery If theIWTCisphasedout, smallbutnotinsignificantnumberoffamilies therewouldprobablybearelatively impact the proposal might have onchildpovertyrates. impact theproposalmighthave ofthelikelyimpacts. are reportedheresimplytogiveanindication using the Treasury’s Taxwell model. microsimulation These preliminary, estimates (andstatic) approximate report; however, purposes, forillustrative beenestimated theimpactsandcostofonepossiblechangehave beyondthescopeofthis suchchangeswouldrequiredetailedconsideration The precisedesignofany expenditure ontheearlyyearsoflife, thanjustonthefirstchild. rather (whose entitlementwouldneedtobe “grandparented”) whileprovidinganopportunitytofocusadditional structure asdiscussedearlier. This wouldlessenthepotentialforlossesamongcurrentIWTCrecipients istoabolishtheIWTCwhileincreasingFTCrates,Another possibleapproach andsimplifyingtherate 17

These estimates are based on 2007 data andFTCrates. arebasedon 2007data These estimates An estimated 261,000familieswouldgainfromthechanges.An estimated for ‘grandparenting’ existingIWTCrecipientswhowouldotherwiseloseout fromthechanges. netcostofthischangeis$488million,The estimated excluding costof$116million the(temporary) offourpercent. by 50percenttoachildpovertyrate to an18percentpovertyrate. The (lowest) ‘50 percentofthe1998constantvaluemedian’isreduced threshold used. The (highest) median’thresholdisreducedby22percent ‘60 percentofcontemporary dependsonthepoverty The sizeoftheeffectthishypotheticalchangeonchildpovertyrates time abolishingtheIWTC. This wouldmeanjusttwoFTCrates: family to by $30perweekandbringingtheolder-child theyoungest-childrates, uptomatch thesame rates at changes of credit tax effect andpolicies,Using 2007data theeffectofincreasingtwoyoungest-childFTCrates weestimated in-work and approximate credit example: tax Illustrative younger children. Restructure theFTCsoastoreducenumberofrates, moreassistancefor andtoproviderelatively working parents to meet these work-related costs. working parentstomeetthesework-related beenexpanded, familieshave areasandforlow-income and OSSinlow-income makingiteasierfor Over time, phaseouttheIWTCandraise theFTC, andaffordabilityofchildcare oncetheavailability No IWTC Subsequent child: First child:

$87pw (or$97pwusing 2008rates) April $102pw (or$112pwusing 2008rates) April 17 They do, however, thesubstantial show

Ensuring adequate financial support for all families with children 41 Ensuring adequate financial support for all families with children 42 broad rangeofclients, areover-represented. beneficiariesandthelow-paid effective safetynetforfamilieswith children. and, aregrowing a Budgetadviceservices while theyhave children beingdeprived. Without addressingdebt, welfarebenefitsprovidean itis impossible toensurethat Key informantsconsideredindebtedness, andfinedebtrepayments, tobewidespreadfactorsleading For families, low-income debtrepayments reducedisposableincomeandcanoftenaddtohousehold stress. not directly reduce child poverty at all,not directlyreducechildpovertyat paid andwoulddonothingtoreducetheeffectivemarginaltaxrates a universalcomponenttofamilyassistanceinNewZealand, thisisnotsuggested asaprioritynow. Itwould While makingaportionoftheFTCnon-meanstested(asischildtaxcreditinUK)wouldre-introduce lower-paid and encouraging rates.rates workingfamiliestoearnmorebyreducingtheirabatement improving thecurrentstructure, higheffectivemarginaltax familiesofvery reducingtheimpactonlow-paid areanissueforalltargetedsystems. highmarginaltaxrates Relatively house andarepayinglessthanmarketrent). Someparentswillalsoberepaying studentloans. rentforastate supplementthisrisesto79.4cents(or77.2iftheypayincomerelated accommodation extradollarearnedaftertax,54.4 centsinevery and FTCabatement ACC levies. Iftheyarealsoreceivingan thresholdof$35,000pa.incomes exceedtheabatement afamily on, Onpresenttaxrates say, $45,000paloses higheffectivemarginaltaxrates,it alsoincreasedthenumberwhoaresubjecttorelatively becausetheir At thesametimethat Working forFamilies increasedthenumberoffamiliesreceivingassistancethroughFTCs, increasesintheirearningsislostthroughreductionsentitlementtotargetedassistance. any assistance canalsohelpreduce ‘poverty traps’, incomesbecausemostof wherefamiliesgetstuckonlow levelofassistanceforallfamilies,sound preventative theircircumstancesmaychange. however Universal transfers, remedialassistanceforthepoor, theyarelessfocusedonimmediate andmoreonmaintaininga universalism infamilyassistancepolicies. While universalassistanceprogrammesinvolvebiggertotaltax (Sutherland, 2007andFrazer andMarlier, countries–arerecognisingthebenefitsof 2007)–andmany characterisedNewZealand’stargeted assistancethat tax/benefitsupportforchildren. commentators Many the costsofraisingtheirchildren.and Inthisway, tightly fromthevery itrepresentedanimportantmoveaway targeted Working forFamilies receivesomeassistance towards significantlyincreasedtheproportionoffamiliesthat rates: assistance tax universal marginal Effective 18 t b e d g n i s s e r d d A Proposal supplementandchildcaresubsidy.accommodation the it easiertoavoid ofotherassistancesuchasthe andwithdrawal ‘overlaying’ ofFTCabatement to improvetheirearnings;anditwouldincreaseassistanceforthoseonhigherincomes. Itwouldalsomake familiesearningover$35,000pa, affectinglow-income effective marginaltaxrates increasing theirincentive work incentives, wouldbetoprogressivelyraisethethresholdforFTCabatement. This would reduce the tomiddle-incomefamilies.by low- A betterapproach, consistentwithreducingchildpovertyandproviding

And a fully universal system of financial support would mean relatively high tax rates across the board. hightaxrates And afullyuniversal systemoffinancialsupportwouldmean relatively marginal tax rates for low- tomiddle-incomeworkingfamilies. forlow- marginal taxrates toincreaseassistance toandreducetheeffective Progressively raisethethresholdforFTCabatement 18 However, thereisscopefor EU. In 2005/06 the total amount of outstanding benefit debt owed to the Crown was $816.7 million (Ministry EU. was$816.7million(Ministry owed totheCrown In2005/06thetotalamountofoutstandingbenefitdebt timedebtproblemsinNewZealandwerecomparablewiththosethe that at Valins’ suggestedthat data 12-monthperiod,any needexternalintervention. seriousdebtissuesthat andathirdofthesemayhave be over-indebtedat somepointduring –inthesenseofstrugglingtomeettheirfinancialcommitments onvarioussources,Drawing Valins (2004)concluded upto15percentofNewZealandhouseholdsmay that and Income, studentloanrepayments)insomeinstances. penalty payments(InlandRevenue), althoughrepaymentscanbestructuredtotakeaccountofincome(Work contribute totheproblem, asdopoverty-levelincomes. loans)and Debtcanincurhighinterest(private Over-indebtedness hascomplexcauses. Easycredit, consumerism, fines, gamblingandaddictionissues Proposal well-off familieswithchildren. possibly asingle, todebtmighteasethestrainonasignificantnumberofleast- approach consolidated differentlyfromanunintendedFTCoverpayment? Developinganintegrated, betreated childcare subsidy and cases, thecase. this isnotalways Why, forexample, shouldanunintendedoverpayment ofabenefitor Although thetypeofdebtorreasonforitquiteproperlyaffects the rulesregardingrepaymentinsome present afamily’s differentlydependingonwhichagencyto. themoneyisowed very debtsgettreated to debtrepayment. istheneedforawhole-of-governmentapproach warrantsattention One areathat At income families, wherethereissimplytoolittleincometomeetbasiclivingcosts. tool,powerful low- neitheritnortheotherstepsbeingtakenaddressstructuralcausesofdebtformany repayments amongpoorfamilieswithchildren. While thenoassetprocedure, inparticular, isapotentially It istooearlytojudgetheeffectivenessofthesechangesinreducingdebtandstresses tobankruptcy.consumer debtortomakeafreshstartasanalternative circumstances uptofiveyears). Theyalsoprovidefora ‘noassetprocedure’;aone-offchancefor ininstalmentsoverthreeyears(orunderspecial debt of$40,000orlesstorepaythemoneytheyowe lending. Amendments totheInsolvency peoplewith cameintoforceinDecember 2007allow Act 2006that allbeensteppeduprecentlytocounteracttheworstexcessesofprivate forbeneficiarieshave information onthecostsoffinance,Public education lendingoperations, prosecutionofunlawful andfinancial ofConsumer the Ministry inpublicdiscussion2009. Affairs withaviewtoengaging highly pricedgoods. A reviewoftheCreditContractsandConsumerFinance Act 2003isbeingundertakenby the caseofmobiletraders, areoftenvery lockspeopleintoregularrepaymentsandrevolving creditforwhat penalties chargedonloansbysomesecond-tierfinancialinstitutions. Retail debtisalsoexpensiveand, in costs,Of particularconcernistheimpactonpoorfamiliesofhighadministration and interestrates thanin2000,income familiesindifficultywashigherorlower included northeproportionofthemthat children. families. incomesand26percentofbeneficiary whethertheproportionoflow- low-market Itisnotknown had noregularpaymentscausingfinancialdifficulties, thesamewastrueofonly31percentfamilieswith families andfoundthat, low-income lookedat while70percent of superannuitants The 2004 Living StandardsSurvey of SocialDevelopment, 2007a). does notresultin childpoverty. therepaymentofgovernmentdebt toensuringthat Develop betterwhole-of-government approaches

