New Zealand’s Home for Life Policy
Telling Children they Matter but only for Three Years
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12583498 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Angela Jackson (0000-0002-0943-6287, University of Otago, corresponding author), Anita Gibbs (0000-0001-8286-159X, University of Otago) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 322-337 |
| Publication date | 2016-09-22 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Law Policy and the Family (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1360-9939 • E-ISSN: 1464-3707 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/lawfam/ebw007 |
| OpenAlex | W2523692711 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 10 |
In Aotearoa/New Zealand, finding a permanent home for a child, outside of the birth parent’s care, generally occurs in the most severe cases of abuse and/or neglect. In these instances, significant care and protection concerns persist, making reunification between the child and their birth parents contrary to the child’s best interests. Thus, social work efforts become centred on establishing permanent care arrangements with either whānau (extended family) or non-whānau caregivers. Creating a stable and permanent home can assist a child in recovering from the damaging effects of being exposed to abuse and/or neglect. Permanency in New Zealand is predominantly achieved through long-term fostering rather than adoption, ideally through the government’s 2010 policy, Home for Life . This policy aims to support foster parents to permanently care for a child, by providing a range of supports from financial to respite care. While the policy emphasizes the importance of permanency and is designed to reach this outcome, there are significant limitations that have the ability to prevent this from occurring. This article will explore Home for Life and its limitations in achieving permanency, specifically the insufficient legal protection caregivers are afforded and the absence of post-permanency support. It will conclude by proposing changes to the policy
Aotearoa · Best interests · Child abuse · Child protection · Environmental health · Foster care · Government (linguistics · Neglect · Poison control · Political science · Respite care · Suicide prevention · Child Welfare and Adoption · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Law
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.13 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2018 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |