'Deep, persistent and increasing inequity' in removal of Māori babies into state custody - report

Wednesday, 15 January 2020

Inequities for Māori compared to non-Māori are substantial and persistent, according to a report by the Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft. (File photo)

The deep, persistent and increasing inequity in removal of Māori babies from their mothers has been outlined in a report by the Children's Commissioner.

The report was prompted by multiple reviews going on into aspects of Oranga Tamariki practice following the attempted removal of a newborn Māori baby from their whanau in Hawke's Bay last year.

It will precede two substantive reports by Commissioner Andrew Becroft, due in March and later this year, that will include insights and recommendations for improvement.

The report released on Thursday is essentially a snapshot of statistics that shows there were persistent and intergenerational inequities in the removal of Māori babies into state custody.

'I hope the information we have produced will be useful for those other reviews and for members of the public seeking to understand what is currently happening,' said Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft.

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Using statistics for babies aged 0-3 months over the past 16 years the Commissioner's office said the numbers do not explain what was causing the trends, but they do raise questions that would be covered in his review.

Analysis by the office revealed six key findings about what was happening for Māori babies. They were:

* The number of concerns reported about the safety of babies and children has increased substantially over the past 16 years. This was especially so for Māori babies under three months old and during pregnancy compared to non-Māori babies. In 2019 there were 823 concerns reported to Oranga Tamariki about unborn Māori babies. That was more than eight times the 100 concerns made to Child Youth and Family in 2004. For non-Māori unborn babies there were 385 concerns in 2019, up from 85 in 2004.

* The number of social work assessments that find substantiated abuse for babies has decreased from a peak in 2013. There were 1142 instances of substantiated abuse in 2013. There were 848 last year.

* Inequities for Māori compared to non-Māori are substantial and persistent. The number of Māori babies and children under 18 taken into State custody in 2018 was 155 per 10,000 population - seven times higher than for non-Māori - and the gap is continuing to increase.

* Assessments and removal of babies are happening earlier. There is an increasing trend towards making decisions before birth to take babies into custody and the trend is greater for Māori babies. Last year there were 82 babies ordered into State custody before birth; 61 of them were Māori.

* The urgency of decisions to take babies into state custody has increased for Māori babies. Between 2010 and 2019 the rate of urgent entries for Māori babies doubled, but for non-Māori babies it stayed the same.

* State custody is intergenerational. Forty-eight per cent of women who had babies ordered to be removed from them before birth had been in state custody themselves. That compared to 33 per cent of non-Māori pregnant woman subject to the orders.

The Commissioner's office said these findings showed 'deep, persistent and increasing inequity in the removal of Māori babies into state custody' and they raised several questions that would be explored in the two reports coming out this year.

The reports would look at why inequity was increasing, why assessments and removals of Māori babies is happening earlier in their lives, how well social work assessments and interventions are increasing safety and wellbeing, and what impact social work practices have on Māori babies and their whānau.

'I hope the information we have produced will be useful for those other reviews and for members of the public seeking to understand what is currently happening,' Becroft said.

'The analysis of Oranga Tamariki data does not seek to explain why these trends have occurred, nor does it yet identify areas for change or make recommendations for improvement. This information is descriptive only. Answers to these questions are part of the next steps in our review. Our insights from whānau, areas for change, and detailed recommendations will come in our substantive reports which will be published later in 2020,' he said.