Woman evicted after meth test wants new house for children

In the first part of Lisa Owen's report, New Zealand saw how much taxpayers paid out to put one woman and her family in a motel when she was evicted from a Housing NZ home.

The bill ran close to $100,000.

But, if factors identified by Treasury's social investment research are correct, the vulnerable family could cost much more in the long run.

Hayley knows about the spiral of poverty and the cost of a turbulent family life. She has eight children aged one to twelve.

But they're now all in care because of what the Ministry of Social Development describes as "persistent" and "chronic concerns" around their safety and wellbeing.

Hayley and her family were kicked out of a state house and banned from others for a year after it tested positive for P - even though there was no definitive proof of who contaminated it. Hayley denies using meth.

What followed was 18 months in motels costing taxpayers $95,000. Hayley says it added to her family's turmoil.

"That is completely self-defeating for a Government that says it wants  invest in peoples'  future," says Alastair Russell, from Auckland Action Against Poverty.

"We don't want to see anyone out of housing cause you are right we believe that housing is a core part of getting people into a better track, but they have got to want to," says Amy Adams, Minister of Social Investment and Housing NZ.

Treasury has identified four key factors that raise the chances of that cycle of disadvantage being passed to the next generation.

Having a CYF (Child, Youth and Family) notification of neglect or abuse is the first. Hayley went on a benefit at about 16 - she's 29 now. She also has no formal qualifications from school.

There's only one risk factor missing in this family - a parent who's had a jail or community sentence.

According to Treasury, three out of four in the disadvantage lottery makes Hayley's children:

  • Four times more likely to leave school without qualifications than a child from a family with none of these risk factors
  • Five times more  likely to be on a main benefit for at least five years
  • Five times more likely to receive a prison or community sentence between ages 25-34
  • The potential costs to tax payers: $233,800 per child by age 35

Hayley's kids are just eight of the 35,000 Treasury estimate are in this situation.

Hayley believes the first step toward that is stability - a permanent home.

Newshub.