Ensuring adequate financial support for all families with children 43 Making the child support system work better for children and parents 44 and parents would be involved in private voluntary childsupportarrangementsoutsidetheIRDsystem. voluntary and parentswouldbeinvolvedinprivate either as custodialorliableparents(CroninandChapple, 2007). additionalnumberofchildren An unknown were the subject of child support arrangements. Approximately 11 percent of working-age adults were involved childrenandparents. many The childsupportsystemaffectsagreat 1 As at 2006,April 219,300children custodialparentsornot.whether theyareprimary payments tohelpliftchildrenoutofpoverty, andtoshoreupthecommitmentsofparentstheirchildren, recognitionofthewidersocialeffectschildsupport,is agrowing andthepotentialofchildsupport earnings,payments differentlyfrombeneficiaries’wage whichareonlypartiallyabated. Internationally, there penalised forrefusingtonametheirchildren’s fathers. The policychildsupport ittreats isalsounfairinthat the parentliableforpayingchildsupport. mothersare wherebeneficiary Italsocontributestosituations available tothechildandmakeschemeunpopularwith effect ofthisistoreducethefinancialresources ofSocialDevelopmenttohelpdefraybenefitcosts.the moneyisinsteadtransferredtoMinistry The payments tobepassedonchildrenwhosecustodialparentsareacarer’s benefit. For thesechildren, parents.separated childsupport NewZealandisincreasinglyoutofstepwithothercountries innotallowing important contributiontoreducingchildpoverty, whilepromotingbettercontactbetweenchildrenandtheir However, theschemeisinneedofreview. Alongside itscorepurposes, reformoftheschemecouldmakean enforcement powers. s t n theresponsibleagencyand collectionprocessesgave (InlandRevenueDepartment(IRD))appropriate e r r a o p parentssharethecostsofraisingtheirchildren.success inensuringseparated Itestablishedassessment f t d r r n e Compared withthepreviouscourt-basedsystem, o theNewZealandchildsupportschemehashadsome a t p t p n e u e b s r d k d l r l i o i h w h c c m e e t h s t y s g n i k a M Chapter 6: $2960pa, of$6530pa receivedinfamilytaxcredits. orabout45percentoftheaverage family taxcredits, of anaverage childsupportpayments wereanimportantcontributiontotheirincomeat For tomiddle-incomefamilies whoreceivedbothchildsupportand the20,600custodialparentsinlow- a year;andaround11percentwereentitledtomorethan$8000 yearinchildsupport(refertablebelow). more thantheminimumpaymentof$730ayearor$15week, 23percentwereentitledto$5000ormore entitlement for75,750children. While 23,300(45percent)ofthesecustodialparents wereentitledtono For the2007child-supportyear, 52,200custodialparentswereeligibleforpass-onofchildsupport s t ofbenefit.rate n e r s a e p m of thechild, childsupportispassedontothecustodialparent, evenwherethecouple isreceivingamarried o l c n a i i d e work orothersourcestonotqualifyforthesole-parentbenefit. apartnerwhoisnottheparent Iftheyhave o h t t s u n c o and arenotreceivingthesole-parentbenefit. Ineffect, enoughincomefrom thisusuallymeanstheyhave y t r r o a p i p child supportpaymentsarepassedonastax-exemptincometocustodialparentsiftheysole c u i s f e d n l available tochildren.Child supportpaymentscanmakeasignificantdifferencetotheresources Currently, e i b h c - n f o o n t f c o a p m i e h T

Table 6: Distribution of Child Support Entitlements Support Child of Annual amountspercustodian, 2007year Distribution 6: Table 19 and Szukalska, 2000, Community citedin Senate Affairs ReferenceCommittee, 2004). this wayin Australia, lifted about60,000childrenoutofpoverty(Harding tohave andhasbeenestimated poverty forasubstantialnumber of childrenwhoseparentsdonotlivetogether. Childsupportispassedonin Passing custodians, income, otherprivate onchildsupporttobeneficiary itlikeany andtreating couldreduce e v i e one parent/caregiveronabenefit. c e r o ofthecustodialparent.because ofthebenefitstatus h Afurther6800childrenwerein shared care, withonly w s t At 1 n 2006,April childsupportcollectedfor150,350children(90,000custodialparents) wasnotpassedon e r a p tooffsetbenefitcosts support paymentsarenotpassedontotheparentsbutretained bythestate l a i d o Where acustodialparentisreceivingsole-parentbenefit(orunsupported childbenefitisbeingpaid), child t s u c f o a sole-parent benefit s e m o c n i The impact of onthe childsupport Source: InlandRevenueDepartment

Any child support that exceedsthebenefit ispassedon. childsupportthat Any Over $20,000 $15,001 to$20,000 $10,001 to$15,000 $9001 to$10,000 $8001 to$9000 $7001 to$8000 $6001 to$7000 $5001 to$6000 $4001 to$5000 $3001 to$4000 $2001 to$3000 $731 to$2000 Up to$730 Year Support Child 2007 the For Custodian Benefit Sole-Parent 90,000 10,300 47,800 1800 1300 1900 2500 4000 4700 6400 7200 400 900 800 100% 11% 53% 0% 1% 2% 1% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 7% 8% to Receive Child Support Child Receive to Entitled Custodian 23,300 52,200 1900 3000 3200 3900 4200 5400 1100 2200 1100 1600 500 800 100% 10% 45% 4% 6% 6% 7% 8% 1% 2% 4% 2% 2% 3% 142,200 Total 10,300 11,400 15,700 71,100 4400 7000 7900 2000 4000 1600 2400 3500 900 100% 11% 50% 3% 5% 6% 7% 8% 1% 1% 3% 1% 2% 2% 19 .

Making the child support system work better for children and parents 45 Making the child support system work better for children and parents 46 child deprivation where non-custodial parents were on benefits or earning low incomes. wherenon-custodialparents wereonbenefitsorearninglow child deprivation paymentstosome custodialparentswillfall,Australia meanthat tolead thepreviousformulawasshown account. sharedparentingis becomingmorecommon.They alsorecognisethat While thechangesin fathers, inparticular, theirinvolvementwithchildrenisvalued, that andthe costsitincursaretakeninto and 34percentofthecare, totakeaccountoftheadditionalcosts. These changesareanimportantsignalto the childsupportpaidtomaincustodialparentwheresecond parentprovidesbetween14percent n o t r custodial) parentofmaintainingcontactandprovidingaproportion ofcare. The Australian changesreduced o p p u s parents inchildren’s livesafterseparation, thecosts tochildrenandthecostsnon-resident(non- d l i h Recent reformsin Australia c f o t c a non-custodial parents p m i e h T less thanthis, becauseofbenefitabatement. (IRDdata).at thesole-parentrate benefits fiscaleffectofpassingonchildsupportwouldbe Theimmediate For the2007childsupportyear, tooffset thecostofproviding $142.2millionwasretainedbytheCrown targetchildpovertyefficientlyasalltheadditionalmoneywouldgotofamilieswhoderivetheirincome • removetheanomalywherebysole-parentbeneficiariesdonotreceivechildsupportpaidonbehalfof • provideanincentiveforsoleparentstofileclaim forchildsupport, • promoteparentalsupportforthechildscheme • thechildsupportpaymentsmadebyliableparents, treat • poverty ofallthechildrenaffected, andmovesomechildrenoutofpoverty. There areotheradvantages. Itwould: standards ofthechildrenforwhomchildsupportpaymenthasbeenmade. Itwouldreducethedepthof Pass-on parentswouldimprovethedaytoliving ofchildsupporttodomesticpurposesbeneficiary beneficiaries’ otherearnings. precisely,families ishardtoestimate whichisalsoaffectedby asitwoulddependonbenefitabatement ifchildsupportwaspassedon.$2000 extraincomeayear(beforebenefitabatement) Thenetgaintothese at least fromIRDat about36percentofsole-parentbeneficiarieswouldgain Data 2006suggeststhat April planning toincreasethis. parents, has alsorecentlyintroducedapartialpass-onofthechild-supportmoniestobeneficiary bysixpercent(Skinneretal., toreducethepovertyrate and thesystemwasestimated 2007: 20, 22). The UK benefits), earnings any average childmaintenancepaymentsweretheequivalentof10.5percent ofnational time. In Australia, against wherepaymentswerepassedontoallsoleparentsastaxableincome (andabated that incomereceivedchildmaintenancepaymentsat fewsoleparentswithoutemployment very fact that percent (UK)and14(France). tothe intheUKwasattributed The smallreductioninthepovertyrates earnings. soleparentsbybetween 1.9 ofnon-widowed average toreducethepovertyrate Itwascalculated 1999-2000 wastheequivalentofbetweeneightpercent(Sweden)to18.3(France) ofnational In a static analysis using Luxembourg Income Survey data, analysisusingLuxembourgIncomeSurvey In astatic 22 21 20

Child Support Legislation Child Support Legislation Amendment (ReformoftheChild SupportScheme –InitialMeasures) Bill, 2006(Australia). The 2000ChildSupport, Pensions andSocialSecurity Act (UK) isnot available. socomparable data New Zealandisnot a participantintheLuxembourgIncome Survey from benefits. their children, whereascustodialparentswhore-partnerdo, evenifonabenefit 15,000 beneficiaries liable parenttobeabolished, andthusfurtherreducingchildpoverty. This penaltycurrentlyaffectsabout income, onthesamebasisasadditionalearningsofcustodialparents 22 explicitlytakeintoaccounttheimpactofpoliciesoninvolvement ofboth 20 whichareusuallydeductionsfromtheirearned childmaintenancereceivedbyfamiliesaround thepenaltyfornotnaminga allowing

21 andis the scheme, alongthelinesofrecent Australian review. costs ofraisingchildren. bedevelopedasafullreviewofallaspects We thisinvestigation recommendthat better accountoffactorssuchasthecomplexitiessharedcare, theincomelevelsofbothparentsand itisconsideringwaysofimprovingthechildsupportschemetotake The governmenthassignalledthat less contactwiththenon-residentparent. arrangements (suchasaroomforthechildtosleepin, transport, etc.), whichcanresult inchildrenhaving limited incomeleftoverforlivingexpenses, andalackofrecognitionthecostssomeshared-parenting (Smith,experience deprivation Robinsonand Atkin Read, 2006). Somenon-custodialparentsresentthe In NewZealand, somenon-custodialparentsandchildrenin ‘blended’ and ‘second’ familiesalso Proposals parenting andblendedfamilies. is fair, inshared toreducingchildpovertyandisresponsivethegrowth contributesappropriately Undertake afullreviewofthechildsupportsystem, similartothereviewin Australia, it toensurethat Remove thepenaltyondomesticpurposesbenefitbeneficiarieswhodonotnameliableparents. earned incomeforthepurposesofbenefitabatement. other Pass paymentslikeany onchildsupporttocustodialparentswhoarebenefitsandtreat

