CYF pinning hopes on new Ministry for Vulnerable Children

From Morning Report, 8:16 am on 30 March 2017

Just two days before Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, comes into existence, it's short of frontline social workers. Surprisingly it says it's still analysing data and can't yet say where the shortages are. The lack of resources has been highlighted by a crisis in Masterton, where staff had to be called in from other areas after Family Court judges said they were concerned a backlog of cases was putting families in danger.The Ministry of Social Development's Chief Social Worker, Paul Nixon, says urgent steps have been taken to make sure the Masterton CYF office performs properly.