Over three years after new legislation set the minimum care standards for a child in state custody, Oranga Tamariki is still failing to meet requirements.
That’s the finding of the second annual report from Aroturuki Tamariki, the Independent Children’s Monitor, which was set up to measure compliance with the regulations.
The Experiences of Care in Aotearoa report is based on monitoring data and surveys with people involved in the care system.
“It remains difficult to measure and understand if Oranga Tamariki is making meaningful change in meeting its regulatory obligations to tamariki and rangatahi in its care,” Aroturuki Tamariki executive director Arran Jones said in a press release.
"To learn from past mistakes, it is crucial that Oranga Tamariki close these gaps in knowledge as quickly as possible.
"Oranga Tamariki need to self-monitor and collect data in a way that fulfils its regulatory obligations and commitments to tamariki and rangatahi, and their whānau, whose lives are impacted by being in care," Jones said.
Oranga Tamariki Ministry for Children is a focus for the report as 99% of the 6,398 children in care are in its custody, but Open Home Foundation and Barnardos were also monitored.
Some of the findings about Oranga Tamariki include caregivers and home environments are not always fully assessed before children move in, the requirement to self-monitor compliance with the National Care Standards is not being met, lack of access to mental health services is still a barrier for children’s health and the agency couldn’t provide data for the watchdog to establish if the health and education needs of tamariki in care are being met.
That is the finding of an independent watchdog which says meaningful improvement is yet to be seen. (Source: 1News)
In the 2021/2022 reporting year, 53% of children in care were registered with a general practitioner, down from 60% in the previous year.
The report also reveals 65% of tamariki were visited by their social worker in line with their plan for visits.
In a published response to the Independent Children’s Monitor, Oranga Tamariki states how it has made progress on the issues detailed in the report and what it will now do.
"We are pleased the Monitor notes some progress has been made with our self-monitoring and agree that further work is needed to continue to strengthen our self-monitoring approach so that we are fully compliant with the NCS Regulations," the agency stated about achieving the national care standards.
The agency said the finding that caregiver assessments are not always occurring is "concerning" and is being investigated with urgency to fix the problem.
Deputy chief executive Nicolette Dickson told 1News while "good work" is being done, it's not acceptable there's still a long way to go to consistently meet the needs of all children.
Dickson said in some cases, checks are being made but record holding systems don't currently allow for the data to be extracted.
"When we look at a child's social work plan, their assessment...actually our social workers are working really hard in most cases, they are actually identifying health needs and putting plans in place to address those health needs and seeing through those plans.
"We have real challenges in some of our reporting and technology improvements that we have a plan in place and are doing work on but that is going to take some time to make sure that we can consistently evidence some of the good work that is happening," she said.
Children's Minister Kelvin Davis said the report "has highlighted for me areas where progress is being made as well as where there is still work to do".
"It is important to note many of the findings are being addressed through the work underway to shift direction that I set for Oranga Tamariki," he said.
"We know Oranga Tamariki needs to change, needs to improve. But it is important to also not forget about the important work frontline social workers are doing every day to keep children safe."
Oranga Tamariki has been through a period of reform after multiple damning reviews into the agency were released.
Former chief executive Grainne Moss resigned in 2021 after facing criticism for the agency's treatment of Māori.
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