Making the child support system work better for children and parents 47 Education and skill development 48 poor outcomesforunder-performing othercountriesindirecting studentsandhasnotdoneaswell many achievement recordofschools. Nevertheless, comparedwithothercountriesNewZealandhasrelatively the involvementofparentsandcommunitiesthroughschoolBoards Trustees, andtheaverage recognised.internationally For example, thecommitmenttoqualityinECCE, thediversity ofECCEmodels, There ismuchinNewZealand’s early childhoodandschoolsystemstobeproudof, andforwhichweare and usecomputersforhomework, parentstolearnalongsidetheirchildren. andbyencouraging insportandculturalactivities byenablingchildrenandyoungpeopletoparticipate counteract deprivation children andacriticalsupportforworkingparents. Morethanthis, suchschool-basedprogrammescan used outside school hours for out-of-school programmes and school holiday oftheirchildren.and healthservices,programmes, parentsinthecareandeducation andforengaging Schoolpremisescanbe which are beneficial for provisionofnourishingmeals Moreover schoolsandECCEcentrescanbeeffectivebasesfornon-stigmatising withchildpovertyanddeprivation. antidotestotherisksassociated schoolarepowerful and achievementat (ECCE),early childhoodcareandeducation theearlyestablishmentofcompetence inliteracy andnumeracy, poverty(D’Addio, canmakeamajorcontributiontobreakingintergenerational Education 2007). Goodquality t n e m p o l e v e d d n l a l i n k o s i t a c u d E Chapter 7: combining parenting with paid work was discussed in chapter 4.combining parentingwithpaidwork wasdiscussedinchapter High-qualityECCEalsobenefitschildren and particularlysoleparents, towork. forparents The importance of accesstoaffordableECCEservices itsdevelopmentalbenefits,enjoy aswellthe incomebenefitsitconfersbymakingeasierforparents, Affordable, costifchildrenlivinginpovertyareto alow at high-qualityECCEneedstobe widelyavailable Early childhoodcare andeducation provision, school, upskillsdevelopmentat catch andout-of-schoolservices. approach, willaddress, and increasingfundingandothersupportsthat asapriority, inECCE thegaps be donetoensureaccessqualityservices. Ourproposalsfocusongovernmenttakingamoreproactive meeting theneedsofchildreninpovertyanddeprivedneighbourhoods, moreneedsto andwhat discussestheeffectivenessofECCE,This chapter schoolsandschool-basedactivitiesout-of-schoolhoursin pressure fromfinancialstress, skillsorpoor-quality lackofmanagement teaching. under arealready skills andoptimismneededtotakesuchinitiatives, services particularlyiftheireducation communities,Low-income however, areoftentheleastwellpositionedtobringtogetherresources, time, totheircommunities, matter on thingsthat parentsineducation. suchasout-of-schoolcareandengaging andschoolstotaketheinitiative Current governmentpoliciesprovideconsiderablescopeforECCEservices requires addressingthesedeficienciesnow. meetingtheneedsofpoorchildren. resourcestowards education Minimisingchildpoverty inthefuture “Can’t afford Shame… Can’t go (From youngpeople’s definitionsofpoverty) group Depressed... peers… Left out…Getpicked onatschool…Stress… on school trips… Angry… Low self-esteem… school uniform… Feelings ofworthlessness.”

No lunch…Not acceptedby their

Lack of Unhappy… books, Lonely… can’tafford…

Sad…

Percentage population enroled 100 life. aged twoandover.Almost allareunequivocalaboutthebenefitsforchildren Consistentwiththegoalsof studies suggestthat, dependingonthequalityofECCE, thebenefitsbeginasearlysecondyearof leastpart-timeformalECCEbeginstobenefitchildren, whichat at abouttheage butsome There isdebate ECCE. instate-supported of participation D’Addio, 2007). tendtobethosewithahighrate childpovertyrates maintainedlow have The countriesthat throughtheschoolyears(WylieandHodgen, attainment ECCE haslastingeffectsoneducational 2007; at good-quality households.attendance low-income researchconfirmsthat NewZealandandinternational inlife,later andisapowerful ‘equaliser’, amongchildrenfrom disadvantage helpingtoreduceeducational by promotingtheircognitive, development. socialandeducational outcomes Itislinkedtobettereducational 26 25 24 23 education, childhood early in rates (1990–2007) enrolment age by Apparent 6: Figure ofEducation, (Ministry 2006data,Canterbury citedinCraigetal., 2007). byregion, inECCEparticipation variation rangingfrom87.4percentinCounties-Manukau to98.4percentin entrants and84percentofPacificaattended ECCEbeforestartingschool. newentrantshad Thereisalso 2007, 98.2percentofEuropeannewentrants, 96percentof Asian newentrants, 90.8percentofMaorinew with almostallnewentrantsinthemostaffluent(decile10)schools. ECCEservice,attended any compared schoolsintheleastaffluentareas(decile1)hadpreviously attending briefly. below).graph Bythetimechildrenbeginschool, insomeECCE, participated 95percenthave however (see leastsomeoftheyearhasbeenincreasingforchildrenallpre-schoolages type offormalECCEforat the government’s Strategy 10-yearEarlyChildhoodEducation 0 20 40 60 80

This data doesnottake intoaccountdifferences inhoursof ECCEparticipation. This data data, ofEducation www.educationcounts.govt.nzMinistry anddoesnot double-countstudents. participation measuresany This data theactualnumbersofchildren overstate soenrolment rates Some childrenareenrolledinmorethan oneECCEservice participating, butthetrends willbethesame. 1990 participation/early_childhood_education/3704 Source: Countswebsitehttp://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/data_cubes/student_ Education 24 Poor children, however, accessECCElessthanwealthierchildren. Only 83.1percentofnewentrants 1991 1992 Under 1 1993 1994 1 1995 1996 2 1997 3 1998 1999 4 2000 Pathways totheFuture, 2001 0-4 age-standardised 25 Participation variesbyethnicity;in 2002 26 2003 2004 enrolment 2005 2006 23 insome 2007 2008

Education and skill development 49 Education and skill development 50 and Pacifica families. Pacifica pre-schoolers, fittheneedsandpreferences ofMaori the services itisparticularlyimportantthat sole parents, andtoreduce thecosttotheseparents. ofMaoriand rates participation Giventhe lower communities, inlow-income number ofECCEplacesavailable of particularlythosewithhighpercentages The highestpriorityshouldbegiven toaplannedprogrammeofsupply-sideassistanceincrease the across deciles. onequalisingECCEparticipation isneededtoexpand provisiontoprogressrapidly ambitious approach and has$14.5millionperannumforbuildingnewservices, thisisunlikelytobeenough. A muchmore islow, GrantsSchemegivesprioritytoincreasingECCEinareaswhereparticipation While theDiscretionary proportional increaseinparticipation. There isanecdotalevidenceofsupplyconstraints andwaitinglists. data). ofEducation Itistooearly todeterminewhetherthiswillbringabouta (deciles 1to4)(Ministry areas thelargestproportionofcentrestakingupfreeECCE areinlow-decile suggeststhat data ECCE providers(kindergartens, andtheavailable home-basedservices, andcareservices) andeducation The introductionoffreeECCEforthree-andfour-year-olds isbeingpickedupby mostcommunity-based childcare uptakeinotherstudies(DepartmentofLabour, ofSocialDevelopment, 2006;Ministry 2007d). (Dixon etal., intheECCEservices cultural knowledge 2007). alsoemergedasbarriersto Costandavailability includedparticipation costs, aswelllackoftransport, apoorrangeorqualityofservices, andlackof Participation Project, amongtargetedcommunities, whichaimstoliftparticipation barriersto foundthat metwithsomesuccess. socio-economicareashave inlow toliftECCEparticipation Initiatives The Promoting (Biddulph, BiddulphandBiddulph, 2003). parents andchildren, programmescansignificantlyimprovechildren’s suchintegrated achievement which eachformahubforparentalsupport. byaddressingtherealneedsof suggeststhat The literature Family 18monthstothreeyears, Startsitesarepilotingfully-subsidisedECCEforchildrenaged centres at poverty. school. parentisattending A childgetsfullysubsidisedchildcareifhisorherteenage Seventeen riskofpooroutcomesforreasonsincludingsubsidised forasmallnumberofchildrenwhoareespeciallyat In additiontothe20-hoursfreeECCEforthree-andfour-year-olds introducedin2007, ECCEisfully outcomes asschoolsinwealthierareas. assessment,school entry schoolstoachievethesame thesenumberssuggestitwillbehardforlow-decile students enteringdeciles9and10schools(WylieBaker, 2002). Despitequestionsaboutthereliabilityof emerging literacy, comparedwith70percentforstudentscomingintodecile5schoolsand80of 38percentofchildrencomingintodecile1schoolswereseenascompetentin that assessments indicated contribute todifferencesintheircompetencieswhenstartingschool. In2001, resultsofschoolentry rates,ECCE participation anddifferencesintheamountqualityofECCEchildrenexperience, will The NewZealandstudy, Competent Children “Poverty is… up and embarrassment out not why theyare actingthatway andmaybe understanding difficultiesfamiliesare having issues. Palmerston North) at school and getintrouble of school.” Schools reacting to , thesedifferencesin that evidenceindicate andinternational going toschool butschools not (From youngpeople’s definitionofpoverty, group for kids. kids’behaviour

because offamily Kids playing kicked – shame and Proposals forhigher-income theaverage communities tomatch communities. andqualityinlow-income A usefulstartingpointwouldbetosettargetsforraisingECCEparticipation fund-raising potentialperstudent(WylieandBaker, highercostsandlower • contributions fromparents–schoolfeesincreasebydecile, lower • noqualifications andhave boards oftrusteeswithhigherproportionsmemberswhoareunemployed • highlevelsoftransience–42percentdeciles 1and2schoolshadrollturnoverof20percentormore, • for anumberofreasons: foundthat, literacysurvey besidesthelower oftheirnewentrants, schoolsfacedotherchallenges low-decile substantiallymoreunder-achievingschools have studentsthanhigh-decileschools. A 1999NZCERschool inschoolperformanceandoutcomes withindeciles,While thereisconsiderablevariation overalllow-decile poor nutrition, andpoorparentalskillsbehaviour, limitthesechildren’s chancesofdevelopingbasicskills. withpoverty,associated suchasreceivinglessearly childhoodeducation, transience, housing, overcrowded disadvantage.from poorerhomesaremorelikelytostartschoolwithaneducational This is becausefactors 12. age sixtendtostillbehighscorersat age Children score wellonreadingandcomprehensiontestsat Establishing basicskillsearlyinlifeiscrucial. childrenwho foundlow-income The CompetentChildrenstudy in thelower-performing ofEducation, group(Ministry 2007: 28-29). Student for International in2006.Assessment (PISA)study MaoriandPacifica studentsareover-represented of 15-year-old levelofreadingachievementintheProgramme studentsdidnotprogressbeyondthelowest levels.countries, thelowest largegroupofstudentsperformingat arelatively Fifteen wealsohave percent thehighestlevelthanothercountriesonaverage.students achievingat However, comparedwithsimilar more andNewZealandhasproportionately schoolmathematics) (withtheexceptionofprimary averages improvingoutcomesforpoorchildren.could beat OverallNewZealandstudentsperformaboveinternational students,While theNewZealandschoolsystemperformsextremelywellformany itisnotaseffective population. sizeoftheworking-age relative building astrong, economy, internationally-competitive reducesthe ageing especially asdemographic school in education. ofchildrenwillbecriticalto outcomesforthecurrentgeneration Ensuringgoodeducation opportunitiesforpeoplewithlimited In theeconomyoffuturetherewillbeevenfeweremployment disparities and failure outcomes school Tackling pay them compared withsevenpercentofdeciles 9and10schools running costs, acrossdeciles. inECCEservices toequaliseaccessandparticipation GrantsSchemeforestablishmentgrantsand Substantially increasefundingviatheDiscretionary account of the lessons from the forthcoming evaluation oftheFamilyaccount ofthelessonsfromforthcomingevaluation Startearlychildhoodhubspilot. incomehouseholds, 18monthstothreeyearsfromlow childrenaged Provide freeECCEforat-risk taking asdoestheproportionofparents who 2002).

