Service Charter 'Disappointing'
By Robin Hunt (robyn@iecho.co.nz)
New Zealand's national disability advocacy organisation has expressed disappointment with a new service charter launched by the country's largest government social service department.
Chief Executive Gary Williams said that DPA's submission, which raised accessibility issues, was disregarded. 'My reading of the charter indicates that disability issues won't be addressed. The charter is trying to be simplistic and easy to understand and doesn't go into much detail. It is a flaw which could be exploited by the Department,' he said.
The charter describes the services offered by the Department of Work and Income (DWI) and what beneficiaries and employers can expect of it. The charter was developed last year in consultation with community organisations, beneficiary advocacy groups, employer organisations and other stakeholder groups across the country. It has been developed to give a focus to improving service standards and to further assist the development of a strong public service ethic within DWI, according to Social Services Minister Steve Maharey..
Service charters have been used internationally by welfare agencies to inform clients of their rights and responsibilities and to signal expected service level standards to staff, but the Work and Income charter is a first for New Zealand where such charters are still relatively rare. The Inland Revenue Department has just released its Service charter.
Complaint and appeal processes remain where DWI clients are not satisfied with the service they receive.
Each DWI office had now activated a relationship with their local advocacy group to resolve issues and the implementation of the charter will be monitored over the coming year. The charter will be displayed in all DWI offices and copies will be available for clients to take away. The charter is also available at www.winz.govt.nz in pdf format. It is not clear whether the charter will be available in alternative formats.
New Direction for Special Education in New Zealand
The New Zealand Government has announced a new direction for the delivery of special education services.
Education Minister Trevor Mallard and Associate Education Minister Lianne Dalziel said that Specialist Education Services (SES) will be disestablished, and its services transferred to a new directorate within the Ministry of Education. The directorate will be set up in 2002 and will establish a Learning Support Network with regional and local resource and support centres.
The Ministers said the decision was based on the recommendation from an earlier report. It recommended that the SES be disestablished, and that a new national network of support and resource centres for special education be developed under the aegis of the Ministry of Education.
He said that contestability and the fragmentation of services had created problems for the service, and that the new network would provide the best basis for improved co ordination within the education system and with related social services.
He noted the need for Special education to be responsive to local needs while offering national consistency, leadership and strong professional support for specialists working in the area.
Placing responsibility for SE2000 within the Ministry creates a direct line of accountability to Government," Trevor Mallard said.
Parents have called for accountability, advocacy and attitudinal change. Lianne Dalziel said she had seen and heard too many reports of discrimination, hostility, exclusion, powerlessness and despair.
"We have taken the opportunity in today's announcement to remind all schools that both the Education Act and the Human Rights Act provide the right to education for children and young people with disabilities and special learning needs. This Government is committed to ensuring that their right to education is protected and upheld in a meaningful way," she said.
This announcement is the latest in a number of reforms the Labour Alliance Coalition government has undertaken.
Last October Lianne Dalziel announced the first steps of a package to help schools support children with special education needs from early 2001. The package will take $30.2 million of the $48 million budget allocation, over four years. The package included: more flexibility for inclusion in the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme; (for students with high needs,) and new funding for students with fragile health needs. It also: amended the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme to review only students whose needs were likely to change significantly; provided new funding for teacher aides' professional development; funding to develop and distribute best practice guidelines and resource materials; and funding for new facilitators.
The Ministry of Education will set up reference groups to advise it at national, regional and local level. These will have representatives of groups with an interest in special education including schools and early childhood services, parents and disability sector groups.
Reactions from parents have been cautiously positive. Some have expressed tentative pleasure at the prospect of change. Some are welcoming the commitment to ensure parents' voices are heard throughout the process. Others are apprehensive about losing what they already have. Most are waiting for more details before reacting decisively.
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