A dedicated Children's Team to turn around the lives of Whangarei's vulnerable children and reduce child abuse is already having an effect, the woman charged with implementing the teams nationally says.
In October last year, Whangarei was the second place in the country, after Rotorua, to get a dedicated Children's Team as part of the Government's Children's Action Plan.
Whangarei was chosen because of its child abuse rates of almost two-and-a-half cases a day. Figures from Child Youth and Family show that in 2012, 1511 substantiated cases of child abuse were reported in Northland, with 911 in Whangarei. The cases covered a range of abuse including physical and sexual abuse.
The Whangarei Children's Team now has 68 children - and their families - on its books and last week had the first child and family come through the other side of the process where they no longer needed intensive support and could work through their own issues.
National Director of the Children's Action Plan Sue Mackwell visited the Whangarei Team last week and was pleased with the work it was doing.