Education and skill development 51 Education and skill development 52 people, and meansofimprovingschooloutcomesby encouraging toprovideforculturallyappropriate exploring waystoraiseachievement. targetpoorercommunitieswithamajorityofMaoriorPacifica Many welcome, schoolsacrosstheboard. andwillhelpprimary andpilotsare A numberofotherinitiatives fornewentrantsto1:15is The Budget2008announcementofareductionintheteacher/pupilratio students fromdeciles5and6schools(www.educationcounts.govt.nz). deciles 9and10schools, than schoolwithlittleornoformalattainment and1.7timesmorelikelytoleave thanstudentsfrom schoolwithlittleornoformalattainment and 2schoolsare4.5timesmorelikelytoleave data. inschool-leaver thestartofschoolyearstendstostillbeapparent Studentsfromdeciles1 at data school,schools dowellat inthe donot. canbeobserved many that disadvantage Overalltheeducational disadvantage.overcoming educational low-decile While somestudentsfrompoorbackgroundsattending Nevertheless, despitetheadditionalfundingandotherinitiatives, schoolsarenotsucceedingin many of Education, from receive morethanothers(Ministry data Annual SchoolSectorReports). when allfundingsources, including schoolfeesandsalaries, aretakenintoaccount, schools low-decile lower-decilecompensate that, challenges they face. schools shows for the greater data of Education Ministry ‘Decile funding’wherebyschoolsreceiveadditionalfundingdependingontheirdecileranking, isdesignedto elsewhere. available tothat relative schools. Overtime, areasfalls tochildreninlow-income thequalityofteachingavailable theriskisthat betteropportunitiesforprofessionaldevelopmentandtrainingthanthoseinlow-decile also likelytohave (Thrupp, lesstimetofocusoneducation leaving 2008). Teachers inschoolsbetter-off communitiesare lower-decile schoolsalsospendalotmoreoftheirtimeonpastoralcarethanthose inmiddle-class schools, ofEducation,of Maoristudents)finditmoredifficulttorecruitteachingstaff(Ministry 2008). Teachersin schools, low-decile Another aspectoftheproblemisthat (ruralschools, andthosewithahigherproportion and assistancewithprofessional development. Provision shouldbelinkedtospecific objectivesandprogrammes, including fullyfundingreading recovery schoolsinadditiontothedecile-fundingformula.Extra supportandresourcesareneeded forlow-decile learning, schools. tobeneededensureitisachievedinlow-decile andmoreresourcessupportappear percent ofdecile10schools(Ng, L, 2006). Establishingcompetentliteracyispivotaltofuture ayoungage at wasofferedin61.3percentofdecile1schools,reading recovery 69.1percentofdecile5schoolsand64 schools, theyarelesslikelytooffertheprogrammethanmostotherschools. In2005, forexample, budgets. This mayexplainwhy, inlower-decile needforreadingrecovery despitetheevidenceofagreater reading recovery. Moreover, iftheychoose to, theymustfind50percentofthefundingfromtheiroperational fortheireffectiveness. internationally by DameMarieClayarerenowned Yet toprovide schoolsdonothave Early literacy teachinginNewZealand’s programmesdeveloped schoolsandthereadingrecovery primary impede learning. toyoungpeople,services butalsotoimprovechildren’s outcomesbypickinguphealthproblemsthat schools–notonlyabetterwaytodeliverhealth at providehealthandothersupportservices initiatives and schoolcanliftchildren’s achievement significantly(Biddulph, BiddulphandBiddulph, 2003). Other betweenhome effectivecollaboration that improve theirachievement;andNewZealandevidenceindicates supporting parentengagement. offamilyandwhanauwithchildren’sThe engagement to isknown education likely tobeteenparentsandthensoleonabenefit;14percentof18-24-year-old Maorireceivea in2005. in2003werestillnotworkingorstudying studying Within thiscohort, Maoriaresignificantlymore difficulties;aboutathirdofyoungpeoplewhowerenotworkingor hard coreofthisgroupsuffercumulative Pacifica youtharetwiceaslikely Pakeha tobeincluded inthisgroup. Moreover, a thereisevidencethat of 11 percent, rates. andyouthunemployment average unemployment Maoriand despiteourmuchlower 15-24whoarenotinemployment, theOECD The proportionofyouthaged ortrainingsitsat education announced SchoolsPlusinitiative, age, alongwiththeraisingofschool-leaving mayreducethiseffect. 16), age (at andaboutone-fifthofthemdonotmoveintoothereducation, trainingorwork. Therecently totheOECDaverage, schoolearly Relative NewZealandhasahighproportionofschoolstudentsleaving Proposals Proposals acquire theskillsandincometofulfiltheirparentalrole, whetherornotthey arelivingwiththeirchildren. system.education completetheireducation, youngfirst-timefathers Itisalsoimportanttoensurethat to education, continuedintopost-schooleducation, andsomemayhave alargenumberarestilloutofthe completed their education. birthin2006;whilesomeofthemwouldhave gave Morethan4000teenagers in teen-parentunits. hadsubstantialsuccessinsupportingmotherscompletingtheir These unitshave periods, prospects. becauseofpooremployment mothersarecontinuingtheireducation About 400teenage likelihoodofneedingincomesupport, withagreater Early childbearingisalsoassociated andforlong (Dharlinghametal., arealsomorevulnerabletobreakingdown a youngage 2004). whentheygivebirth,likely thanoldermotherstobeinstablerelationships enteredintoat andrelationships education, likelihoodofsoleparenthood. prospectsandgreater pooremployment Young mothersareless areparticularlyvulnerabletopovertybecauseoftheirmother’s their firstchildasteenagers have interrupted levelsandtheirchildren’s betweenmothers’education correlation outcomes. Childrenborntowomenwho isclearlyCompleting education long-termpoverty, thebestprotectoragainst andthereisademonstrated to beexcluded fromschoolthanstudentsindeciles9and10schools(www.educationcounts.govt.nz). and exclusion ofstudentsfromschool. In2007, studentsindeciles1and2schoolswere4.5timesaslikely (Robson,disengagement 2004). There isalsoaclear betweenthesocio-economic mixofaschool correlation their socio-economicstatus, teachersandschoolculturecontributetotheir thereisevidencethat ofMaoriandPacifica with While muchofthepoorerperformanceanddisengagement studentsiscorrelated domestic purposesbenefit,age group(OECD, offourpercentforthis average comparedwiththeoverall 2008). the average. parents’schoolparticipation, Set targetsforraisingteenage andachievementstomatch qualifications outcomes.objective ofachievingequitableeducational specific programmesandinitiatives, andprofessionaldevelopment, suchasreadingrecovery withthe Provide extrasupportandfunding(inadditiontodecilefunding) lower-decile schools, linkedto

Education and skill development 53 Education and skill development 54 dramatic benefitsforchildren’sdramatic achievement(Biddulph, Biddulph, andBiddulph, 2003). investment. (Cummingsetal., 2007). resources canhave Providingparentswithaccesstolocaleducational standing withlocalcommunities. The cost-benefitanalysisconcluded extendedschoolswereagood that life chances. As wellasimprovingstudents’performance, andahigher betterrelationships schoolsenjoyed Other reportedbenefitsforstudentsincluded withlearning, engagement morestablefamilylifeandbetter programmes wereimprovingstudents’schoolattainment, particularlythosefacingsignificantdifficulties. foundthat,extended schoolinitiative schoolsoffered, whiletherewasconsiderablediversityinwhat the and gymnasiums, hallsandplayingfields, thantheneighbourhoodsbeyondtheirgates. ofaUK Anevaluation they are large, resources, capital-intensive better facilities such as and tennis in courts poor areas often have in sports, adulteducation, orassistingtheirchildren’s learning. Usingschoolsthiswayisalsocost-effective; inschool– areopenoutsideschoolhourscanalsoprovideopportunitiesforparentstoengage Schools that programme hasnotyetbeenevaluated. students inyearsfivetoeight, technology. andparticularlytoimprovetheiraccessinformation The Centre initiative, whichresultedin107centres, mainlywithinschoolsindeciles1to3, located tohelp schoolcanmakeupforthisdisadvantage.homework at Support This wasrecognisedinthe2000Study families, home, accesstocomputersandtheInternetat arelesslikelytohave andbeingabletodotheir 4).(also seechapter They alsobenefitchildren. Maoriand Pacifica children, andchildreninsole-parent themtoworklongerandmoreflexiblehoursthroughschoolholidays larger rangeofjobsbyallowing : s r As thephysicalbasesforprovidingabouthalfofallout-of-schoolservices, u theyenableparentstoaccessa o h l community resourcesforreinforcingdevelopment, o andskills, education andpromotingsocialinclusion. o h c s In poorcommunitiesespecially, areopenbeyondcoreschoolhourscanbeimportant schoolsthat e d i s t u o centres andextended schools s l o o h c Out-of-school services, s study support g n i s U 27 andresultsaretobereportedshortly.They arecurrentlybeingevaluated support. invariousactivitiesandagoodenvironment foradditionaleducation opportunities toparticipate commence byFebruary 2009. thepotentialto helpchildrenbyprovidingstimulating have These services tutoring andhelpwithhomework. To beenopened date, have fourextendedservices include sport, musictuition, artsandcrafts, andculturalactivities, supportsuchas aswelleducational year. asayinthekindsofactivitiestheyoffer, children andfamilieswillhave The intentionisthat whichmay forolderchildren.range ofactivitiesandalsocatering They areschool-based, throughoutthe andavailable schools.programmes inlow-decile They willbuildonexistingout-of-schoolservices, providingawider The government’s five-year, planinvolvesestablishing12 out-of-schoolservices ‘extendedservices’

