Parenting Council Research Clearinghouse: Library "B"
Baby Bonus or Paid Parental Leave - Which one is Better?
Authors:
Paul Callister and Judith Galtry
Date:
2009
Publisher:
Ministry of Social Development - Social Policy Journal of New Zealand
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
New Zealand's paid parental leave policy was introduced in 2001. Since then it has been altered a number of times, including an extension to its length and a loosening of eligibility criteria. Given that some parents continue to be ineligible for leave, there have been calls for further expansion of the eligibility criteria and an increase in the length of leave. Australia does not currently have a paid parental leave scheme. Instead it has a "baby bonus" as well as job protection legislation. Through this combination most core jobs are protecte, and, with the exception of very-high-income families, there is a payment for all new parents. While this gives rise to some middle-class capture, the Australian policy provides support to parents who most need it, including those on the margins of the labour force. New Zealand's scheme also has an element of middle-class capture, but with those disqualified from receiving payments or receiving the lowest payments, being among those families most in need.
Beyond Demography, History and Ritual in Family Relationships
Author:
Jan Pryor
Date:
2006
Publisher:
Families Commission
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
Family life in the twenty-first century is characterised by anxiety and uncertainty about what it means to ‘be family’, and indeed what the functions of families are. The stability provided by external sources such as church, state and community is being steadily eroded as families become increasingly secular and diverse. In this monograph it is argued that family rituals provide a strong potential and actual source of strength, meaning and stability for families. A short history of families and family change is offered, with the caveat that there is not one, nor a linear, history of families in Western society. The current status of many families now as sites of intense demands for emotional fulfilment, along with the elevation of children’s powers, the intensity of the parent-child relationship, and the tensions between individual and collective identities, is described. The potential for family rituals to be powerful mechanisms for meeting the needs of families in the twenty-first century is discussed first by a consideration of the history and social evolution of rituals from public ceremonies to private and sometimes implicit patterns of behaviour. Their functions in developing, sustaining and modifying family meaning and identity are described and linked with the small body of existing research that examines their roles as sources of family resilience.
The Families Commission and Retirement Commission are carrying out joint research on the indebtedness of New Zealand individuals and families. This background report identifies some of the key characteristics and trends around indebtedness.
The study found that financial behaviour (notably not saving and living pay-to-pay ‘most' or ‘all' of the time) can increase the likelihood of a family experiencing over-indebtedness by more than 20%, holding family and financial circumstances constant
Beyond Zero Tolerance: Key Issues and Future Directions for Family Violence Work in New Zealand
Author:
Janet Fanslow
Date:
2005
Publisher:
Families Commission
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
This report provides a broad outline of areas of family violence, such as child, intimate partner and elder abuse. An overview is provided of some of the pertinent issues surrounding these types of abuse, including prevalence, incidence, consequences, and risk and protective factors. This report highlights that to fully address family violence, interventions must go beyond the individual and the family, to include recognition of community and societal factors.
Blending Whānau/Family Development, Parent Support and Early Childhood Education Programmes
Author:
Robyn Munford, Jackie Sanders, Bruce Maden, Elizabeth Maden
Date:
2007
Publisher:
Ministry of Social Development - Social Policy Journal of New Zealand
Location:
New Zealand
Abstract:
Internationally, the combination of early childhood education and parent support and whānau/family development initiatives are recognised as having the potential to improve child outcomes and overall whānau/family wellbeing. This paper considers the experience of a community organisation that has successfully blended these two service components. The paper highlights some of the benefits of this programme, which developed from a playgroup and a counselling service in the 1990s into a fully developed community centre and licensed early childhood centre in 2004. The paper also considers some of the challenges the current policy environment poses for services that blend early childhood and parent support initiatives. Two related areas of tension are identified – the perceived emphasis on staff qualification as a key marker of a high-quality programme, and the funding model for early childhood care and education programmes – an unintended consequence of which may be to disadvantage services that have high levels of parent engagement.
