Oranga Tamariki is doing more harm than good

Thursday, 16 May 2019

generic image stock image baby child infant mother father parent newborn cute family

OPINION: I can't call Oranga Tamariki by its name anymore. It has precious little about oranga (wellbeing), and little - if any - organisational understanding about tamariki.

This week there were reports of Oranga Tamariki repeatedly attempting to uplift a mother's newborn from her Hawke's Bay hospital room, alleging the baby would be exposed to violence and drug use. The family disputed that.

How, exactly, is it better for a newborn baby in a hospital ward, in the middle of the night, to be forcibly removed from their mother? How, precisely, is it better for their social-emotional development, and their growth in every sense? That's right - it is not. In fact, it is deeply and profoundly harmful for them.

Like many, I feel compelled to call it 'the agency that used to be called Child Youth Family Services (CYFS)'. The rebrand hasn't worked. If anything it lifted expectations for everyone, perhaps most particularly for those within the organisation, only to see those aspirations dashed.

**READ MORE:

*Taken by the state: Don't take my baby

*Oranga Tamariki:Getting whānau back into children's lives

*Oranga Tamariki confident in reforms**

I have had quite a few dealings with 'what used to be CYFS' as a court report writer and a community child and adolescent psychiatrist over the years. Referrals from the former CYFS are always prioritised in community services because tamariki in any kind of state care are much more likely to have serious and complex mental health needs.

One baffling issue is the timing of referrals. Often we would wonder why on earth this tamariki hadn't been referred months earlier. I have been part of teams and services that have bent over backwards to try to support quicker referrals. I am sad to say we never made any traction.

Talk about frustration! My standard approach is a simple one: Let's go back and look at the legislation. I remember quoting it to a CYFS social worker many years ago in a multiagency meeting. That was my attempt to focus us professionals on being collectively helpful to the whānau and their needs. The look on her face said it all. 'How dare a psychiatrist tell me my own legislation?' Well, sometimes I 'dare' because there is cause for reminder.

Looks like we need another reminder people.

Some of the very basics of the legislation are included in section 5 of the Oranga Tamariki, Children's and Young People's Well-being Act 1989. The principals are crystal clear . Decisions by any court or person should involve whānau, and the views of the whānau, hapū and iwi should be considered. Yes, these Māori words are in the law.

The law speaks to the importance of strengthening and maintaining whānau relationships. It emphasises the consideration of how decisions will impact the stability of the whanau, hapū and iwi. The word 'stability' is used. Indeed, it even talks about a 'holistic approach' being necessary to consider a range of aspects including the child's age and culture.

I question whether the culture of the former CYFS has any clue as to what whanau, hapū and iwi actually mean in practice. How do they consider and document ways in which they canvas these views and incorporate them? What about considering our young mothers and whānau members' mental health in an age where suicide risk is so very high for Māori?

Hinemoa Elder says she's been disappointed how long it can take for social workers to make referrals of young children to mental health workers.

Don't get me wrong, I know some amazing Māori social workers at the flax roots. They tell me that they feel helpless and hopeless and they don't want to stay in their jobs.

Having the CEO respond to the reports with, 'we are working with iwi leaders' was the icing on this hideous cake for me. It felt like a disingenuous slap in the face. From talking to one of those leaders I know that this monolith does not share power. Iwi leaders are working hard to try to establish alternatives to what happened in the Bay.

Think about your name 'Oranga Tamariki'. You are causing more intergenerational harm. You are making egregious decisions about Māori babies and whānau. You have lost all credibility in the Māori community. Read your own legislation. You are breaking your own law.

* Child and adolescent psychiatrist Hinemoa Elder PhD is a Fellow of the Royal Australia NZ College of Psychiatrists, and Māori strategic leader at Brain Research NZ.