From rhetoric to action: a case for a comprehensive community-based initiative to improve developmental outcomes for disadvantaged children.

• Author: Davies, Emma

Abstract

This paper aims to demonstrate the urgency of the need to combat child poverty in New Zealand and to action evidence-based strategies to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children. The objective is to promote the development of child-centred policies that will help to eliminate the conditions that create poverty. The paper reports on factors identified in reviews as being key components of successful programmes that intervene early in the lives of children and families to promote positive childhood outcomes. It describes the community-based Sure Start initiative currently being implemented and evaluated in England. It argues that a similarly resourced, community-based initiative could go a long way towards achieving improved outcomes for young children. In the opinion of the authors, it is timely to take a long-term strategic approach to defining social and economic priorities, by putting resources behind thoughtful policies and practices to promote the well-being of children, and thereby the future of the nation's development.

INTRODUCTION

How a society addresses the needs of its youngest, most vulnerable members is a measure of that society's moral maturity. It is also an indication of its willingness to move beyond short-term, superficial objectives to real financial investment in policies that will effectively ensure the social and economic well-being of that society for decades and generations to come. The intention of this paper is to demonstrate the urgency of the need to combat child poverty in New Zealand and to identify some evidence-based strategies designed to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children.

The level of child poverty in New Zealand is unacceptably high. Poverty and the social exclusion that accompanies poverty are associated with poor outcomes for children. Improving the income level of the poorest families is an essential component of improving outcomes for children. However, in order to offset the effects of family background and lack of social capital within communities, a comprehensive, community-based package of integrated services for children and their parents will also be needed. Active intervention at the early stages of childhood is critical if successful outcomes in adulthood are to be achieved. While there are child-centred social services in New Zealand, these services tend to be reactive and/or not uniformly available throughout the country. The UK-based Sure Start programme discussed in this article offers a proactive approach that aims to improve access to opportunities for young children. The paper advocates consideration of a similar model for New Zealand in order to reduce the inter-generational transmission of hardship and deprivation.

BACKGROUND--THE IMPORTANCE OF THE EARLY YEARS

There is increasing evidence that a child's experiences in the early years are critical in shaping outcomes across health, education and welfare throughout that individual's life span. The evidence comes from many methods of inquiry including longitudinal studies (Bynner 2001, Hobcraft 1998, Duncan and Brooks-Gunn 1997, Fergusson and Horwood 1995, Fergusson and Linksey 1995, Rutter et al. 1998, Tremblay 1999) and neurobiological research (Keating and Hertzman 1999, Perry 2001, Shonkoff and Phillips 2000).

Attachment, security and stimulation have long been known to affect the healthy development of infants (Ainsworth 1979, Bowlby 1969), and now there is increasing research evidence to support the following points.

* Children need to be bonded to their curers and feel secure in their care (Belsky 1997, Seigel 2001).

* Children need protection from inappropriate discipline and violence (Glaser 2000, Hertzman 2000, Perry 2001, Straus 1991, 1996, 2000, Straus and Mouridian 1998, Straus, Sugarman, Giles-Sim 1997).

* Children who are stimulated with attention and encouragement to learn are more ready to learn when they start school than those who are not (Hertzman 2000).

* There are critical periods where the brain develops optimally in regard to specific functions (Glaser 2000, Hertzman 2000, Perry 2001).

The following factors influence the quality of nurturing that young children receive:

* Parenting style

Demonstration of warmth and affection, consistent and non-abusive parenting practices, and provision of social and cognitive learning opportunities are associated with more positive outcomes for children (Hertzman 2000, Shirley et al. 2000).

* Family income

Poverty negatively impacts on outcomes for children (Blaiklock et al. 2002, Hertzman 2000, Huston et al. 1997, Ministry of Health 2000, Roberts 2000a, Shirley et al. 2000, St John et al. 2001).

* Housing

Inadequate housing and homelessness negatively impact on outcomes for children (Dibiase and Waddell 1995, Lynch 2000, Masten et al. 1993).

