Published online 13 July 2021

Well Child Tamariki Ora (WCTO) is New Zealand’s key programme for supporting the health, development and wellbeing of tamariki from birth to five years.

In 2019, the Ministry began a process to review the Well Child Tamariki Ora programme to ensure it was delivering the best possible outcomes it could for all tamariki and their whānau. The review was commissioned as part of the health and disability sector’s response to the Government’s 2019 Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy and sought to analyse the programme’s sustainability and equity.

The review was informed by sector engagement hui; provider interviews; online surveys; consumer insight reviews; rapid evidence reviews; analysis of success and outcomes data; reviews of local and international research; and reviews of key policy settings.

This review report identifies that changes are needed to the design, delivery and resourcing of WCTO to achieve equity and to fully support tamariki and whānau who are Māori, Pacific, living with disabilities, in state care, and/or have high needs. (From the website).

A number of supporting documents were prepared to inform this review including: The qualitative research report to inform the Well Child Tamariki Ora review on whānau Māori moemoeā for their pēpi/tamariki health and wellbeing;
The literature review report on the design features to improve equity for Māori in the WCTO programme; Key insights from whānau Māori research and literature to inform the WCTO programme review; and A Better Start, E Tipu e Rea Brief Evidence Reviews for the Well Child Tamariki Ora Programme.

Among the A Better Start, E Tipu e Rea individual rapid evidence reviews, the most relevant are: WCTO Domain 9 – Adverse childhood experiences; and WCTO Domain 11 - Family violence screening and intervention. All documents can be accessed from the website. Record #7213