Supporting teen parents into education and training

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has spoken to teen parents and service providers about government initiatives at an event promoting youth participation in education.

The aim of the Supporting Teen Parents Hui, organised by MSD and held in Wellington, is for providers to share practice innovation and understand the potential of teen parents and their children.

“A range of supports has contributed to 48 per cent fewer teen mums being on a main benefit at the end of 2014 compared to 2009, and we are continually looking at how we can offer them more support to get into education, training and employment,” says Mrs Tolley.

“I talked today about how we are helping these young parents and their families have better lives, as well as reducing long-term costs for the taxpayer.

“Teen parents have some of the highest lifetime costs of any group on welfare, and we have reduced the average time spent on a benefit from 19 to 17.5 years.

“We also know how important a mum’s education can be in leading to successful lives for her children.

“The Government is providing opportunities through the Youth Service for young mothers to take part in education and training and to develop employment skills, and we have introduced legislation to extend this to 19 year old parents and other 18 and 19 year olds at risk of long term welfare dependence.

“The Guaranteed Childcare Assistance Payment is providing childcare costs to enable young parents to return to, or remain in, education.

“We have also aligned accommodation support for studying sole parents, so they receive the same amount that they would if they were on a main benefit. Some parents could be as much as $165 better off per week as a result of this change.

“It was a pleasure to talk through these supports with teen parents and providers today, and to discuss how we can improve outcomes for hard to reach teen parents and their children.”