About tamariki and rangatahi in care
About tamariki and rangatahi in care
Care population
- The population of aged 18 years and under is 1.2 million
- 5,722 and spent time in the care of the State or approved child and family social service during the year 1 July 2023 – 30 June 2024.
- 4,391 tamariki and rangatahi were in the care of the State or approved child and family social service on 30 June 2024.
Care entries and exits
Age
The average age of and in care has continued to increase, from 10 years of age in 2021 to 11 years of age in 2024. As in previous years, there has been a decrease in the percentage of tamariki aged under five and between five and nine years old and an increase in the percentage aged ten years old and over.
Ethnicity
Ethnicity is the ethnic group or groups a person identifies with or has a sense of belonging to. A person can belong to more than one ethnic group. The ethnicities that tamariki and rangatahi in care identify with are:
Over the past four years, the number of tamariki and rangatahi in care has continued to decline, with tamariki and rangatahi Māori still over-represented in the care population. However, that over-representation appears to be stable or declining. Just over one percent of tamariki Māori spent time in care during the year to 30 June 2024.
Tamariki and rangatahi known to be disabled
Tamariki and rangatahi in care are almost twice as likely to be disabled than the general population of the same age4. Across the full care population (0 – 20 years old), 31% of tamariki and rangatahi are known to be disabled.
Gender
There has been no change in the gender balance of the care population since last year.
Custody Agency
Over the course of 2023/24, 5,722 tamariki and rangatahi spent time in care. They were in the custody of:
5,653Oranga Tamariki 66Open Home Foundation <65Barnados <65Kōkiri Marae
Oranga Tamariki is the custodial parent for almost 99 percent of tamariki and rangatahi who were in care during the year.
Placement types as at 30 June
Family/ placements have continued to decrease, from 42% of tamariki in care at the end of June 2022 to 37% at the end of June 2024. The biggest increase over the same time period has been in “other” placements. Other placements include boarding schools, bespoke placements and where rangatahi remained living with caregivers beyond the age of 18 years old.
Duration in care and care entries
Tamariki and rangatahi in care % by duration in care
- Less than 1 year - 16%
- 1-5 years - 32%
- More than 5 years - 52%
Since last year there has been an increase in the proportion of tamariki and rangatahi in care for less than one year (up from 14 percent last year). There was also an increase in the proportion of tamariki and rangatahi in care for more than five years.
Number of care entries over time
- One care entry - 83%
- Two care entries - 14%
- Three care entries - 2%
- Four or more care entries - 1%
Similarly to last year, most tamariki and rangatahi in care have only entered care once in their lives, although 17 percent have been in care more than once.
Change in key relationships
Caregivers
Tamariki and rangatahi we heard from during our monitoring engagements told us their relationships with caregivers and social workers are really important. We looked at how many different caregivers and social workers tamariki and rangatahi had during their time in care.
As the data below shows, for those over 15 years of age, 12 percent had more than 20 social workers and 37 percent had more than six caregivers during their time in care.
Average number of caregivers
42021/2022 42022/2023 42023/2024
On average, tamariki and rangatahi had four caregivers during their time in care. This hasn’t changed over time.
Changing caregivers
Looking outside the average, one quarter of those aged 10-14 years old and more than one third of those aged over 15 years old have had six or more caregivers during their time in care.
For the younger group, at least half of those under five years of age have experienced a change in caregiver, and 12 percent of those aged between five and nine years of age had six or more caregivers during their time in care.
| One caregiver | Two-three caregivers | Four-five caregivers | Six or more caregivers | Not recorded | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years old | 45% | 44% | 5% | 1% | 5% |
| 5-9 years | 25% | 46% | 16% | 12% | 1% |
| 10-14 years | 19% | 34% | 19% | 25% | 3% |
| 15 and over | 12% | 27% | 21% | 37% | 3% |
Social workers
On average, tamariki and rangatahi had ten social workers during their time in care. This hasn’t changed in recent years.
Average number of social workers
102021/2022 102022/2023 102023/2024
Changing social workers
The majority (65 percent) of tamariki under five years of age had between two and five social workers over their time in care. In contrast, the majority (48 percent) of rangatahi over 15 years of age had between 11 and 20 social workers.
| One social worker | Two-five social workers | Six-ten social workers | 11-20 social workers | More than 20 social workers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years old | 4% | 65% | 29% | 2% | 0% |
| 5-9 years | 1% | 18% | 56% | 25% | 0% |
| 10-14 years | 0% | 12% | 33% | 52% | 3% |
| 15 and over | 1% | 14% | 25% | 48% | 12% |
1 Oranga Tamariki was unable to include and in care under short-term care and protection warrants in figures for those in care as at 30 June or during the period 1 July – 30 June.
2 Exits and entries into care under short-term care and protection warrants are included in these figures.
3 Both disabled numbers relate to tamariki and rangatahi under 15 years old. Statistics New Zealand Disability survey 2013 page 3. The methodology used by Oranga Tamariki and Statistics New Zealand for disability differs. This may impact on comparability of figures. Oranga Tamariki methodology relies on diagnosed disability, whereas Statistics New Zealand methodology relies on self-reported disability in the New Zealand Disability survey.
4 The NZ Disability Survey uses 0 – 14 and 15 – 44-year-old age groups. This limits us to comparing with the 0 – 14-year-old care population.
5 To protect the privacy of individuals, we follow Statistics New Zealand guidelines and do not disclose the exact number of individuals when that number is below six. This is to reduce the risk that information could be used to identify individuals or learn private information about them.