An AUT study says almost 25 per cent of Kiwi kids have been reported to protection services. (Photo \ File)

'Profoundly concerning': Quarter of NZ kids reported to child protection

Author: Sarah Harris, NZ Herald,
Publish Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2018, 7:35am

Almost one in four Kiwi kids have been reported to child protection services, a new study has found.

The report, titled Cumulative Prevalence of Maltreatment Among New Zealand Children, followed the 55,443 children born in 1998 until 2015 when they would be 17. It determined the frequency of notifications, maltreatment cases and first entries into foster care.

Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft called the picture the study painted "profoundly concerning".

Judge Andrew Becroft, Children's Commissioner, found the study results "profoundly concerning". (Photo / Alan Gibson)

By age 17, 23.5 per cent of kids had at least one report to child protection services. Almost 10 per cent had been a victim of abuse or neglect and 3 per cent had been put into foster or other care.

The number of notifications was higher than the rate of medicated asthma among children and the prevalence of abuse similar to that of obesity.

Four types of maltreatment were included: neglect (3.8 per cent), emotional abuse (5.3 per cent), physical abuse (3.1 per cent), and sexual abuse (2 per cent).

Half of the substantiated neglect occurred by age 6 years, whereas the medians for emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse were 9 years, 11 years, and approximately 13 years respectively.

Girls were more likely to have reports of concern and be found to be maltreated. The largest difference was for sexual abuse: at 17 years of age 3.2 per cent of girls and 0.8 per cent of boys had experienced sexual abuse.

The report concluded that notifications and substantiated child maltreatment were more common in New Zealand than is generally recognised.

"Given the large number of children who touch the child protection system, our findings raise questions as to whether our child welfare systems are resourced and organised appropriately," the report authors wrote.