May 12, 2016
Budget boost a tick for whanau ora
The chair of Te Pou Matakana, the North Island Whanau Ora commissioning agency, says a transfer of resources from the Ministry for Social Development needs to be matched by other major government departments.
In this month’s Budget the ministry plans to hand over more than $11 million in funding and programmes to the three commissioning agencies.
Merepeka Raukawa Tait says it shows government is starting to accept that if the well being of the whole whanau is taken into account, there can be better outcomes in areas like health, education and welfare.
She says Whanau Ora providers are close to their communities, and are in a better position to help families make the changes they need to what can be deep seated behaviours that hold them back.
"We can do it quicker, we can do it faster if we have more money available to us and at present most of that money sits within government departments and they have been doing and delivering services to Maori and Pacific island people over the years that really have not been successful and I believe they are now lookng at us as a commissioning model, as a deliverer of services, and seeing we can do it better," Mrs Raukawa-Tait says.
She says the Ministries of Health and Justice also need to talk with Whanau Ora about co-investing and co-designing in services.
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