Social services organisations gather data for a variety of reasons. The primary driver for many has been the need to report to funders in order demonstrate the effectiveness of their services. However, quite quickly, this data is also used to help inform a range of reflective practices. From a practitioner’s perspective, they consider, “who have…
Next time you’re looking for a new rental, make sure you ask to see the insulation statement, before signing the tenancy agreement. If you’re not sure if your home is insulated, talk to your landlord. All rentals must have insulation installed by July 2019. If you’ve got a warm house, you’ve got a cool landlord….
Minister for Social Development and Minister for Children, Anne Tolley has announced the introduction of mandatory registration for social workers. The Social Workers Registration Act 2003 introduced voluntary registration of social workers, with the intention of increasing the overall number of registered social workers employed across government and NGOs. Today there are around 6,300 registered…
Minister of Finance Steven Joyce briefed social services and others from the community on the details of the Government Budget at Budget Briefing breakfasts organised by NZCCSS at the end of May. This was a great opportunity for him to meet with and engage with the community sector in his new role as Minister of…
Communities are “under siege from predatory lenders” as they struggle on low incomes that are not sufficient to meet the needs of their families yet have little or no access to safe or fair sources of credit. This is a key message to emerge from a recent hui about poverty held at Auckland’s Te Puea…
Individual Client Level Data Update As most of you will be aware MSD and the Ministry of Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki has pulled back on their demand for individual client level data to be supplied to it from 1 July. While this represents a good respite and the beginnings of a sensible approach from government…
CHA-IMACT conference The 2017 Community Housing Aotearoa IMPACT conference was the biggest yet for the sector that is leading much of the change happening in social housing.There were around 300 people at Te Papa in Wellington and the atmosphere was vibrant and full of ideas for building homes and communities. This reflects the reality of…
Family Violence Summit A Family Violence Summit was held at Te Wharewaka in Wellington on Wednesday 7 June 2017, chaired by Sir Wira Gardiner and co-hosted by Justice Minister Amy Adams and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley. The Summit supported work already underway as part of the Government’s family violence reforms, which includes the introduction of the…
There was “robust engagement with political leaders” on the issues of housing, refugees and social investment, says Anglican Archbishop Philip Richardson, when church leaders met with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett in May. The church leaders at the meeting together with Archbishop Richardson, were Baptist Leader Daniel Palmer, Roman Catholic Cardinal…
The Selwyn Institute for Ageing and Spirituality Conference Friday 1 September 2017 Delegates at this unique and inspirational conference will enjoy a full-day’s programme of thought-provoking presentations on the theme of ‘Spiritual Leadership in Aged Care’ by an exciting line-up of acclaimed speakers from both New Zealand and Australia. This conference will be of interest…
NZCCSS estimates that nearly 16,000 people are doing voluntary work with social services agencies throughout New Zealand. They join the estimated 1.2 million volunteers who contribute to our community every year. The story of Maurice Marks who volunteers with Christchurch City Mission story is typical of the work of thousands of volunteers. He drives a…
Half of New Zealand’s population lives in rental housing and 7 out of 10 children living in poverty live in rental housing. Generation rent is already here and New Zealanders need to really get better at doing rental housing. NZCCSS along with many others is working hard to achieve better housing standards and rental laws…
Cultural activities such as kapa haka and speaking Te Reo may help ward off dementia. This is one of the headlines from the latest report from the wonderful team doing the LiLACS research study at Auckland University, the first long term study of Māori in advanced age. The LiLACS project is proving to be a…
Individual Client Level Data NZCCSS has joined with others from the ComVoices network to take a leadership role in opposing the collection of Individual Client Level Data. This work has included supporting the crafting of an issues paper and a letter to Ministers. While the recent agreement to delay implementation for specialist sexual violence services…
Garth Nowland-Foreman The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) is controversially demanding identifying information about individual clients in exchange for its funding from 1st July. Charities and other non-profits providing essential social services are concerned this may put off vulnerable people seeking help when they need it most. It also has the potential to undermine one…