Information and Resources on Measuring Child Poverty
Below is some government information that might be useful, if you haven’t seen already when working on/supporting work on child poverty and child and youth wellbeing eg with Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) or if you want to check out what is being measured, what do terms mean etc.
The Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018 (‘the Act’) was introduced in 2018 to help achieve a significant and sustained reduction in child poverty in New Zealand. The Government Statistician is responsible for defining a number of concepts and terms under the Child Poverty Reduction Act, such as material hardship. See this guide for some very helpful explainations.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/methods/measuring-child-poverty-concepts-and-definitions#measures
Measuring child poverty: Concepts and definitions explains the terms used in calculating child poverty measures in New Zealand. Dated23 Feb 2021
Child Poverty Related Indicators
The Act requires the Government to report annually on one or more ‘child poverty related indicators’ or ‘CPRIs’
A multi-ethnic group of young children are at a preschool. They are sitting on the carpet and clapping along to a music CD.
. These are measures related to the broader causes and consequences of child poverty, and/or outcomes with a clear link to child poverty.
The Government has identified its CPRIs, which are:
- housing affordability – as measured by the percentage of children and young people (ages 0-17) living in households spending more than 30 percent of their disposable income on housing.
- housing quality – as measured by the percentage of children and young people (ages 0-17) living in households with a major problem with dampness or mould.
- food insecurity – as measured by the percentage of children (ages 0-15) living in households reporting food runs out often or sometimes.
- regular school attendance – as measured by the percentage of children and young people (ages 6-16) who are regularly attending school.
- avoidable hospitalisations – as measured by the rate of children (ages 0-15) hospitalised for potentially avoidable illnesses.
See this report on these indicators
https://childyouthwellbeing.govt.nz/resources/child-poverty-related-indicators-report-20192020
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has a Child Wellbeing and Poverty Reduction Group as a business unit.
https://dpmc.govt.nz/our-business-units/child-wellbeing-and-poverty-reduction-group
There is also a Child and Youth Wellbeing website managed by the above group. This includes a strategy with six interconnected outcomes reflecting what children and young people said was important to them. They highlight the social, economic and environmental factors we need to improve child and youth wellbeing. The outcomes are:
- Feeling loved
- Feeling safe
- Family/whānau wellbeing
- Serious injuries
- Harm against children
- Quality time with parents
For more info see: