Implementing Working for Families: the impact of the policy on selected Maori whanau

This paper presents an analysis of the qualitative data collected for a study investigating the effect of the Working for Families policy on Maori families' self-reported whanau ora (family wellbeing). Data are drawn from a discrete set of 30 qualitative interviews undertaken with Maori whanau involved in the Te Hoe Nuku Roa Longitudinal Study. Whanau perceptions about how the Working for Families policy has impacted on their lives and the contribution the policy has made towards their family's wellbeing is presented. The paper discusses how the Working for Families policy appears to have become an integral component of household income for many low-to-middle- income whanau and reflects on how this policy, conceived and designed (amongst other things) to alleviate and redress child poverty, is contributing towards supporting family wellbeing or 'whanau ora'.