Purpose
Aroturuki Tamariki, the Independent Children’s Monitor, was established in 2019. Our role was expanded in 2023, under the Oversight of the Oranga Tamariki System Act, to monitor the wider oranga tamariki system.
In this review we look at the experiences and practices surrounding tamariki and rangatahi cared for at home by their parent/s while in the custody of the Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki. This includes what practice, services and supports are wrapped around tamariki, rangatahi and their parents to ensure a safe return, or remain, home. We look at what works well, and what doesn’t, to inform future return home transitions.
Background
Return and Remain Home is one of the placement or care types used by Oranga Tamariki, alongside whānau/family, non-kin, and residential care. The Oranga Tamariki description for return and remain home care is “arrangements where children are in the legal custody of the Chief Executive but return to or remain in the care of their immediate
family (usually parents). These placements are most used where we are attempting to support the reunification of a family, while still maintaining legal custody”.
As at 30 June 2022, 12 percent of tamariki and rangatahi in care (627 tamariki and rangatahi) were said to be living in this type of care situation. Tamariki and rangatahi come in to care for many reasons. It may be because of serious
abuse or neglect concerns, where tamariki or rangatahi are unsafe. It may be because a parent is not able to provide the parenting needed for a tamariki or rangatahi with high and/or complex needs.
Tamariki and rangatahi can go in to care with the parent’s consent, or Oranga Tamariki can apply to the Family Court for an interim custody order either advising or without advising the parents. The Family Court determines whether the custody application is warranted and either agrees or dismisses the application.
Methodology
The stories and voices of tamariki and rangatahi, and their whānau, caregivers and communities are at the centre of our monitoring approach. Effective and meaningful monitoring requires a mix of approaches and the use of quantitative (numbers) data and qualitative (experiences) information.
For the purposes of this review, we focused our community engagement on people with direct experience of return and remain home care. This included tamariki and rangatahi, and their parents.
In September and October 2022, we met with 109 people who receive or provide services in the return/remain home space. They included: 16 Tamariki and Rangatahi; 9 parents; 78 staff of Oranga Tamariki; 9 Non-government organisation representatives.
We spoke with kaimahi from Oranga Tamariki, Open Home Foundation, Barnardos, Methodist Mission and Kia Puāwai (formerly Youth Horizons Trust), as well as kaimahi from Mokopuna Ora, based at an Oranga Tamariki site. These agencies were identified by Oranga Tamariki due to the support they provide whānau who have tamariki returning home.
We visited a mix of urban and rural locations across the Waikato and in Ōtautahi (Christchurch). We also spoke with kaimahi from Oranga Tamariki National Office.
The data included in this report is from our annual data request to Oranga Tamariki.
Key Results
We heard a collective view across the care sector that tamariki need to be in the care of their whānau, preferably their parents. Kaimahi from Oranga Tamariki felt that, due to a practice shift within their agency, there was now a greater emphasis on keeping tamariki out of care and returning them to their parents where possible.
We also heard that for a return home to have the best chance of success, the transition needs to be done with care, planned well, and guided by best practice and the specific needs of tamariki and their parents.
When we consider that tamariki have entered care because of safety concerns, it is understandable that good support needs to be in place when they return or remain at home. This need is underlined by the Oranga Tamariki Safety of Children in Care Report, which notes that of all children in care, tamariki that return or remain home are at the
greatest risk of harm. Parents need sufficient financial, practical, or educative assistance to support the return home.
Our report finds that, despite an increased focus by Oranga Tamariki on returning tamariki home, policies, practices and sufficient support from across the social sector are not yet in place.