Life in a motel for a teenager in state care - video games, car theft and night-time excursions
Thursday, 22 April 2021
Oranga Tamariki continues to place troubled and vulnerable children away from family in motels, despite criticism from the Children’s Commissioner and judges. National Correspondent Tony Wall reports.
It’s lunchtime on a Sunday and a shirtless teenager comes to the door of his Waikato motel room, his home for the past several weeks.
With him is a man who’s been brought in to watch him at weekends, while his regular minders are taking time off.
The teen – who confirms he's 16 – was sent to live at the motel in February by a Youth Court judge because his family couldn’t take him, a youth justice facility was considered unsuitable and Oranga Tamariki couldn’t find another option.
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The boy has done some community work and sport, but a source familiar with his situation says he spends most of his time playing video games and watching TV.
A couple of times he’s absconded at night, the source says, once stealing his caregiver’s car keys, pushing the vehicle down the drive so as not to wake anyone, and then driving off and not returning until morning.
Police have visited regularly to check up on him.
The youth is one of hundreds of children in the care of Oranga Tamariki who are being housed in motels because other options can’t be found, a practice slammed by the Children’s Commissioner.
In 2018, a 12-year-old boy placed in a motel while on bail on charges of aggravated robbery evaded his minders and was later found roaming the streets of Hastings with a large hunting knife.
When Judge Peter Callinicos discovered Oranga Tamariki had put the boy in a motel with a minder who had no power to restrain him, he said the practice was “extremely serious” and “one which is going to lead to a tragedy”.
Since then, Oranga Tamariki has been making some progress in reducing the reliance on motels, the number of children in such accommodation dropping from 230 in the 2019 financial year to 197 in 2020 and 146 so far this financial year.
There are currently 13 children in motels around the country, the youngest of whom is 12. That’s out of 5600 children and young people currently in Oranga Tamariki’s care.
The children are put in motels for a variety of reasons – their families might not be able to take them, they might be on supported bail, their previous placement in a home might have broken down, or it might be a respite for caregivers.
“Oranga Tamariki does not use motels lightly,” says Tasi Malu, a regional manager.
“Unfortunately, sometimes a motel is safer than home for some children and young people.”
The Children’s Commissioner, Judge Andrew Becroft, called for urgent action on the use of motels in 2019, telling Newshub: 'Motels are virtually Airbnbs for children. It's got to change and it's got to change now”.
Glenis Philip-Barbara, the assistant Māori Commissioner for Children, says while the numbers have been declining, “they are still too high.”
“It’s hard to imagine a situation further away from the ideal than a child growing up, without their whānau, in a motel,” she says.
The Waikato boy was bailed by a judge to the motel after appearing in Youth Court on theft-type charges. He was living alongside families on emergency housing grants and tourists.
He had tight restrictions on his movements while on bail, including being accompanied 24/7 by two Oranga Tamariki-approved male carers, one of whom was supposed to stay awake all night to check on him.
The boy had a bedroom to himself, while the carers slept on single beds in the lounge area. All sharp objects such as knives and forks were removed from the room, so they couldn't be used as a weapon – a standard practice.
A source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, says an agency that provides education and counselling services visited the boy twice, but there did not appear to be any other programmes for him.
“To be honest the supervision was very bad. I don’t think they had the skills and the support to manage kids like this.
“All they did when they were there – the kid stayed in his room and played his video games, the carers were playing their own games and doing their own thing.
“There was no programme where they’d take him out to do some activities or put him in a school or give him a routine. It’s very sad.”
The source says the boy was given more freedom when his bail conditions were lifted after the charges against him were dismissed.
One night, after midnight, he somehow got hold of one of his carer’s car keys, even though he was not allowed to drive.
“In the middle of the night, when everybody was asleep, he actually didn't turn the engine on, he pushed the car out of the driveway, and then he drove away.”
He was gone for several hours.
After that incident, police came to the motel regularly to check up on the youth.
In another incident a few days later, the boy again went out at night.
“They all went out. The carers didn’t come back, but [the youth] came back and because he didn't have a key, he couldn't access the room.
“He tried to get into the room and bang on the door. It was quite late – about one or two in the morning.”
The boy eventually left, returning in the morning along with his carers.
It’s understood it cost almost $8000 to house the boy at the motel for a month – he had to leave when other guests arrived. He has just turned 17 and is now in another motel in the same town. There are understood to be plans to transition him to an independent living situation.
Malu says Oranga Tamariki can’t go into substantive details of the boy’s case for privacy reasons but “we can confirm that other options were considered and for various reasons they weren’t suitable.
“The motel placement, with appropriate supports in place, was the option which would best enable the young person to remain close to their networks, which was very important in this case.”
Malu says the department tries to ensure a motel is in the child’s community so that schooling, sport and family are nearby.
The situation is reviewed regularly, she says.
“We have been working hard to reduce the need for … motels. This includes recruiting and approving more caregivers, creating more community placements and ensuring that we have the right people with the right skills to care for children and young people with complex needs.”
Nicola Willis, National’s housing spokeswoman, says it’s concerning that motels continue to be used for children in state care.
“This suggests the Government has failed to ensure better housing options are available for these placements.”
Willis says people living in emergency motels have raised concerns, describing drug-dealing, unsanitary conditions and criminal activity.
She says Minister for Children Kelvin Davis describes motel use as an “operational matter” for Oranga Tamariki. “He should take a closer look.”
Davis told Stuff in a statement that putting young people in motels was always a last option.
“Unfortunately, sometimes motels are safer than home and it is necessary to house young people in them for a short time while a safe, stable, longer-term placement is found.
“Sometimes it’s just hard to find suitable accommodation for a child or young person in need of care, reflecting the general housing situation in Aotearoa. This is something our Government is committed to resolving.”