New data from a longitudinal study (the Christchurch Health and Development Study, which commenced in 1977 with a sample size of 1000) show that the risk of welfare receipt in early adulthood rises sharply as the extent of exposure to childhood 'adversity' increases. This paper argues that long-term social welfare receipt amongst people of working age should be addressed through cross-sectoral cooperation in strategies which promote human capital formation. Such a strategy would increase the capacity of individuals to assume greater responsibility for the wellbeing of themselves and their families and would produce a wide range of social and economic benefits.