These are at Henderson South Primary Schoolin HendersonSouth Primary These areat Auckland, RhodeStreetSchoolinDinsdale, Hamilton, StreetSchoolin Rata Naenae, Wellington andGlenmoorSchoolin Mairehau, Christchurch. 27 andfourmorewill

and inadequate infrastructure.and inadequate where povertyisendemic, problemsincluding withassociated crime, employment, low strugglingschools of povertyandimproveoutcomesforchildren. moremight bedoneinneighbourhoods Italsodiscusseswhat d accommodation. theeffects toattenuate discussesthepotentialofhealthandhousingservices This chapter n a g accesstohealthier helps reducethelikelihoodofchildrencontractingpreventablediseasesbyallowing n i r s o Illness andpoorhousingarebothcausesconsequencesofchildpoverty. u o familyincome An adequate o p h n r o o o t p c a p deprived , neighbourhoods m h i t l n a a e h g n i k a M Chapter 8: medical visits available toolderchildrenwouldimprove theirhealthcareandoutcomes.medical visitsavailable other relatives. Furtherextendingeligibilityfor fully-freemedicalvisitsforchildrenundersixandmakingfree andwhospendtimewithbothparentsand/or numberofchildrenwhoseparents areseparated growing usual homeandnotclose tothegeneralpracticewheretheyareenrolled. This isanimportantissuefor the 2008), fromtheir incomefamilieswhenchildrenareaway therecanalsobeacostbarrierfor childreninlow ofHealth, healthcare provider (Ministry aregularprimary While morethan97percentofchildren have ofHealth,(Ministry 2008). 5-9years,aged aged 10-14itwasonly19percent thecomparablefigurewasonly32percentandforthose 0-4years,68 percentofchildrenaged theirmostrecentvisittoaGPhadbeenfree. However, forchildren for that families’ budgetsareseverelystrained. shows fromthe2006/07NewZealandHealthSurvey Data hour (Turner and Asher, 2008). As aresult, whentheyneedit, somechildrendo notgetmedicalattention or where theyareenrolled. However, after-hours chargesarehighlyvariableandcanbeashigh$120an hours, the generalpractice surgery forchildrenundersix at During ordinary doctorvisitsarefreeorlow-cost is suggestedasanimportantmeansofimprovinghealthoutcomesforbabiesinthesefamilies. upasnecessary birthandfollowed less likelytoaccessthisfreeservice. childisenrolledat Ensuringevery forparents, service a voluntary notallchildrenuse Wellchild services. childrenare Someofthemostat-risk Wellchild, whichispredominantlyprovided byPlunket, providesimportantearlycareforbabies. Sincethisis sixto17–representsignificantadvances.costs ofdoctorvisitsforthoseaged Nonetheless, remain. somegaps (PHOs), hours, freedoctorvisitsforchildrenundersixinstandardsurgery ofthe andasubstantiallowering regardless oftheirfamilies’income. HealthOrganisations These measures–thedevelopmentofPrimary policy beenintroducedwiththeaimofimprovingaccesstohealthcareforallchildren have initiatives they arenotsogoodforpoorchildren, orforMaoriandPacifica children. Overthepastdecadeanumberof standards,By international NewZealand’s good. andoutcomesarerelatively childhealthservices However, children’s years. andparents’needsforsupport willpaydividendsinlater etal., areimportantforthehealthydevelopmentofinfants(Davies stimulation 2002). Respondingearlyto whenevertheyneedthem.health careandmoreintensivespecialistservices Attachment, securityand in healthoutcomes. beforebirthandfrombirth, Itiscriticalthat accesstoprimary allchildrenshouldhave Without addressingthesebasiccircumstancesofchildren’s thegap livesitwillnotbepossibletoeliminate asprotectivefactors. 5)andhealthyhousing(seebelow) incomesupport(chapter importance ofadequate income families. The challengeofpoorerhealthamongchildreninpovertyraisesthefundamental Children inpoorfamiliesaresignificantlymorelikelytogetsick, andbeinjured, thanchildreninhigher- Health

Making an impact on poor health, poor housing and deprived neighbourhoods 55 Making an impact on poor health, poor housing and deprived neighbourhoods 56 transience becauseofunsuitableorinsecurehousing, andunhealthyliving conditionsforchildren. for theirchildren’s wellbeing, including heating, foodandclothing. Poverty and canleadtoovercrowding budget item. familieswithlessmoneytopayfor otheressentialitems low-income Highhousingcostsleave future opportunitiesandlivingstandards. For mostfamilieswith children, housingisthelargestsingle and Wolfe, 2006). ontotheir outcomes and wellbeingthebenefitflows Itimprovestheireducational Warm, dry, iscrucialforchildren’s isnotovercrowded affordablehousingthat health(Maani, Vaithianathan Housing Proposals outof25OECDcountries(U lowest themajorvaccine-preventablediseaseswasthird 12to23monthswhowereimmunisedagainst aged 69percent(Turner at of immunisation and Asher, 2008). ofNewZealandchildren In2003thepercentage comparedwithotherdevelopedcountries.still low levels substantiallylower MoreoverMaorichildrenhave increased, 77.4percent, have twoisnow rates forchildrenaged While immunisation andcoverage thisis 28 24),and youngpeople(frombirthtoage andmore thanaquarterofMaorichildrenandyoungpeople, and sub-groups. isespeciallypronounced amongsomepopulation Overcrowding About halfofPacifica children housingbetween2001and2006.was asmallincreaseintheproportion ofchildreninovercrowded While asageneraltrend, accommodation inovercrowded theproportion of thepopulation against coldanddamp,retrofit areunevenindistributionandvariableimpact(Taylor Bainesetal., 2005). level, to the national homeowners tohelplandlordsandlow-income andlocalregionalcouncilinitiatives within fiveyears. housesareinsulated energy-efficiency allstate at retrofitprogrammesothat Programmes (Housing, andHealthStudy, Heating 2007). Recognisingthis, willspeedupthe aBudget2008initiative children,coughing andwheezingamongasthmatic children’s GPvisitsanddaysoffschoolforsickness toreducetheincidence ofcoldsand’flu, homesandkeepingthemwarmhasbeenshown Insulating time offwork, losetheirjobs, orpreventthemfromgettingemployment, anditalsoimpedestheirparenting. become entrenchedlongterm. povertybycausingthemtotake Ill-healthamongparentscanexacerbate 1989). Ill-healthcandelaychildren’s cognitivedevelopmentandcausethemtomissoutonschool, andmay depression, in both children and adults. Overcrowding also increases the risk of child abuse (Dubowitz etal., families, therisksofchildrencontractingvariouspreventablediseases, andofmentalhealthissues, suchas overcrowding and 2highlightedthelinkbetweencold,Chapter damp, housing, overcrowded whichismoreprevalentamongpoor housing Unhealthy

This definition of overcrowding is derived from the Canadian Crowding Index that uses age andsexcriteriaregarding the uses Indexthat isderivedfromtheCanadianCrowding This definitionofovercrowding sharing of bedrooms (Ministry ofSocial Development,sharing of bedrooms(Ministry 2006b: 156). Progressively extend free medical visits to children of all ages inallareas.Progressively extendfreemedicalvisitstochildrenofallages thebest-performingOECDcountries. tomatch rates Improve immunisation without cost. Ensure childrencangetafter-hours alltimes, andprescriptions at andweekendmedicalattention allchildrenareenroledin Ensure that birth.Wellchild at andageneralpracticeservice nicef , 2007), improvedsincethen. althoughitislikelytohave 28 isfalling, there Overcrowding andlivingindampcoldhousesarepartlyaffordabilityissues,Overcrowding andmightbeaddressedby Housing supply housingin2006(Craigetal.,overcrowded 2007). Pacifica andmorethan40percentofMaorichildrenyoungpeopleinthemostdeprivedareaslived percent inthemostdeprivedareas. andethnicitydata, Combininggeographical morethan60percentof from2.3percentinthemostaffluentareasto43.9 housingincreasesdramatically to 14)inovercrowded housing.percent oftheirEuropeancounterpartswereinovercrowded up The proportionofchildren(aged children andyoungpeopleofother 29 households intostarter homes. Budget 2008providesanadditional $35millionforatwo-year, shared-equitypilottohelpup700 andmodestincomes tobuytheirfirsthomes.help peopleonlow takenthemup. About3300familieshave Report 2006/07). There areanumberofsmaller programmestoassisthomebuyers. Welcome HomeLoans (HNZC) wereworth$436millionintheyeartoJune2007(HNZC,Housing NewZealandCorporation Annual ofSocialDevelopment,June 2007was$877million(Ministry 2008a). rentsubsidiesthrough Income-related supplement, tomiddle-incomeearners. low- whichistargetedat The costofthesupplementinyearto At theendofJune2006, nearly250,000familiesandsinglepeoplereceivedtheaccommodation Affordability secure rentalhousingforpoorerfamilies. partnerships withnot-for-profit andbusinesses, organisations toincrease thestockof couldbeencouraged local authoritiesintobuildingsubstantialstocksofsocialhousing. Localauthorities, orlocalauthority accommodation. Untiltheearly1990s, urban loansfromcentralgovernmentpropelled many low-interest of shortages. forsecure, Itisimportanttolookothersectorsbesidesthestate affordablerental asaresult isneededinareaswherechildrenareseriouslydisadvantaged A moreambitiousapproach ofabout4500housesinthe ashortage estimated Auckland region, halfofthembeinginManukauCity. and Cabinet’s recentreportonHousing Affordability (DepartmentofPrimeMinisterandCabinet, 2008), inareassuchasSouth ofaccommodation reduce overcrowding Auckland. The DepartmentofPrimeMinister andfallinghousingprices, netmigration accompanied bylower itisunlikelytobeenough tosignificantly The continuedincreaseingovernmentpublichousingstockby1000peryeariswelcome;but, evenifitis properties each. and Fraser, oftheminvestlittleinpropertymaintenance(Saville-Smith Many 2004). bysmall-scalelandlords, isoverwhelminglyowned accommodation oneortworental whotypicallyhave Census data). There isalsolesslocalgovernmenthousingandemployer-provided housing. rental Private NewZealand, 18.2percentin2006(Statistics fellfrom37.8percentin1986tolessthanhalfthisat owned government’s rentalstock, recentmovestoincrease thestate ispublicly theproportionofrentalhousingthat housing)sincetheearly1990s.government socialhousingandpublicemployee Notwithstandingthe than average.rates At thesametimetherehasbeenadecline inpublicly-owned housing(centralandlocal groupssince1991.for allage ownership MaoriandPacifica substantiallylower peopleinparticularhave government programmestopromotehomeownership, owner-occupied beendropping have housingrates homes.own However, risesinprices, asaresultofrapid increasingincomeinequalityandthedemiseof In thepast, their thevastmajorityofNewZealandfamilieswithchildrenwouldown wasthat theexpectation toanunder-supply areallrelated accommodation ofhousing. supplement.improvements intheaccommodation Overcrowding, poorqualityandhighcostin

