Oranga Tamariki changes practices after attempted uplift of baby in Hastings

Thursday, 7 November 2019

The head of Oranga Tamariki says she has deep regret and is truly sorry about how the Ministry tried to uplift a newborn baby in Hastings, after a review found there were mistakes into how the case was handled.

This follows a release of its practice review into the way staff tried to take the six-day-old baby from his mother at Hawke's Bay Hospital in May. 

'Our job is to protect children - it is to help families and give them hope … instead we have deeply hurt a family and people close to them - for that I am profoundly sorry,' Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss said.

Oranga Tamariki stood by its decision to get involved as it had safety concerns but how it went about it was wrong, Moss said. 

**READ MORE:

* Who Cares? When kids are taken by the state

* The other side of the Oranga Tamariki baby uplift story

* Māori will no longer tolerate the removal of babies by the state

* New Zealand's own 'stolen generation': The babies taken by Oranga Tamariki**

The review was overseen by the chief executive of Ngāti Kahungunu, a representative of the Office of the Children's Commissioner and an independent person agreed with Ngāti Kahungunu, Shayne Walker.

Walker said he could not get the video out of his head, and was angry and hurt for the whānau. 

But in some ways the case had done Oranga Tamariki a favour as it highlighted a number of issues it needed to look at, he said. 

Oranga Tamariki entered a report of concern in February after the mother's pregnancy was confirmed, but the family were unaware that had been made, the report said.

No specific contact was made with the mother about her plans for the baby, it said. 

This was the pair's second child - previously an Oranga Tamariki employee had set out the context for removing the first child as the basis for the concerns regarding the baby.

In the review, the staff member said the plan was to have a talk with the family and Family Group Conference in relation to the unborn child. 

An assessment report was made in March but the family had not been made aware of the intention for a referral to a conference. 

A number of consultations took place in April and the review said 'the approach changed to an agreement that a without notice order for custody and declaration' was sought to move the baby. 

After the birth of the baby, a custody order was left with hospital staff and on May 5 a health practitioner met with the family who were upset after learning about the order. 

When Oranga Tamariki employees entered the mother's room, the mother, family and midwives began filming on their mobiles. 

Hospital staff described the scene at the hospital as 'chaos'. 

Family members had blocked exits and a reporter was in the hospital. That led to police involvement but it was not clear who called police. 

Oranga Tamariki staff eventually agreed to not take the baby until a hui with the family could be arranged. 

In a statement, the review found 'the Ministry didn't try hard enough to build good relationships with whānau members or to explore options to place the baby with wider family, and the systems in place to check decisions didn't work as intended'.

There had also been 'too much reliance placed on historical information about the family and their first child, and not enough effort was made to understand their current situation. 

Following the release of the review, Oranga Tamariki have made changes to its practices. 

Counsel for the family Janet Mason said it was good Oranga Tamariki had acknowledged short-comings in its processes, but it was 'not an isolated incident' and 'just the tip of the iceberg'.

The outcome was a 'step in the right direction' but she hoped it would provide a starting point for a conversation and engagement between the State and Māori about transitioning the care of children away from Oranga Tamariki, to a Māori-led and Māori-managed framework.

Minister for Children Tracey Martin said she was incredibly disappointed for the family who had been let down in this case. 

'This is nothing about making any judgment on the family. This was always about what did we do - what did Oranga Tamariki do in this case,' Martin said. 

'What this review tells us is we need to be pushing harder, faster, at the frontline level to support our social workers.'

Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft said the family involved in the Hastings case had clearly experienced significant trauma from the situation.

 The review had been rigorous and robust but he described the case as a 'litany of failure at every step'.

Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier said its investigation into Oranga Tamariki was well underway and he expected to report his findings to parliament next year.

National Party's spokesman for children, Alfred Ngaro, said 'the review found decision making was rushed and 'key assessment decisions were made without an understanding of the environment of care parents could provide' and 'before engagement with the mother or whānau''.

The incident was captured on video which was shared in a Newsroom story. It provoked widespread concern and led to iwi leaders calling for a new national approach to resolve the high incidence of Māori parents losing their babies through Oranga Tamariki applications to the Family Court.

Concerted opposition by the baby's whānau, midwives, iwi leaders and the media attention resulted in Oranga Tamariki abandoning at least three attempts to take the baby from the mother in her maternity bed. 

While Oranga Tamariki had raised concerns over family violence and drug use among the mother and father's whānau in the past, the midwives and iwi said those concerns were either wrong or out of date as the whānau has taken direct action to address them.

CHANGES FOLLOWING HASTINGS CASE

* Unless there is a need for action to protect a child from immediate danger, all interim custody order applications will be made 'on notice' so the family is given the opportunity to have their say before a judge makes a final decision

* Every 'without notice' application will receive additional checks with a regional legal manager, a site manager and practice leader

* Extra investment will be made into Oranga Tamariki staff training and greater supervision for Family Group Conferences will take place

* Practice leaders on every site will look at all reports of concern for unborn and newborn babies, and check the Ministry is putting the right planning around vulnerable mothers earlier 

* More resources and training will be given to staff in Hastings and a new regional supervisor has been appointed