Australian Health Review February 2007 Vol 31 No 1 123 Policy and Planning Aust Health Rev ISSN: 0156-5788 1 Feb- ruary 2007 31 1 123-131 ©Aust Health Rev 2007 www.aushealthre- view.com.au Policy and Planning Abstract This paper examines the experience of poverty and child maltreatment among New Zealand’s children as compared with international statistics. New Zealand was a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1993, yet indicators suggest that implementation of the Articles of the Convention is limited. In the league of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries it ranks 23rd out of 26 for child poverty and 24th out of 27 for the child maltreatment death rate. A case will be made for coordination of existing and new services for children and families through a dedicated chil- dren’s centre, modelled on the United Kingdom’s Sure Start and Children’s Centre program that was modelled in part on the Head Start program of the United States. The paper reports on Wells- ford, a rural community north of Auckland, which has embraced the children’s centre concept and is investigating ways to obtain funding to implement Aust Health Rev 2007: 31(1): 123–131 the idea. The state of New Zealand’s children CHILDREN’ S ADVOCATES would be dismayed to discover that New Zealand ranks near the bottom in the developed world countries in adopting the “First Call for Children” principle in its economic and social policies. The ‘First Call” principle originated from the 1990 World Summit for children and reflected the commitment of world leaders of that time, to give high priority to the rights of children. UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) maintain that “Protecting chil- dren from the sharpest edges of poverty during their years of growth and formation is both the mark of a civilised society and a means of addressing some of the evident problems that affect the quality of life in the economically developed nations.” 1 (p. 1) In 1993, New Zealand became a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC). This international law applies to most of the world’s children with the exception of those living in the United States and Somalia, countries that did not ratify the UNCROC. The Articles within the UNCROC proclaim that all children are equal, and have the right to food, shelter, health care, education; and protection from violence, neglect and exploita- Karen J Hoare, MSc, Lecturer Goodfellow Unit, School of Population Health, Tamaki Campus, and School of Nursing, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Denise L Wilson, PhD, MA (Hons), MN Coordinator School of Health Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Correspondence: Mrs Karen J Hoare, Goodfellow Unit, School of Population Health, Tamaki Campus, or School of Nursing, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland Mail Centre, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand. k.hoare@auckland.ac.nz The place for children's centres for New Zealand children Karen J Hoare and Denise L Wilson What is known about the topic? Research evidence has demonstrated that the experiences of early childhood can have a profound lifelong impact on a child’s health, wellbeing and competence. What does this paper add? This paper describes successful international experience, such as the United Kingdom Sure Start program and the planning to promote this concept in Wellsford, New Zealand. What are the implications for practitioners? The authors stress the need for a coordinated, culturally acceptable and comprehensive plan of service delivery to best meet the needs of children that can be best provided through a children’s centre approach.