That is,That notEuropean, Maori, Pacifica or Asian/Indian. 29 ethnicities lived in overcrowded housingin2006. ethnicitieslivedinovercrowded Incontrastonlyfive

Making an impact on poor health, poor housing and deprived neighbourhoods 57 Making an impact on poor health, poor housing and deprived neighbourhoods 58 Proposals income overthethreshold. threshold, rate, thesuperannuation on whichissetat thusintroducingahigheffectivemarginaltaxrate some tenantstomoveintowork. Rentsincreaseby50percentofnetincome abovethelow-income andworkingfamilies,costly forbeneficiary rentformulacanundermineincentivesfor theincome-related Work incentivescanbeanissueforHNZCtenants. While HNZCtenanciesaremorestableandgenerallyless notbeenresidentfortherequiredperiod)orarepresentinNewZealandillegally.or have who donotqualifyforsocialassistance(forexamplebecausetheyarecitizensorpermanentresidents, andpovertyforPacifica newlyarrivedinNewZealand overcrowding familiesmaybethepresenceofrelatives Housing isanespeciallycriticalissueforPacifica children. afactorin that Severalkeyinformantsindicated advancesontheirbenefits,costs intheformofrepayable butthiscanleadto further hardshipanddebt. rentalmarket.advance rentisabarriertoenteringtheprivate Beneficiariescan getassistancewiththese proportion oftheirincomeinrent, housing. toseekcheaper orhaving The highup-frontcostofabondand familieswithchildren, incomes,design oftheschemecanleave low onvery payingaconsiderable arenotadjustedregularly,payable maximum. rentexceedingthedesignated andfamiliespayany The the householdincome, modestincomelevel. arelatively at anditbeginstoabate The maximumamounts – forexample, forahouse. savings Itonlymeetspartofthecostshousingoverandabove30percent morethanmodestassets whenhouseholdshave itisnotavailable targeting ofthesupplementmeansthat housingcostsindifferentareas. andthemaximumvariesaccordingtoaverage homeowners; The tight and30percentfor accommodation threshold isabout25percentofincomeforrentersinprivate ofhousingcosts. supplementprovidesatargeted70percentsubsidy The accommodation The entry and childreninsole-parentfamilies arealsoover-represented decileareas(Craigetal., inlow 2007). affluent decile. lower socio-economiccommunities,Pacifica andMaorichildrenaremorelikelytobeborn into Indexdecileareas.NZ Deprivation Incontrast, only7.7 percentofchildrenwereborninareasthemost adult NewZealanderstoliveinpoorareas. Thirty-nine percentofallbirthsin2006 wereinthethreelowest higher costsoflivingbecausedistancefromsupermarketsandservices. Childrenaremorelikelythan are offsetbyotherhighercosts, oftransporttowork, suchasthat thenecessityofrunning avehicle, andthe andamenities. fewerandlessaccessibleservices –tendtohave smaller towns costsofhousing The lower The placeswherepoorfamiliescangenerallyaffordtolive–typically suburbsontheperipheriesofcitiesand Deprived neighbourhoods of work. Change theHNZCrentformulatoprovideincentivesfortenantsenterworkorincreasetheirhours establish aperiodicreviewofmaximumpayments. supplementpaymentssotheyreflectactualrentallevels,Increase themaximumaccommodation and families withchildrenwhomeetthe ‘severe’ and ‘significant’ housingneedcriteria. Expand thestockofpublic, to localauthorityandnon-profitrentalhousingto ensuretimelyallocation average quality,average andthelossofopportunitiestobreakcycle ofpoverty. contributions ofparents,attracting experiencedstaff, andthedifficultyof ofbelow canleadtoservice suchasschools,universal services thedemandresultingfromextraneedsofpoorchildren, thelower housing)andchildren’s (suchasovercrowded indicators (suchasECCEplaces). accesstoservices Evenfor This reporthaspointedtosignificantdisparitiesbetweenimpoverishedandwealthyareasinchildpoverty providersto maximise theeducation,be difficultforservice healthandhousingoutcomesforthesechildren. Drake andPandey, 1996). Itisnotjustdifficultforfamiliestosupporttheirchildreninpoorareas, itcanalso the conditionsunderwhichchildphysicalabuseandneglectcanflourish(Coulton, Korbin andSu, 1999; Although mostparentsfindwaystoovercomestructuraldisadvantage, deprived neighbourhoodsexacerbate betweendeprivedneighbourhoodsandhigherriskofchildphysicalabuseneglect.There isacorrelation similar resultswould befoundiftheprogrammewere rolledoutaroundNewZealand. Moreover, itis households. inChristchurch; theresultsdonotnecessarilymeanthat This programmeislocallymanaged possible toimprovesomeoutcomes foryoungchildrenevenwhilesomeadultproblemsremainintheir problems. beneficiariesoftheprogramme. Childrenweretheprimary itis suggested that Theevaluation education, moreexposuretopositiveparenting, ofphysicalassaultsandbehavioural rates and lower years, the programmeresultedinmorehealthvisitsandbettercare, more exposuretoearlychildhood programmedeliveredbyqualifiedstaff(Fergusson,the tightlymanaged 2005). aftertwo Itwasfoundthat report, accompanied that Early Startisworthaspecialmentionbecauseoftherigorousoutcomeevaluation (Gray,outcomes foryoungchildreninternationally 2001). While the specificsarebeyondscopeofthis Home visitingprogrammessuchasFamily hadmixedresultsinsecuringbetter StartandEarly Starthave in Christchurch). yettobeevaluated. Itseffectshave 18monthstothreeyears,for childrenaged inFamily whoareengaged Start(andtheEarlyprogramme Development, 2005a). halfofthesites, Inapproximately thegovernmentistriallingprovisionoffreeECCE some positiveeffectsonfamilies, ofSocial andconsiderablevariabilityinpracticebetweensites(Ministry 15percentoffamiliesindeprivedareas.programme targetingapproximately indicated An initialevaluation ordinators, andanexpansionofFamily Start. Family Startisahigh-intensity, home-basedearlyintervention includeThese initiatives asmallnumberofEarly Yearsfamilies Hubs, co- ofteenage-parent theappointment and and fundingincreasedconsiderably, forchildrenandfamilieswithmultipleneeds. toincreaselocalservices children on Funding hasbeenincreasedforchildprotectionservices. Indeprivedareas, beenexpanded have initiatives focused Initiatives thesamegoals,work towards chanceofturningarounddeprivedneighbourhoods. thereisagreater universal services, those for vulnerable children and families, and local government-led community initiatives address thespecificneedsofwholecommunity, particularlyforinfrastructureandsafetymeasures. If to withwiderinitiatives likely tobebeneficialsupplementindividual-andfamily-focusedinitiatives considerably, shouldclarify andforthcomingevaluations moreisneeded. what deprivedareasitis Invery expanded supportingvulnerablechildren andfamiliesindeprivedneighbourhoodshave aimedat Services deprived areas, whichcontributetodebtandpovertyinhouseholdswithchildren. alsopointouttheprevalenceofgamblingoutlets,informants forthisstudy loansharksandmobileshopsin andsocialinclusion.parents’ opportunitiesforemployment Daleand ofthekey Wynd (2008)andmany These, inturn, reducechildren’s opportunitiesforactivesocial, andculturalparticipation, recreational and throughsocialexclusion,disadvantage physicalisolation, andunsafephysicalspaces. highercrimerates safe environments, ofhighlymobilefamiliesandpoorhouseholds canreinforce aconcentration While somedeprivedneighbourhoodsarestablecommunitieswithcohesivesupportnetworksandgenerally

