Improving the transition: reducing social and psychological morbidity during adolescence – report release

Ara Taiohi welcomes the release of the Prime Minister’s Science Advisory Committee, Improving the transition: reducing social and psychological morbidity during adolescence.

This report along with Minister Bennett’s Green Paper on Children provides a long overdue emphasis on ensuring that the issues affecting and impacting on children and young people are right there in the government headlights.

It is exciting to see such emphasis being placed on providing evidence based child and youth focused services and interventions. Ara Taiohi is heartened to see many political parties focusing on positive outcomes for children and young people.

Ara Taiohi is a new national organisation with a mandate to support, connect and strengthen the youth sector. We are very interested to see how this report and other associated work of Government serves to inform future policy, funding, delivery and evaluation of services and interventions focused on our young people.

Key to the policy development process and delivery of services is the continued implementation of the evidence based Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa. Alongside a commitment across government departments and the community sector to agree on outcomes for the years of childhood and adolescence.

Ara Taiohi echoes the reports recommendations for a long-term holistic commitment to a more ‘life-course’ approach to policies and programmes as well as the need to consider policy impact on adolescent wellbeing.