New collection raises visibility of child and youth insights

These quotes came from young people involved in the workshops undertaken as part of the review of the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy.  We asked children and young people how government can better support and empower them to have their voice heard. Their feedback about wanting engagement to not just be a tick-box exercise, and wanting their voice to be used to effect change, helped inform one of the recommendations of the review: to make the findings of engagements more accessible "so that they can be used to inform a range of other work".

As a result, a new Child and Youth Engagement Reports collection has been established on our website, to help raise the visibility of insights and perspectives of children and young people. We want to ensure their voices help to inform and influence policy development, programmes and services delivery, along with future engagements.

The collection pulls together reports of Aotearoa-based engagements undertaken by government agencies, NGOs, universities and youth-led initiatives. They cover a wide range of wellbeing areas, and range from small, qualitative engagements targeting specific population groups, to more extensive surveys involving thousands of children and young people.

There’s also a story below about the Rangatahi Leadership Opportunities Database platform, which aims to raise the visibility of leadership and representation opportunities available to young people. This was another aspect of the review recommendation.

Find out more about the engagement reports collection
 

Child Poverty Related Indicators Report

The latest Child Poverty Related Indicators (CPRIs) Report was released today.  The five CPRIs are measures related to the causes and consequences of child poverty, and help tell a broader story about the lived experience of children in poverty. Over time, they can also tell us more about the impact of policies established to reduce child poverty and mitigate its consequences.  
Find out more

Child Poverty Budget Report

The Child Poverty Budget Report, released alongside Budget 2023, describes the progress made in reducing child poverty since the targets were set in 2018, and investments through Budget 2023 that will support families and whānau living in poverty with the cost of living.  They also forecast how we're tracking to meet the child poverty targets.
Find out more

Progress updates

This section highlights recent progress updates on Government initiatives that will support child and youth wellbeing:

• Investment in Te ao Māori health services to make them more accessible for whānau
• New law to speed up family court processes and help reduce stress on families
• Increased action to reduce youth vaping
• New law to enable child support to be passed on to sole parents
• Report findings show whānau-centred early support prototype working to change lives
• More support for community initiatives to help prevent violence
• Increased mental health support, including in schools, for areas impacted by extreme weather
• Free public transport for children, and half-price fares for under 25s, Community Service Card holders and Total Mobility Users
• 20 hours free early childhood education extended to two-year-olds
• Budget package helps ease cost of living pressures
• Whānau Ora system strengthened in Budget 2023
• Applications open for next round of Creatives in Schools
• Funding boost to enable early learners' access to ‘life skills’ programme through the ENGAGE programme
• Funding for youth development and enterprise programmes and services
• Over one million period product packs delivered in schools
• Youth Advisory Group (YAG) hui with the Education Minister.

Your stories and feedback

It's inspiring to hear about the great stuff that's happening in communities around the country. Check out our most recent stories below.  Please continue to let us know about new initiatives or send us your ideas or feedback - we'd love to hear from you! Contact us on:
childyouthwellbeing@dpmc.govt.nz

Reducing the leadership opportunity divide

The Rangatahi Leadership Opportunities Database (RLOD) aims to make access to information on youth leadership and representation opportunities more transparent, fair, and equitable for all young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. The RLOD platform provides crowd-sourced information on opportunities available to young people.
Find out more