Making an impact on poor health, poor housing and deprived neighbourhoods 59 Making an impact on poor health, poor housing and deprived neighbourhoods 60 but, need. isthegreatest inthemselves, provisionwherethat inservice theyarenotabletoaddressgaps overtimeand insomecasesmaygetpeoplemoretimelyaccesstoservices betweenservices coordination Responseisunclear.Strengthening Families Service andIntegrated Bothprogrammesmaystrengthenthe with healthychilddevelopment. The programmehasnotyetbeenevaluated, between andtherelationship concerned betweenservices with particularlycomplexneedsreceivequickresponsesandcoordination centres. isprovidedbyexistingstaffof Coordination Work andIncome, families whoaimtoensurethat the NewZealandPolice and Women’s Refuge, Responsein53service Service hasestablishedanIntegrated For familieswhoareclients of Work andIncome, ofSocialDevelopment, theMinistry workingwithHNZC, ofSocialDevelopment,being strengthened(Ministry 2005a, ofSocialDevelopment, Ministry 2005b). although performancevariesconsiderablyaroundNewZealand. National, is regionalandlocalcoordination foundittobeuseful, programmeshave longest runningandmostcomprehensiveofthecoordination forfamilieswithchildrenwhoareincontactseveralagencies. gaps ofthe coordination Evaluations There are61StrengtheningFamilies nationwide, and coordinators withabrieftobridgelocalservice problems benefit fromexpandedspecialistprogrammes, forexample,attend tohearingandvision topickupand programmes; theaimistofree-upteachersteach. Someofthemostvulnerablechildreninpovertywould some schools”“full-service withonsitehealthandsocialworkservices, safety, nutrition, exerciseandweight benefitsforchildren(Belgrave,showed Jakob-HoffandMilneetal,2002). include School-basedinitiatives of wellbeing, andgoodhealtheducation. to171lower-decile oftheservice schools An initialevaluation schools, andintermediate primary inordertoimprovechildren’ssocial workersin335low-decile chances Social Workers inSchoolscurrentlycontractswith45non-governmentalorganisations, 146 whoemploy topovertyandmarginalisation. issues related programmessuchasFamily allthe unrealistic toexpectearlyintervention StartandEarlytoameliorate 30 children fromaccessingservices. themselves, nopermanenthousing, orfamilieshave forexamplewhereachildis inCYFcustody prevent thresholds. high entry very have specialistandremedialservices Many And sometimesthehighneeds theyneed. childrenandadultsgettimely accesstotheservices mainstream programmescanensurethat willclarify forthcomingevaluations It istobehopedthat theextent towhichthecurrentmixoftargetedand inequalities, ofSocial apointalsomadeintheevaluation Workers etal., inSchools(Belgrave 2002). preventing individualandfamily-level ‘dysfunction’. cannotfixstructural Child-andfamily-focusedservices income,– suchasinadequate badhousing, thanfocusingunduly on andracism–rather unemployment Waldegrave (2005)pointsout, toexternalsystemicsourcesofproblems itisimportanttorespondadequately children’s lives. areimportantpartialsolutions. Good-qualityhealthandsocial services However, as affect topreventtheworsteffectsofchildpovertyneedsrectify theproblemsthat An effectivestrategy for increasesinthecostandvolumeofprovision. beenonlypartiallyfundedbygovernmentinthepast. have that Itwillalsoadjustfunding essential services workingwithchildrenandfamilies.government organisations willhelpbyfullyfundingsome This package funding,catch-up providedbynon- whichwillsubstantiallyincreasefundingtoessentialservices The Pathways toPartnership fundingpackage, announcedinFebruary 2008, iswelcomeandmuch-needed

More information can be found at www.seehere.org.nz canbefound at More information 30 .

spaces, whichareimportantforchildren’s opportunitiesandthesafetyvibrancy ofcommunities. walkways andcycleways, publictransport, facilitiesandotherindooroutdoorcommunity recreation physicalenvironments,Local governmentshapes andhasdirectresponsibility for providinglibraries, roads, pleasant neighbourhoodswhereitiseasyforpeopletosocialiseandcommunityactivityflourish. (Hoelscher,renewal etal., 2004;Beatty 2008;HM Treasury, 2008). Children, familiesandbusinessesbenefitfromsafe, hope andopportunities, theeffectsofchildpoverty;thisiswellestablished intheUKandEurope andmitigating community and indeprivedcommunitiescanmakeasignificantcontributiontoraising Development andrenewalinitiatives infrastructure Local Renewal Project. Auckland areaarethe Tamaki Edge ineducation,Area Strategy andthe Talbot Park CommunityHousing isdesirabletoturnarounddeprivedareas.approach Two examplesofmulti-agencyinthe initiatives While longer-term socialdevelopmentworkisoftendonewithinsingle-agency silos, awide-reaching residents’ opportunities. However, areoftenshorttermorcrisis-focused. initiatives collaborative neighbourhoods andruralareas, affect wheretheroutestakenbyroadsandpublictransportcangreatly and localgovernmentinfrastructureinitiatives, suchastransport, canalsobecritically importanttopoor canbelookedtofor support. that Fundandphilanthropicorganisations Community Initiatives Largercentral ofSocialDevelopment.the Ministry miscellaneousfundingsourcessuchaslotteries,There aremany the for example, districthealthboards, localauthorities, suchasHNZC, andgovernmentagencies thePolice and There are, ofcourse, inpoorneighbourhoodsbetween, andinitiatives examplesofeffectivecollaboration many facilities inallareas, facilities. oftheirown effectiveinputintothemanagement andparentslocalshaving suchasearlychildhoodcentres, services attracted toworkinhealthandeducation qualifiedpeoplebeing however, onpeoplebeingabletogetworkandback, settingup businessesandcommunityorganisations thepotentialtosetchildrenindeprivedareasonamorepromisingpath.These actionshave They rely, providesecurerentalhousingtofamilieswithsevereorseriousneeds. • ensure • inthewealthiestareas improveaccesstoECCEforchildreninpoorareasequalthat • improveworkopportunitiesandincomesinthepoorestfamilies • This reporthasstressedtheneedforaplanofactiononchildpovertyto: toinfluencedelivery. withotherorganisations them tocollaborate The LocalGovernment tolocalauthoritiesandrequires Act 2002recognisesthelimitedresourcesavailable affectthelivesofpoorchildren. effectivelywiththeissuesthat activities andfacilitiesneededtograpple resourced, energetic, cohesive, andwell-governedcommunitiesaretherefore, morelikelytogettheservices, withdeprivedneighbourhoods, arecorrelated costs fromfactorsthat tofacilities. suchasdamage Better basesthanthoseinricherareas, smallerrating Councils inpoorerareashave andsometimesfaceadditional councilsaspiretoimprovefacilities,While many theircommitment, isvariable. resourcinganddelivery Wellchild, GPvisits, andschoolseffectivelyaddresstheneedsofallchildren

Making an impact on poor health, poor housing and deprived neighbourhoods 61 Making an impact on poor health, poor housing and deprived neighbourhoods 62 Proposal development andcommunityrenewalinitiatives. onthelessonsofUKNewDealforCommunitiesprogrammeandsuccessfullocalcommunity drawing We infrastructuredevelopmentindeprivedcommunities recommendlong-termcommitmentstointegrated etal., thearea(Beatty towards 2008). positivechangeintheareasofcrime, alsofoundthegreatest The evaluation fearofcrimeandattitudes percent oftheinvestmentfundingcamefromcentralgovernment, andmuchofitwasspentonhousing. Typically, intherenewalprogramme. thephysical environmentreceivedthemostattention Nearly80 localleadershipwascommittedandskilled. • stabilisedneighbourhoodsquicklythroughphysicalrefurbishmenttostemtheflightofbetter-off • andtargets adoptedmulti-outcomeinterventions • government, effectivenesswasenhancedwherecommunities: foundthat ofaNewDealforCommunities,An evaluation aUKprogrammeofurbanrenewal supportedbycentral neighbourhoods. communities andbusiness, income toinfrastructuredevelopmentandcommunity renewalinlow Further developlong-term, commitmentsbycentralgovernment, collaborative localgovernment,

supported by the Conservative Party.supported bytheConservative intospecificpolicyThe commitmenthasbeentranslated targetsjointly mission’ tobecome toendchildpovertyforever’(Bradshaw,‘the firstgeneration 2007), also anobjectivenow advanced exampleisprovidedbytheUKwherein1999PrimeMinister Tony Blairannounceda ‘20-year establishedspecifictargetsforreducingchildpovertyorsocialexclusion.A numberofcountrieshave Themost themonitoringofprogress.targets ensurecommitmenttothegoalofendingchildpovertyandallow childpoverty. targetsforreducingandeventuallyeradicating It isvitaltosetmeasurablenational Such s t e g r a t and achieving them g n i t t e S Chapter 9: and childreninfostercare. particularly vulnerable–disabled children, childreninnon-English-speakingmigrantandrefugeefamilies, Pacifica childrenamongpoorchildren. Thereisalsoaneedforspecificgoals forgroupsofchildrenwhoare In NewZealand, thereisastrongcasefor specificgoalstoaddresstheover-representation ofMaoriand can beunderminedbyalackofprogressonothers. stress andviolenceinhouseholds. Unlesstargetsaresetacrossallthesedomains, ononefront endeavours familyincomes,low poorhealthstatus, poornutrition, outcomes, pooreducation housing, overcrowded and A comprehensive, becauseoftheinterconnectionsbetween multi-dimensionalsetoftargetsisnecessary effects ofpoverty, protectchildrenfromtheworstflow-on • preventsocialexclusion now, • theimpactsofincome povertyonchildren ensureafocusonalleviating • children’s andopportunitiesinorderto: accesstoservices While trackingincomepovertyisfundamentaltofulfillingthiscommitment, itisalsoimportanttotrack and housing.(UNCROC,Article27) case of need provide material assistance and support programmes, particularly with regard to nutrition, clothing Take appropriatemeasurestoassistparentsandothersresponsibleforthechildimplementthisrightin They arealsorequiredto: targets and forthechild’schild toastandardoflivingadequate physical, mental, spiritual, moralandsocialdevelopment. measures to:provides abroadframeworkforchildpovertytargetsandcommitssignatories recognisetherightofevery goals, ConventionontheRightsofChild(UNCROC),The UnitedNations whichNewZealandsignedin1993, Zealand’s New Framing (U whiletheyareinpower todeteriorate childpovertyrates ‘backstop’ targetofnotallowing child povertytargets, governmentscommitthemselvestoa andhasproposedasanabsoluteminimumthat targets intheirNational Action Plans(Eurochild, 2007). U In addition, tosetpoverty intheLisbonDeclarationallmemberstates theEUasawholeagreed toencourage targets insimilarareas(Whitefordand Adema, 2007). under twopercentby2007. Greece’s National Action Planincludes explicittargets, hasset andGermany The IrishGovernmentsetatargetofreducingthenumberchildrenin ‘consistent orlong-termpoverty’to households byaquarter2004/05, byhalf2010, childpovertyby2020. andtoeradicate bythe ‘owned’ Treasury andthePrimeMinister’s Department–toreducethenumberofchildreninlow-income transmissionofpoverty andreducetheintergenerational nicef

suchasfamilyviolenceandcrime. alsostronglypromotesthesettingofexplicit nicef , 2005).

