Key points:
- The Government asked Oranga Tamariki to review contracts for community service providers.
- A social services spokesperson said organisations hadn't been adequately consulted, and the frontline would be adversely affected.
- The Children's Minister disagreed on both counts and said the move is a "reset" to ensure "the right services in the right places".
The Minister for Children has pushed back on criticism of changes affecting front line service providers contracted to Oranga Tamariki, saying the agency is simply being asked to focus on its "core services".
Karen Chhour of ACT — who is an abuse survivor and was in care as a child — asked Oranga Tamariki (OT) to properly assess hundreds of contracts with external service providers, which she said were valued at more than $500 million.
"For too many years, Oranga Tamariki has been the cash cow for community service providers who say they will provide services, and then don't," Chhour said in a statement.
"There has been no reduction in frontline services. Oranga Tamariki is simply funding those who do the work, and not those who don't."
But Belinda Himiona, chief executive of Social Service Providers Te Pai Ora o Aotearoa, told Breakfast: "We have providers who have been given no rationale for either reductions or discontinuation of services.
"It would've been really good to have had that conversation with those providers in advance and to have talked to them respectfully about what was needed to improve the situation."
She said people had called her in tears over the Government's move, adding the demand hasn't reduced.
"We have got absolute evidence of frontline services being reduced and removed," she claimed.
Chhour pushed back. She told Breakfast this morning that a "lot of things" are taken into consideration when making decisions on contracting providers.
"One is under-utilisation of spend," she said. "The other one is around duplication, sometimes services are duplicated and we can consolidate that into one service.
"And then there's other areas where OT needs to get back to their core services, which is actually the children in their care and actually making sure they are looking after the safety and well-being of those in their care.
"Oranga Tamariki for far too long has been trying to do way too much, we need to get better at the core services of Oranga Tamariki and that's what I've asked them to focus on."
OT told her that "all these organisations have been communicated with through this whole process", the minister added.
"If providers do feel that [they haven't been communicated with], I suggest that they go have a conversation with Oranga Tamariki.
"Some have been asked to reimburse money that has been paid to them and they haven't done the services that they were paid for, those organisations have been spoken to.
"We cannot have organisations being paid for services that aren't delivered ... We will be asking for that money back."
Pressed on the question of communication, Chhour maintained: "I've been advised that Oranga Tamariki has been negotiating in good faith with these organisations and, if these organisations feel that has not happened, then I would encourage them to reach out to Oranga Tamariki.
"I don't have all those communications in front of me, that's all operational — but if that has happened, I would expect Oranga Tamariki to have a conversation with those organisations."
Is OT a 'cash cow'?
Chhour was asked about her "cash cow" comment yesterday. The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi said that the minister's statement was "offensive" and "disrespectful".
Chhour disagreed: "I'm sorry, but when you've got millions of dollars sitting in bank accounts where it hasn't been spent, and organisations have been allowed to build up massive reserves and not give that money back, that is treating Oranga Tamariki like a cash cow.
"I'm not going to allow that to happen any more.
"Far too long, we've had the attitude of — from Oranga Tamariki itself too — not governing the money as well as they should.
"We need to make sure that every dollar is going towards the best interests of young people in the care and protection of Oranga Tamariki, and make sure we have the right services in the right places.
"This is a reset and I understand this will be upsetting for some organisations who may not have done anything wrong, but there might be a duplication of service, there might not be a necessity in their region for that particular service, and there will be services where that has happened."
The frontline question
Chhour was asked about the suggestion that the Government's plan would, in fact, lead to a reduction in the amount of frontline workers.
"Some providers will be reducing their staff because they will have a reduction in their funding based on the information that they sent from their previous year's services," she said.
"Then, other organisations who have been over-delivering will get an increase in funding and they will be able to expand what they're doing on the frontline.
"So no money is actually being taken away from Oranga Tamariki services, it's just being redistributed to where it's needed the most."
'Greater transparency and accountability'
A few hours after her appearance on Breakfast, Chhour released a statement announcing that she'd instructed the agency to carry out "public reporting on key performance indicators" to "ensure greater transparency and accountability".
She said: "In order to provide greater transparency about its performance, I have instructed Oranga Tamariki to report quarterly, starting from the 2024/25 financial year, on the following key performance indicators:
- "Frequency of visits to children in care: the percentage of children in care who have been visited by their social worker at least once in the last eight weeks to ensure their ongoing safety and wellbeing.
- "Timeliness around Reports of Concern: percentage of critical (within 24 hours) and very urgent (within 48 hours) Reports of Concern that are addressed within these timeframes.
- "Supporting caregivers: results of a rolling survey of Oranga Tamariki caregivers, which asks whether caregivers feel supported, whether they would recommend becoming a caregiver, and whether they are thinking about stopping being a caregiver.
- "Improving complaint management and practices: the proportion of complaints audited that were handled in a way that fully met Oranga Tamariki standards.
- "Addressing youth offending: a 15% reduction in the total number of children and young people with serious and persistent offending behaviour."
She echoed her "reset" comment earlier, calling for a "new approach".
"New Zealanders are deeply concerned at Oranga Tamariki's performance and so am I.
"Too many children in the care of their family, or their caregivers, die every year in this country. It is a national disgrace."
Attached to the statement was a letter from Chhour to Chappie Te Kani, OT's chief executive, laying out the above instruction.
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