The medical/disabled category for quota refugees selected for resettlement in New Zealand allows
entry to those who have either a medical condition that can be treated or helped in New Zealand or a
disability that requires support. Children from refugee and other culturally and linguistically diverse
backgrounds with impairments comprise an increasing proportion of the caseloads of Auckland region
child health and disability services. For people from refugee backgrounds, the New Zealand disability
system can be complex, difficult to understand and hard to navigate. Disability therapeutic,
rehabilitative and support services are often non-existent in countries of origin. The interventions
offered in western countries such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech language therapy
may be unknown and therefore poorly understood by refugee clients and families. This article presents
the findings of an evaluation of the establishment of cultural caseworker positions in the Waitemata
District Health Board Child Development Service.
- Citation: Mortensen, A., Latimer, S., & Yusuf, I. (2014). Cultural case workers in child disability services: an evidence-based model of cultural responsiveness for refugee families. Kotuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 9(2), 50-59.
- Creator: A Mortensen, S Latimer & I Yusuf
- Language: English
- Publisher: Kotuitui: New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online
- Year: 2014-08-11
Get a copy of the report
I agree to use the research in according to the terms of copyright and Creative Commons Licence. For details of Creative Commons licenses visit - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/