A pilot programme aimed at providing better support for young parents who need it the most was launched in Rotorua today.

The Government is progressing its work on supporting families and children with the launch of the “Tiaki Whānau” a pilot programme that has been allocated $10 million as part of the Budget 2019 Mental Wellbeing Package.

The Tiaki Whanau programme, to be run in the Lakes DHB region, is the first of three pilot programmes designed to provide enhanced support for young parents and their whanau.

Tiaki Whanau takes a whanau-centred approach to help young parents and their families for the first three years of caring for their babies Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.
 
“A whanau-centred approach to supporting young parents is vital to improving outcomes," Arden says.

"Supporting young parents is an area that we have to get right, and it’s a priority for this Government, and for me.
 
“Tiaki Whanau will support each whanau with a kaitiaki (key worker) who may be a Well Child Tamariki Ora nurse, kaiawhina or social worker, supported by a multidisciplinary team, who will ensure young parents and their whanau get the additional support they need for three years, starting early in pregnancy.

The welcoming party at Paratehoata Marae this morning. Photo/Matt Martin

 
“This support is to help young parents and their whanau in this life-changing event.

"This can include health care, mental health support, help to access social services, housing or education, or helping whānau learn more about parenting and child development. 

"Most importantly, it provides continuity of care based on whakawhanaungatanga, which means building and fostering meaningful relationships.
 
“If young people get the support they need in their role as parents, this leads to better outcomes for their children, and the wider community," the Prime Minister says.
 
The pilots are based on a trial carried out in the Hawkes Bay in 2011, which resulted in improved health outcomes for young mothers and their families, Minister of Health Andrew Little says.
 
“Lakes DHB was one of three sites chosen for the pilots, which have high proportions of young parents, Maori and Pacific whanau, and whanau who live with high socioeconomic needs.
 
“The Ministry of Health has provided funding for Lakes DHB to engage Well Child Tamariki Ora service provider Manaaki Ora Tipu Ora, to deliver culturally appropriate, whanau-based care for up to 40 whanau in this area,” Little says.
 
“These pilots will be a major step towards addressing health and social inequalities for children and whanau of young parents,” Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall says.
 
“I have the utmost confidence in the model of care that Manaaki Ora Tipu Ora are delivering. 

"This is a model which values a kaupapa Maori approach to health and wellbeing and utilises the diverse skill and experience of the Well Child Tamariki Ora workforce," Verrall says.

The two other pilots are planned for the Counties Manukau DHB and Hauora Tairāwhiti and are expected to get underway in early 2021.
 
“The outcomes of the pilots will be evaluated and will inform the future transformation of the Well Child Tamariki Ora programme,” Dr Verrall says.