For the past four months, DIA Life Events, along with Ministry of Justice, IRD, the Service Innovation Lab, and Sands (a not-for-profit Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Support organisation) have been working to create a support resource for parents, family and whanau who have suffered the death of a child or baby.
This support resource caters specifically to stillbirth, miscarriage, neonatal death, fetal abnormality, and SUDI (sudden unexpected death of an infant).
The website is not only for bereaved parents, but as a resource for those supporting the bereaved parents.
The initial content focuses specifically on clarifying the rules and entitlements around paid parental leave and navigating the complexities of the coronial process. Eventually the website will be the gateway to the current information for financial entitlements such as paid parental leave, Best Start payments, Work and Income funeral grants, and bereavement leave, along with support resources such as counselling, bereavement literature, helplines, and a range of other resources that can provide help to bereaved parents. The rules around transporting a deceased child and organising a funeral have also been placed in the website. There is still information waiting to be added to the site but it has been be formally released on the 20th of September at the Sands conference in Christchurch meaning it is live and ready to be used.
Visit the website here: https://wheturangitia.services.govt.nz/