Child, Youth and Family cuts 80 jobs in restructure

Ray Smith said 12 new social worker positions for foster families had been created. File photo / Alan Gibson

Child, Youth and Family (CYF) is cutting 80 jobs as part of the greater restructuring of the Ministry of Social Development.

The ministry is expected to announce up to 200 job cuts this afternoon.

CYF head Ray Smith said it was closing 12 administration service centres, and cutting a team of 18 child abuse education social workers, with a total of 80 jobs to go.

However, 12 new social worker positions to support foster families had been created and also new centralised administration roles.

The child abuse team education had been cut, because it carried out a role he wanted a wider range of CYF staff to be able to carry out, Mr Smith told NZPA.

"I don't want the responsibility for talking to community groups...left to a small number of people.

"I want many more of the people that work in this organisation to play an active role in their communities."

He wanted staff to lead a much more responsive public education strategy, which helped people to learn how to deal with difficult situations.

Reporting of child abuse and neglect was not the major issue - it had increased dramatically over the past decade, Mr Smith said.

"They real issue is teaching people how to respond to situations they see. So if you encounter...someone that's struggling with at teenager or a young baby, how do you respond?"

Overall CYF wanted to put a stronger focus on its front line people while it got some efficiency gains, Mr Smith said.

"It's difficult for staff that go through change processes like this and we need to support them so that we can help them find a way to be in a job that they feel effective in."

There were currently just under 300 available positions, including 90 social workers available at CYF across the country, he said.

"In an overall sense we have a large number of positions, that's why my expectation is that we should be able to offer the vast majority of our people a job."

The ministry said the restructuring will save up to $22 million a year. Between 60-70 front line jobs were expected to be created as part of the process.

The Public Service Association and Labour MPs have criticised the move, saying the cuts come at a time of increasing unemployment when the ministry has more work to do.

The ministry has 9500 employees.

- NZPA