Iwi and Māori Provider Workforce and Development Fund

Nan Wehipeihana, Justine O'Reilly, Fiona Cram, Vivienne Kennedy, Kataraina Pipi, Helena Barwick & Laurie Porima

Funder: Department of Child, Youth and Family Services

Timeframe: 2003-04

Child, Youth and Family (CYF) has a statutory responsibility for children and young people whose family or other circumstances put them at-risk of abuse and neglect, offending or poor life outcomes. When fulfilling its obligations to Māori children and young people CYF is governed by the statutory requirement that 'the primary role in caring for children lies with whānau, hapū or iwi, who should be given assistance to do this'. Internal and external policy and practice reviews over some years have confirmed the need for CYF to support the development, and expand the range, of Iwi and Māori social service providers. As part of the Reducing Inequalities Strategy Government allocated $113 million to Child, Youth and Family, Te Puni Kokiri, the Community Employment Group and the Ministries of Education, Social Development and Pacific Island Affairs to implement capacity building programmes. When building Iwi and Māori provider capacity government agencies were expected to take a:

The evaluation of the CYF Iwi Māori Provider Workforce Development Fund (IMPWDF) primarily addressed three questions.

1. What effect did the Iwi and Māori Provider Workforce Development Fund have on the capacity of Iwi and Māori providers to deliver high quality services?
2. Has the Iwi and Māori Provider Workforce Development Fund increased CYF’s ability to contract high quality services from Iwi and Māori providers in areas of need?
3. What insights into capacity building theory and processes have been gained as a result of CYF’s Iwi and Māori Provider Workforce Development Fund?