Ms Rosemary Steen:

I think at times we lose the child. In losing the child we are losing a future citizen of our country. As the committee heard this morning, the earlier an intervention can be made, the better for the child and the family in terms of fulfilment and opportunities. As a board, we are passionate advocates for a child-centred approach to be developed and designed. The success of the centre is evident. Fifteen years ago, that approach was untested. Now we have a model where the child-centred approach has been seen to deliver successfully over and over again. There have been fantastic outcomes for children and their families. This is something that needs to be lifted up and have a light shone on it because, globally, it is also at the cutting edge in terms of supports for these children. It is the way that we as a country should be moving forward. I interjected because I feel passionate about this issue. If a service can be designed in that way, it will work for the child. That is critical. It should not be designed for other reasons because what happens to the child is the most important thing.