This report outlines the findings from a project that examined the operation and capacity of the non-government child protection sector of New Zealand. The data is based on interviews with over 200 workers from national and local social service agencies. The authors discuss funding issues, collaborative community relationships, service provision, good practice (including supervision, training and policies), and the social and policy context of child protection work. They comment on the relationships that non-government organisations have with Child, Youth and Family and suggest work needs to be done to build and sustain effective partnerships. The report also identifies gaps in services for children and young people. The authors suggest funding, collaboration and training are the key ways to build the capacity of the non-government child protection sector. A supplementary report is included with the main report, which presents discussions about training and education in the non-government child protection sector. The report describes the current education and qualifications framework for social workers, youth workers, community workers and Maori social service workers, and looks at the level and range of qualifications of those interviewed for the project. The impact of social worker registration is highlighted, and the authors discuss how the workforce shortage of qualified child protection staff can be addressed through in-service training and through increasing accessibility for those workers who are geographically isolated from training institutions.

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