Aaron Hendry likens the boot camp initiative to "child prisons". Photo:
A youth development organisation has compared the government's military style boot camps to child prisons.
Co-founder of Kick Back Aaron Hendry told RNZ the $33 million for new boot camps set aside in the government's budget announcement should be put towards addressing child poverty instead.
The boot camp initiative, designed to tackle recidivism among young people, did not work and was equivalent to child prison, he said.
"As a country we have decided that our solution for tamariki homelessness, for kids sleeping on our streets, is to house those children in child prisons."
The government was not paying attention to why children were ending up in the youth justice system, he said.
"We are ignoring some of the big key drivers behind ... child crime, and we're not providing the support and care that these kids need to actually prevent them from entering the justice system.
"If we just had the right services in our communities, the right housing and the right support for our families, they would not be in the justice system today. They are on this pathway to these prison systems, these boot camps, because the government is choosing, making the very clear decision not to invest in these kids."
KickBack was in contact with children as young as 11 who had nowhere to live, Hendry said.
Minister for Children Karen Chhour, in statement, said the funding covered both a "military style component, but also a rehabilitative and trauma-informed care approach".
"This initiative provides funding for the operation of Military Style Academies and transitional support for young serious offenders.
"This includes rehabilitative support, participation in educational programmes, engagement with whānau, and reintegration back into the community after the in-residence MSA programme.
"While in the community stage, each young person is supported by a team including a social worker and mentor, as well as ongoing programme activity.
"Individual plans address health and wellbeing needs, encourage further education and teach employment and life skills such as budgeting and cooking.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
