1000 days to get it right for every child Methodist 2012 School of Theology Deborah Morris-Travers

Every Child Counts  Formed in 2004  Driven by Barnardos, Plunket, UNICEF, Save the Children NZ, Ririki  Objectives: Children at the centre; the early years; reduce child abuse and neglect; end child poverty; increase status of parenting/ caregiving.  Membership

Why do children matter?  Citizens with inherent rights  First 1000 days/ 3 years of life  Vulnerability  Return on investment vs. cost of getting it wrong  Tomorrow’s parents, employees and community leaders  Non-voters

Why do children matter?  Children will comprise a smaller proportion of the population in the future, decreasing from 23.0 percent in 1996 to 15.5 percent in 2051  In 11 years, for the first time ever we’ll have more people over 65 than children under 14  By the year 2051, over half of all children (54.7 percent) will be of either Māori or Pasifika ethnicity

Why does child advocacy matter? “The general socio-economic milieu within which children are raised has far- reaching consequences for their health and development.” - Gluckman et al 2011

Advocacy for (and with) children

Why does child advocacy matter? UNCROC Article 3 – the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration Rights to:  Protection from harm  Provision of necessities of life  Participation 

Advocacy for (and with) children  Speaking for, with, and on behalf of children  Individuals, groups or all children  Legitimate activity  Organisations investing in advocacy  Creating the conditions for public health (Ottawa Charter) and full recognition of rights (UNCROC)  Formal or informal  Knowledge/ evidence-based  Focus on policy and/ or practice

Why does child advocacy matter?  OECD ranking – 28 out of 30  Rheumatic fever at 14 times the OECD average  22 percent (230,000) in poverty and those most likely to be in poverty are the youngest children (0-4 years) – link to poor outcomes  Over 13,000 children are admitted to hospital with conditions that could have been avoided  About 160,000 children are considered vulnerable at any one time and there are around 21,000 confirmed cases of abuse and neglect every year

Why does child advocacy matter?  More than 47,000 children live in homes with family violence  30,000 students truant each day  Low public investment and political invisibility of children - we spend 5 times as much on people in their last 2 years of life as we spend on children in their first 5 years of life

Why does child advocacy matter?  Political parties need to know people care  High public concern about child abuse  Growing awareness of children in poverty  Green Paper - White Paper  Select Committees  Ministerial Committee on Poverty  No cross-party agreements

What do children say? “I think that the Government should honestly pay more attention to children, because the children are the future of NZ basically, and if the children of NZ are not getting treated as they should, obviously in the future then they won’t be how you want them…”

What do children say? Of 1659 children, 1117 said NZ should have a Children’s Action Plan that helps make sure children are healthy, safe, loved and cared for and do well at school. (Callers to 0800 What’s Up)

What do children say?

Advocacy at the national level – the 1000 days campaign  The economic case for more effective investment (at least $2bn child maltreatment, $6bn poor outcomes from poverty)  Play your part – wheel of action  The Netherlands Study  The parliamentary term  ECC- BusinessNZ discussion series - 10 May and 12 July

Advocacy at the local level  A grandparent who urges the use of positive parenting in their family  A teacher who observes signs of neglect and discusses it with the parents  An adult who notices a parent’s stress and provides support

Your own advocacy – group activity  What are some of the issues confronting children and families in your community?  Are there issues you have advocated on in your own community? What successes did you have?  What can be done to ensure children are safe, healthy and educated in your community?

Who’s looking out for me?

Play your part!  Work with others to build your community  Join Every Child Counts  Write to MPs and newspapers  Attend events  Spread the word … 1000 days to get it right for every child