Two years as Oranga Tamariki: Getting whānau back into children's lives

Saturday, 30 March 2019

(L-R) Eva Tutemahurangi knows what it is like to be a state caregiver while her daughter Frana Chase works for Oranga Tamariki to facilitate the organisations services to make sure they meet the needs and aspirations of tamariki Māori and their whānau.

Eva Tutemahurangi was 50-years-old when her son's children slowly began making their way into her care.

Now 70, Tutemahurangi wasn't expecting more children to look after - all were under six, the youngest was eight months - but recalls the fight to get the former Child Youth and Family (CYF) to agree to put them into her care.

'You feel like it's an imposition. All I wanted to do was look after my grandchild, but suddenly I was being scrutinised. Was I a suitable person? There was also whānau versus whānau. It wasn't easy, but I can see some changes coming that will make it easier.'

The decision to become a caregiver meant Tutemahurangi moved back to the quiet King Country community of Kākahi to have wider support from the local community including whānau, iwi and hapu.

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Mother-daughter team Eva Tutemahurangi, 70, a foster carer, and Frana Chase, a social worker.

Now, two years on from Oranga Tamariki - Ministry for Children's rebrand, following severe failings as CYF, it's looking down the barrel of legislative change that requires strong partnerships with kaupapa Māori and iwi including Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi, Ngai Tūhoe, Ngai Tahu, and Waikato-Tainui.

It says nearly 65 per cent of Oranga Tamariki's caregivers are whānau caregivers from the extended family/hapu/iwi who are approved and vetted by the organisation.

Its rebrand came after an expert panel appointed by the then National-led government in December 2015 found CYF wasn't meeting 'the needs of vulnerable children and young people, or (helping) them grow into flourishing adults'.

The panel made 81 'bold and urgent' recommendations for change after finding CYF wasn't preventing or adequately protecting children, hadn't been able to provide evidence of positive outcomes it was making, and was struggling to deal with the sheer number of cases it handled.

Initially called the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, its name was again changed ('I have just been sworn in as the Minister for Children. Not vulnerable but all children,' Children's Minister Tracey Martin said at the time) just months after its relaunch.

Now, the organisation is two years into a five-year transformation in how it cares for some of New Zealand's most at-risk children and young people.

Tutemahurangi's daughter, Frana Chase, is the manager for Māori Support at Oranga Tamariki's national office, reviewing its services to ensure it meets the needs and aspirations of tamariki Māori and their whānau - a new role established when the Ministry was relaunched.

'One of the priorities is ensuring that all of our tamariki that are in state care are connected to their own whānau. And that they are cared for safely by their own whānau, but in a way where we are supporting whānau to actually care for the tamariki well,' Chase said.

'I think a lot of the time when whānau would get tamariki in their care we didn't necessarily support them in the right way so part of our work is to really connect with whānau and find out what is the right support that they require.'

She has been on both sides of the equation having begun working as a young Māori social worker at 18-years-old with CYF in the 1990s. She has also worked in an iwi environment for about 10 years, developing the capacity of Māori and iwi providers in health and social services.

The most noticeable difference to her was how much Oranga Tamariki was working to change, she said.

'Our chief executive will have to report on the outcomes of Māori children annually and… we are setting the indicators and measures for how that might happen.'

Chase began social work to make a difference inside the system, rather than outside.

'I truly believe that the answers are within our own people and within the capacity of whānau, iwi and hapu to develop solutions for themselves. So if I can be the connector and the enabler to try and translate and make it happen, I am all for that. It's not as easy as I thought it would be initially, but that is all part of it.'

Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft acknowledges it could be too early to judge how Oranga Tamariki is doing.

'Frankly I think there has been an underestimation of what is required to turn that ailing aircraft around,' he said.

Oranga Tamariki is battling against 28 years of 'very substandard, patchy delivery when it comes to the old Child, Youth and Family service'.

'The rates of state care were too high and poor early intervention service and real loss of confidence in Child, Youth and Family by the community. And I think a wholesale failure to work in partnership with Māori which was the vision of 1989,' Becroft said.

He believes there has been a significant commitment to change, but says there is still a real concern nationwide, not only of the loss of confidence of the organisation in the community, but for the children it was set up to help.

Becroft is looking forward to laws coming into effect - on July 1 - which will see Oranga Tamariki have to demonstrate a partnership with iwi, Māori organisations and authorities.