Setting targets and achieving them 63 Setting targets and achieving them 64 make Statistics New Zealand responsible for an annual report on progress towards theestablishedtargets. NewZealandresponsibleforanannualreportonprogresstowards make Statistics monitoringisdone.There areanumberofwaysensuringthat As apartofthis, inourview, itispreferableto child povertyrates. ofSocialDevelopment.an annualSocialReportpublishedbytheMinistry Itincludes headlinereporting of Annual, publicly-reported targetsisalsonecessary. monitoringofprogresstowards has NewZealandalready orsocialwelfare.such aseducation responsibilityforoneofthespecificareasconcerned, doesnotalsohave minister andadepartmentthat cross-agencyprocesses toensurethat actioncanbeenforced. Ideally, oversightshouldrestwitha ultimate responsibilityfortargetsisclearlyIt isvitalthat ministerialanddepartmentallevel, assignedat with In theUK, thechildpovertytargetsarejointly bythe ‘owned’ Treasury andthePrimeMinister’s Department. agency’sgoals needtobeonevery agenda, andtheyneedtorefocusexistingprioritieswherenecessary. existingdepartmentaldirectionsalongwithsomenewinitiatives. issimplytocoordinate the strategy The key community andbusinesssectors. andcommitmentisunlikelytobeforthcomingif ownership The necessary strategy, acrossthepoliticalspectrumaswellsupportfrom tosucceedthiswouldneedbroadagreement d n a t leverage, theywouldneedtobeimplementedconcurrently, acrossmultipleagencies. long-term Likeany n e m e g childpovertyandreduceitsimpactarefar-reaching.The changesneededtoeradicate To gainmaximum a n a m , p i responsibilities h s r e n w O andopportunities. accesstoservices have toreducechildpovertyaminimumandlimititsimpactbyensuringchildren reflect adetermination formilestonesandtargetsiscrucial.Setting realisticdates They shouldberealisticandachievable, but Proposals It hasformalresponsibilityforallofficialgovernmentstatistics, anditsindependencegivesitcredibility. Establish goalsregardingchildpovertyincluding: Make Statistics New Zealand responsible for an annual report on progress towards thetargets. NewZealandresponsible foranannualreportonprogresstowards Make Statistics specific areasinvolved. oneofthe responsibility forany doesnothave the goalstoaseniorministeranddepartmentthat Secure high-levelcommitmentfromallgovernmentagencies, oversightforachieving givingultimate - - - - clear intheareasofeducation, measurabletargetsforkeyindicators housing, and health, linkedto ofchildpoverty,an overalltargetfortheelimination milestones withtwoorthreeintermediate measurable targets for specific population groups,measurable targetsforspecificpopulation including Maoriand Pacifica children, childrenin decreasing netincomeinequalitybetweenthepoorestandwealthiest householdsandbetween child povertyoutcomes migrant andrefugeefamilies, childrenwithdisabilitiesandinfostercare. households withchildrenandthosewithout

taking housingcostsintoaccount. ofNorthShoreCity(205,605)or This ismorethantheentirepopulation medianincomeafter 60percentofthecontemporary were stilllivinginhouseholdswithincomesbelow andabsolutemeasures.in povertyonbothrelative However, in2006/07230,000, or22percent, ofchildren A strongeconomyand Working forFamilies reducedthenumberofNewZealand’s taxcreditshave children Conclusions Chapter 10: 31 5). youngchildren(see chapter expenditure toward 4to8would Implementingtheproposalsinchapters whenevertheyarenecessary.services The proposalsforactionsimplifythetaxcreditsystem andtilt healthcare andmoreintensivespecialist All pregnantwomenandallchildren needaccesstoprimary theearlyyearsoflife. thewisdomoftiltingpublicexpenditure towards Developmental sciencesubstantiates significantnumbersofchildrendonotcontinue tomissoutonthebasics. that child povertymakeitimperative evolve tosupportallchildrenmoreeffectively. The well-documentedshort-andlong-termconsequencesof dependent families. thistaxcreditsregimeshould Oneofthekeychallengesaheadistodeterminehow of raisingchildren. said,That moreisneeded, especiallyfortheleastwell-offchildrenlivinginbenefit- children. Now, themajorityoffamiliesreceivesome,towards thecosts andoftensignificantfinancialsupport Families, NewZealandwasoneoftheleastgenerouscountries intheOECDitsfinancialsupportfor significance of Working for Families shouldnotbeunderestimated. Beforetheintroductionof Working for enabled aconsiderablenumberofworkingfamiliestosubsequentlymoveoutpoverty.have The A strongeconomyand Working forFamilies and seenincomeinequalitybegintonarrow taxcreditshave thebottomoflabourmarket, at inwages growth andreductionsinwelfarepayments. exists.countries forwhichcomparabledata dispersion,This wasdrivenprincipallybyincreasedwage low Between themid-1980sand2000, ofthe20OECD inequalityrosemoreinNewZealandthan inany countries’ (U government policyinchildpovertylevelsbetweenOECD toaccountformostofthevariation appears isnotinevitable.This situation U school suppliesandpayingforfood. hopesanddreams. theirown lower tomakeimpossiblechoicesbetweenpayingfor Their parentsoftenhave inactivitieswiththeirschoolmates,Often theycannotparticipate aredressedshabbily, andareforcedto dwellings, school, failingat andexcluded fromnormalchildhoodopportunitieslikeholidaysandoutings. onthechildrenwhoareunder-nourished,This reportfocusesattention livingincoldandovercrowded 40percentofthemedian.who relyonbenefitsarelivingincomesbelow 50percentofthemedianincome.below Oncehousingcostsareincluded, ofthefamilieswithchildren many region(222,423). the Manawatu-Wanganui

Statistics NewZealand,Statistics 2006. “The health andcreativity of acommunity isrenewed each generation through its children thrives –thesociety thatdoes not isdestined to fail.” - children… The family, community orsociety thatunderstands andvalues its nicef , 2005). nicef ’s concluded: 2005reportonchildpovertyinrich nations ‘Variation in 31 Ofthesechildren, 170,000livedinhouseholdswithincomes “Poverty

(Majenta, teenparent, Wanganui) children missingout.” tomemeans Bruce Perry, 2007 the

Conclusions 65 Conclusions 66 education placesforroughlyhalfofNewZealand’seducation communitiesit childrenunderfive;insomelow-income early childhoodcareandeducation, therearestillonlyenoughfull-time-equivalentearlychildhoodcareand as canchildren’s accesstogood-quality, in culturallycompetentservices. inparticipation Despitegrowth families. amongchildreninlow-income disadvantages canbeimproved,The designofthechildcaresubsidy equaliser, canbeapowerful services High-quality earlychildhoodcareandeducation reducing bondingandsecureattachment.to facilitate 14 weeksistooshort, andthe LabourOrganisation accordingtotheInternational World HealthOrganisation, forpaidparentalleave.remuneration isinsufficientunlessthefamilyhasanotherincome; The currentrate less thantheminimumwage. ofand Gettingitrightfromthestartoflifemeansincreasingduration beforetaxis$391.28perweek;thisnearly$100 The maximumcurrentamountofpaidparentalleave oftheproposalsforactioninthisreport.considered inimplementation Morestill needstobedone. services. The particularneedsofMaoriandPacifica childrenandtheirfamiliesneedtobecarefully to earlychildhoodcareandeducation. Morehasbeeninvestedinvariouseducation, healthandsocial The governmenthasmadeapositivestartwith Working forFamilies, andbetteraccess paidparentalleave arecritical.quality earlychildhoodandout-of-school-careservices more childrencanthrive. Increasingfundingforassistanceandservices, suchaspaidparentalleave, high- make iteasierformoreparentstocombinepositiveparentingwithsustaininggainfulemployment, sothat would ensureincreasedincomeactually providesaneffectivesafetynetforallchildren. childrenwhoseparentsliveapart.the potentialtoreducepovertyfor many thesametime Addressing debtat for children. Passing onchildsupporttocustodialparentswhoarethe domesticpurposesbenefitalsohas There isclear safety net the valueofcorebenefitsneedstoberaisedprovideanadequate evidence that thwart healthychilddevelopment. benefitlevelsarecontributingtochildpovertyandtheconditionsthat Low will notbepossibletoreducechildpovertyandtheresultingpreventable illnesses, andpersistentdisadvantage. housingandincome.cannot fixinadequate Withoutaddressingthebasiccircumstances ofchildren’s lives, it These health, areimportant partialsolutionstochildpoverty. andsocialservices education However, they provisionofnourishingmeals,non-stigmatising outsideschoolhours. healthandleisureservices poverty.of intergenerational Earlychildcarecentres andschoolscanbefurtherdevelopedasbasesforthe their access to services and lift some children out of poverty. Quality education contributes to breaking thecycle housing.children liveinovercrowded Harnessingabroadrangeofresourcesandsupportislikelytoimprove todeprivedareasmatters.Holistic attention About halfofPacifica childrenandmorethanaquarterofMaori opportunities toimprovetheirfamilies’livingstandardsthroughemployment. arethoseleastlikelytoaccessthem.the mostfromtheseservices This alsolimitstheirparents’ is muchlessthanthis. thechildrenwhowouldarguablybenefit that The disparitiesbetweenregionsindicate “Poverty who are everyone’s problem, (Rebecca, Te Puru) inpoverty.” is yourproblem,

not justthose it is

areas. MaoriandPacifica affectedgroupsneedtobevisible, childrenandotherdisproportionately andtheir child poverty. Itisclearactionacrossseveralpolicy lastingsolutionsrequiresimultaneouscoordinated that of New Zealandneedstoplanandimplementacomprehensiveprogrammefortheprogressiveelimination afford toactontheproposalsforactioninthisreport, butwhetherwecan affordnotto. high. andinthefuture–arealsovery doing so–bothnow The bestquestionmightnotbewhetherwecan expensive;thecostsofnot Financing familieswithchildrenisrelatively moreassistancetolow-income parents onbenefits. communities, inlow-income education childsupportpaymentstobepassedoncustodial andallowing ofpaidparentalleave,the valueandduration childcareand increasingthesupplyoffreeorlow-cost inthelife-cycle theearlierstages The secondprioritywouldbetotilttaxcreditstowards whileincreasing inadequate. The childrenlivinginbenefit-dependentfamiliesarethosethemostsignificanthardship. rates,the firststeptoendingchildpovertywouldberaisecorebenefit becausetheyare, quitesimply, forpublicandpoliticaldebate.Choosing prioritiesforexpenditureisrightlyamatter said,That inouropinion, range ofsectorswithclear responsibilitiesismorelikelytoworkthanpiecemeallower-level initiatives. poverty isimportant. froma thehighestlevelsofgovernmentwithsignificantengagement A planledat communities, makethemachievable. Independentregularmonitoringofconcertedeffortstoendchild Targets processesinpartnershipwithvarious focusthemindandresources;effectiveimplementation particular needsspecificallyaddressed. “There are risks risks (John F. Kennedy) But theyare farlessthanthe and costsof

comfortable and coststoaprogramof long-range inaction.” action.

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