Summary

The case study reported here is part of a larger study, Making Services Reachable (MSR), funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment [Contract C03X1301]. The full title of that study is: Using a service ecology approach to co-design and build improvements in service uptake and outcomes for families/whānau of ‘hard to reach’4 populations. The overall research question specified by the funder is: How do we enable families/whānau to succeed to ensure that all New Zealand children fulfil their potential? What are the critical causal influences on positive outcomes for family/whānau, and are there connections between them? How do these critical influences differ for ‘family’ and ‘whānau’? The undergirding principle of the research is that a determinant of wellbeing for families/whānau is their ability to engage effectively with service providers.