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GUARDIANS OF OUR CHILDREN
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO?

In January 2019, the Family Court Review Panel released their consultation document Strengthening the Family Justice System. Page 14 under Quality, accessible information, they found that the “current information resources are difficult to follow”, “information is provided in formats that not everyone can access”, “It was highly chaotic…”. Page 22 under Legal advice and representation, “people reported feeling confused and helpless when representing themselves”, “people’s confusion and helplessness is made worse by the court forms they must use…”
 

2014 saw the release of The People’s Report-The People’s Inquiry into Addressing Child Abuse and Domestic Violence. Page 154-Section 5: Taking Action. “We must look for more effective ways to connect with and educate communities”. Page 154-Section 5: Taking Action. Conclusion. “The People’s Report also outlines a number of major failings in the current system to address child abuse and domestic violence. These include inadequate funding of services, particularly community based services…”

January 2023-ImpactLab GoodMeasure Report for Guardians of Our Children. Their GoodMeasure Report showed a Social Return on Investment of $5.20 for every $1 donated to the Guardians of our Children Charitable Trust. Of course this is only the financially measurable benefit to the community.

This ratio of $1:$5.20 is only the tip of the iceberg as there a multitude of other benefits that there are no metrics for, such as the feeling of joy, love and comfort the children feel when they see both co-parents enjoying each others' company.

The children's trajectory shifts substantially. This in turn is reflected in the community's trajectory. Strong co-parents, makes for strong whanau which in turn makes for strong communities and the subsequent support they provide.

Measurable outcomes for the Guardians who attended our programmes, as determined by the ImpactLab research team for the year in scope of 01 October 2021- 30 September 2022 are:
1. Improve mental health
2. Reduce addiction
3. Reduce offending
4. Reduce risky behaviour
5. Reduce family violence
6. Reduce child placement
7. Reduce debt
8. Reduce emergency benefit

The Guardians aims to further improve on these measurable outcomes year on year.

 

The benefits of these programmes are:
1. The children.
2. The parents that participate in the programmes.
3. Their immediate wider support network, especially their immediate whanau as there is less stress brought about by their new found knowledge of the disputes process.
4. Their employer as the affected parent can focus more on work now that he/she is more at ease with their situation.
5. The other parent as the client we are assisting shifts their focus to building a co-parenting relationship rather than "winning" in court.

The proven outcomes for those who attend the seminars and support meetings, and apply the methods are:

 

For children:
Improve mental health
Reduce addiction
Reduce offending
Reduce risky behaviour
Increase Academic Achievement [NCEA Level 3]

For Guardians:
Improve mental health
Reduce addiction
Reduce offending
Reduce risky behaviour
Reduce family violence
Reduce child placement
Reduce debt
Reduce emergency benefit

Additional outcomes:

Improve parenting skills
Improve parent-child relationship
Increase family cohesion
Reduce financial burdens
Improve communication and social skills
Increase confidence
Increase resilience
Reduce self-harm and suicide

Frank Hicks from Guardians of Our Children giving a presentation to social workers

We Need Your Support Today!

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