"I would be very concerned if I didn't think we were prepared to respond to that demand. But I feel we are in a good position in that respect."
Mr Versalko said it was always difficult to determine the reasons for a spike in the number of substantiated abuse cases. He said it wasn't necessarily that child abuse was increasing but that there was more discussion in the media which boosted reported cases. He said when there was increased discussion on child abuse, CYF saw an increase in demand for their services.
Child abuse and neglect was highlighted in the past two years with work on the Government's Green and White papers.
In July, 2011 The Government released the discussion document, the Green Paper for Vulnerable Children, to seek the views of Kiwis and encourage debate on how New Zealand could better protect its children from abuse and neglect. The document drew about 10,000 submissions which were analysed.
Officials drew from the analysis of the Green Paper submissions to develop the White Paper for Vulnerable Children, which outlines a programme of change that aims to identify vulnerable children and target services to them to ensure they get the right protection and support.
The latest figures show that nationally, the number of notifications CYF received had steadied, but the number of cases needing further attention from CYF and those resulting in a substantiated abuse finding rose eight and seven per cent respectively.
CYF chief social worker Paul Nixon said the increase in substantiated findings could be a reflection on the growing complexity of needs of the children CYF worked with.
Most of the children CYF works with have combination of needs, with complex family circumstances, said Mr Nixon.
"It's always a constellation of risk factors acting together - things like parental alcohol and drug misuse, untreated parent mental health problems and family violence.
"We have a greater awareness of the complexity of issues for the children notified to us. Our people don't just ask the question 'is this child abuse or not', but look at the whole picture of what's going on for that child, and work to pull in the range of agency and community professionals needed to help address the whole problem."
Mr Versalko said the collaborative approach was working well in Hamilton. Police child protection teams were available at Hamilton CYF sites, which made it easier for both organisations to be more responsive.