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Here is some information about the benefits of joining Jigsaw, our affiliation criteria and the joining process. Please feel welcome to contact the Jigsaw national office directly for further information and assistance.
How does Jigsaw add value for its member agencies?
- We provide information and advice, mentoring and consultancy about a range of management, organisational and best practice issues
- We keep our member agencies up to date with new developments relevant to their work, including government policies and new nationally implemented government services and funding opportunities (newsletters, e-mails, phone calls, visits, regional forums)
- We seek funding to provide free or subsidised training opportunities and a subsidised annual conference
- We connect Jigsaw member agencies to each other so they can assist, support and share resources with each other at their own initiative
- We advocate for our agencies nationally if they encounter serious difficulties regarding funding or contracts
- We sit on all the key government committees (Family Violence Taskforce, Child Maltreatment Working and Advisory Groups, Family Safety Team National Steering Committee, Pathways to Partnership, Maori Reference Group) and we seek to influence national decision making in ways that work for our member agencies and for children and families
- We are responsive to the differing needs and priorities of our Maori and non-Maori member agencies and actively seek to represent their differing interests with integrity and care, working to ensure that their voices and expertise are recognised and respected
- We nurture strong relationships with our national partner agencies in the NGO sector and are engaged with all government lead child and family focused programmes, such as the National Infrastructure for child advocates for child witnesses of family violence (hosted by Jigsaw) and the It's Not OK campaign (for which Jigsaw is the key national child and family focused partner)
Core criteria for affiliating to Jigsaw
- your agency can demonstrate that it is organisationally sound and professional, this includes having a formal approval or accreditation from Child Youth and Family (CYF), the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) or another equivalent government agency
- your agency is community based, independent and embedded in its local community and responds to the cultural needs and diversity of children and their families and whanau in its community
- your agency is child centred, holds a focus on the safety and wellbeing of children and young people within their families, whanau, hapu and Iwi, actively promotes non-abusive parenting practices and has a knowledge of sound child protection practice
- your agency works with integrity, holds children's safety as paramount, demonstrates open and respectful relationships, has an interagency approach to child protection and family violence prevention and actively challenges systems and structures that oppress children and young people, families and whanau across all forms of family violence
Process for affiliation of new member agencies
When an agency approaches Jigsaw and indicates its interest in affiliation, the first step is that we send you the affiliation guidelines and any other relevant information about Jigsaw that may help with your decision making. We can also arrange for you to speak with one of the Chief Executives, to hear more about life within Jigsaw and assess for yourself whether joining Jigsaw feels like a good match for your agency.
If you are keen to proceed with affiliation, the Chief Executives will arrange an affiliation visit to your agency. They may at times bring with them another Jigsaw agency manager, so that you can hear first hand about what it means to be a Jigsaw agency. The Jigsaw representatives will be keen to meet with your agency manager and any available staff, board members and/or kaumatua, get to know you and your agency, hear about your agency's history, values and role in your community and understand your hopes for being part of Jigsaw.
They will also talk through with you all aspects of the affiliation criteria and ask you to give them a copy of any pamphlets or other documents that describe your agency and its services. They will also ask for a copy of your latest approval letter from CYF, MOJ, Health or any other government agency.
If at this point you remain keen to join and Jigsaw believes that your agency's focus and way of operating matches well with Jigsaw's criteria, the Chief Executives will prepare a report and recommendation to take to the Jigsaw Board at their next meeting.
The Board will make the final decision on membership (on behalf of all the Jigsaw member agencies) and will then write to your agency welcoming you into the Jigsaw family of agencies.
At that point you will be invited to sign our membership form and pay your $250 annual subscription fee, after which you will receive your membership certificate and be fully connected in to all Jigsaw activities so that you can access all possible benefits from your membership.
For further information about affiliating to Jigsaw, please contact our national office by calling 04 385 7983 or e-mailing our Office Manager Carolyn Cummins, carolyn@jigsaw.org.nz. Carolyn will send you a full copy of our affiliation guidelines and can also arrange for you to talk with one of our Chief Executives if you would like more information about becoming part of the Jigsaw family of agencies.
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