ADVOCACY

The core business of the Champion Centre is the provision of services to infants and children with disabilities and their families.  However, our duty of care for these children and others like them means that we act as advocates for them in a number of ways:

• We upskill parents and caregivers to know their rights in terms of education, health and social services and encourage them to ensure their children get the supports to which they are entitled.
• We advocate with schools and early childhood centres for meaningful inclusion of the children we serve; and we work directly with teachers and other professionals to try to ensure that such inclusion is a reality.
• We urge health, education and social development personnel to look beyond the disability to the little child who is a member of our families and  our communities and deserves to take their place in them.
• We engage in research and training aimed at sharing the multi-disciplinary information and skills we possess with others around the country, and around the world, so that they in their turn can better support infants and children with disabilities wherever they may live.
• We respond to calls from government and other bodies for input on issues related to the wellbeing of children with developmental disabilities and contribute to national conversations, such as those on the vulnerability of children, and the effect of poverty and violence on their development.
• We participate in the many excellent initiatives from politicians and others designed to make New Zealand a leader in services for children with disabilities and a more caring nation.