Te Raukura: Mental health and alcohol and other drugs: Improving outcomes for children and youth draws together the key issues and priorities that have been identified by the child and youth mental health and alcohol and other drug sector as requiring action in the next three to five years.
Te Raukura provides a high - level current profile of child and youth mental health and AoD services that includes a summary of evidence, a set of principles and a description of how services are currently organised.
Te Raukura links directly to Te Tāhuhu - Improving Mental Health 2005-2015: The second New Zealand Mental Health and Addiction Plan , and Te Kōkiri: The mental health and addiction action plan 2006-2015.
Purpose
This document brings together the current issues for child and youth mental health and AoD services and the key priorities for action in the next three to five years with the aim of quickening the pace of development and improving outcomes. It is likely to be of most interest to those with an interest in child and youth services, DHB funders and planners, service planners and managers, and practitioners.
The paper begins with a high-level current profile of child and youth mental health and AoD services in New Zealand, covering a summary of current evidence, the principles and organisation of services, the different components of child and youth services, and funding. The next section highlights the key issues identified in Te Tāhuhu – Improving Mental Health and Te Kōkiri, and from the collective wisdom of a sector key informants group that met during 2006, and sets out the key priorities for action from Te Kōkiri which the child and youth sector need to focus on in the next three to five years.
Te Rau Matatini and The Werry Centre have developed papers on Māori child and youth mental health and addiction services, a review of evidence-based age appropriate interventions and a stocktake of child and adolescent services; all of which contain helpful information for anyone working with children and youth, in particular for DHB planners and funders, practitioners and service planners.