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October 04, 2023
Right support missing for grandparents raising children
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On October 4, 2023
Download AudioThe Grandparents Caring for Children organisation has launched a virtual hikoi to Parliament calling on Government to fulfil New Zealand’s international obligations.
Senior community advocate Christina Howe says up to 30,000 grandparents are raising children, of whom more than 40 percent are Māori.
She says it can put them in considerable financial difficulty, and the support they can get is often inadequate both in quantity and scope.
“A lot of the support as well, they don’t have that Maori focus, that Maori world view going on either so a lot of the support available is not really appropriate for a lot of our parent out there that are looking for support so they almost turn their backs on the little support that is available,” Ms Howe says.
She says children in that situation can miss out on the what they are entitled to under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in terms of the safety, education and health care.
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