'We are keenly anticipating a radically new approach when the law takes effect so another reason it's too early to judge.'

By the end of 2018 Oranga Tamariki had 6400 children and young people in care and in that year had received 91,950 reports of concern about the safety and wellbeing of 65,000 individual children and young people. There were 41,500 assessments and investigations involving 34,8000 individual children or young people.

Barnardos New Zealand CEO Mike Munnelly said Oranga Tamariki has stood itself up and has been making its first steps forward – some steps are confident, and some are more tentative - but there's room to grow.

'After two years children and young people really need Oranga Tamariki to be hitting its stride, and organisations like Barnardos and other NGO partners need to be working together with Oranga Tamariki to help it get there.'

He is glad to see a dedicated and relentless focus on Māori.

Māori tamariki and rangatahi make up over half of those coming into contact with the care and protection and youth justice systems, and are more than twice as likely to be referred to Oranga Tamariki.

'The evidence is clear that this doesn't make for good outcomes in children and young people's lives, and it's not reflective of the partnership under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the status of Māori tamariki and rangatahi as tangata whenua. So there has to be urgent change to get it right, both now and into the future. It's sensible, and absolutely right, that Oranga Tamariki works closely with iwi, hapu and whānau to solve this,' Munnelly said.

Tutemahurangi still lives in Kākahi and reflecting on her time as a caregiver, recalls while she came under a lot of scrutiny from CYF, she can see the changes Oranga Tamariki are making in the community.

'I am a little bit excited too, if all these things take place… It will make it so much better for families, as it is hard when you are trying to do it on your own.

'These days you get more continuity, so you don't just get these kids and someone comes back in three months later to do a report or something like that. You would have better contact with the same social worker or with the whānau or hapu.'

TIMELINE

March 2019: An investigation into abuse in state care found more than 220 already-damaged children were further harmed in 2018. Of the reported abuse, 36 children were sexually harmed, 182 physically harmed, 35 neglected and 83 emotionally harmed by caregivers, family members, other children and Oranga Tamariki staff.

February 2019: A WorkSafe investigator was appointed to probe allegations of bullying at Oranga Tamariki. The ministry came under fire for its failure to prosecute a single workplace bullying case. Senior ministry social worker Susan Kennedy attempted suicide and suffered two sensory strokes after alleged workplace bullying and sexual harassment. Subsequently, more staff from the ministry came forward and reported alleged bullying.

October 2018: Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft said Oranga Tamariki's care and protection residences need to be phased out. The five 'prison-like' orphanages catering for around 56 children at a time - set up children up to fail he said.

September 2018: A judge questioned how a 12-year-old boy facing an aggravated robbery charge ended up roaming the streets with a hunting knife while in the custody of Oranga Tamariki.

June 2018: Iwi criticised Oranga Tamariki for advertising for a caregiver on Trade Me, and including some of the child's personal information. An advertisement seeking a caregiver or caregivers for a girl in Whanganui was posted on the website's job section.

February 2018: Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki, Grainne Moss, admits she underestimated the intensity of the public's interest in the state care agency.

April 1, 2017: Child, Youth and Family becomes Oranga Tamariki

March 2017: Child Youth and Family figures showed a record number of children, 5453, had been taken into care by December 2016 - up by 300 on the previous year.

March 2017: Child, Youth and Family deputy chief executive Murray Edridge admitted failings at the department's regional Wairarapa office after a Family Court ruling, where a Masterton judge severely criticised its dealings with a couple seeking assistance. Among other things, the judge said CYF threatened to take the pair's children away if they went to court to force the organisation to provide help.

June 2016: The Children's Commissioner warned a 'dip' in the care of the most vulnerable children, as the Government sought to transform Child, Youth and Family into a new agency.

April 2016: The Government planned to raise the age of care and rebuild Child, Youth and Family from the ground up . The government's overhaul of the state carer stated the law would change to allow vulnerable children to remain in care until they are at least 18, with the option to remain fully in care until they are 21.

September 2015: The then Children's Commissioner Russell Wills said it's 'absolutely not OK' to strip New Zealand's most vulnerable teens of any support on their 17th birthday.

August 2015: A first annual report by Children's Commissioner Dr Russell Wills into how well Child, Youth and Family is looking after children in state care - his findings reveal the government department is failing dozens of children. Minister Anne Tolley said none of the findings were a surprise - children removed from their families to foster care are being sexually and physically abused and the social development minister said there's no evidence they're better off in state care.