CYF predictions accurate

Stuff reports in March there was a record number of child abuse and neglect notifications to CYF. This marries up with the CYF statement of intent predictions posted earlier. If CYF know how many cases there will be they know what is driving them.

The Government's child-protection agency is struggling to cope with its growing caseload, leaving even children in critical situations languishing on its books, new figures show.

Welfare groups say it is time Child, Youth and Family (CYF) admitted it could not handle its workload and contracted out more cases to qualified or experienced community groups.

In March, CYF received a record number of calls, with almost 6000 notifications from police or the community about possible child abuse or neglect.

And just stop for a moment. Think about this.

73,000+ cases per year represents 13 percent of under ten-year-olds. Of course some cases may represent the same child, some more than one child and some, children over ten, but this highly unscientific calculation serves to create some tangible idea of the scale of notifications.