* Neighbourhoods

Outcomes are influenced by the quality of neighbourhoods and community life as distinguished by a range of social and economic indicators such as physical and social infrastructure, as well as factors such as safety, neighbourhood cohesion, social capital and access to adequate community resources (Coulton et al. 1999, Chase-Lansdale et al. 1997, Hertzman 2000, Shirley et al. 2000). This includes access to high-quality day care and other early childhood education (Hertzman 2000, Smith et al. 2000, Zigler 1998).

As social democratic governments in OECD countries struggle to offset the increase in inequality between rich and poor, some commentators argue that shifting the redistribution of wealth towards the very young may reduce cycles of deprivation (Giddens 2000). Some governments have recognised that there are potential long-term economic gains to be made when nations invest in children to save on later costs in areas such as health, unemployment and criminal justice (Vimpani 2001, Shonkoff and Phillips 2000, McCain and Mustard 1999, Keating and Hertzman 1999). Governments in Australia, Canada and Britain have acknowledged the value of early intervention and have allocated increased funding for a variety of services that address the needs of children and families in the early years. There have been some tentative steps to provide targeted and coordinated social services for disadvantaged families with dependent children in New Zealand, but there has been no significant increase in financial resources for these social services apart from the introduction of Family Start.

A range of social services provides guidance and support to families experiencing difficulties in New Zealand. However, their availability is patchy and they are characterised by being largely reactive; that is, they come into play once the family is in trouble. Intensive home-visiting programmes targeted at individual families identified as in need of extra support are available in tightly defined geographical areas. Examples are Family Link, Early Start, Naku Enei Tamariki and Family Start. Family Start is the most extensive of these, although it is limited to 16 sites offering services to approximately 2,500 families. It is currently being evaluated. Overseas research has shown that while some similar programmes have been effective in improving some outcomes for children (e.g. Olds, Henderson, Chamberlain and Tatelbaum 1986; Olds, Chamberlain and Henderson 1986; Olds and Kitzman 1993), the combination of case management and parenting education delivered through home-visits is not enough to overcome the effects of poverty and inadequate parenting (Chaffin et al. 2001, Goodson et al. 2000, Olds, Henderson and Kitzman 1994).

Other services in New Zealand that provide children and families with positive social and/or learning experiences, information and sometimes personal support include well child health services, early childhood education services, and an array of parent education courses and parent support groups. HIPPY is one of the few whose effectiveness has been evaluated against a control group, showing improvements in cognitive development (Barhava-Monteith et al. 1999). With the exception of HIPPY, good information about which families access these services and groups is very limited in New Zealand. Anecdotal reports indicate that mainstream well child services and parent education programmes are not as well utilised by families from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds as they are by more affluent families. It is known that the percentage of Maori and Pacific preschool children attending early childhood education services are significantly less than the proportion of European children attending early childhood education services (Boyd and Gendall 1999).

A consistent criticism of services for children and families in New Zealand is that they are poorly coordinated in the communities in which they exist. This is particularly true in the area of child abuse prevention (McClay 2000, Brown 2000). Nor can it be said that consistent efforts are being made to address the needs of parents as well as the needs of children. Community and neighbourhood developments have not yet been widely promoted as part of the strategy to improve the parenting and well-being of the nation's young children.

THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN POVERTY AND POOR OUTCOMES

The associations between poverty, income inequality and poor outcomes in health, education and welfare are well recognised, with children who experience chronic poverty suffering the worst outcomes (Duncan and Brooks-Gunn 1997, Huston et al. 1997, Keating and Hertzman 1999, Roberts 2000b, Shirley et al. 2000).

While there are a variety of ways of conceptualising and measuring child poverty, the rates of child poverty in New Zealand exceed the rates of adult poverty irrespective of measurement technique. Using an income-based poverty measure, the Ministry of Social Development estimates that 24% of all children and young people in New Zealand are poor (Ministry of Social Development 2001b). Measuring poverty as 60% or less of the median equivalent...