The were developed by Oranga Tamariki based on what and said they needed when they’re in care. This page summarises what tamariki and rangatahi are experiencing, five years on from the regulations taking effect.
Many of us are still not getting what we need when we’re in care.
Our social workers often have to rush our assessments and plans, and don’t always get to see us as often as they promised.
When we need extra help some of us have to wait a long time for it and sometimes miss out on school while people talk about who is going to pay for the help we need.
When we are taken into care, there sometimes isn’t a place to stay, and it can take a while to find somewhere. If we’re over 15 years old, many of us have had more than six caregivers.
Most of us are supported by Oranga Tamariki to get to know, and stay connected with, our .
Our caregivers do a great job of looking after us, but they need to know more about us, and they need more help. The help they need is financial, training and some respite.
While we say we feel safe, nearly one in 10 of us is hurt when we’re in care. It’s even worse in residences, where we are sometimes beaten up by other kids, and for some of us who return home to live with our mum or dad. Oranga Tamariki knows when we’re more likely to be harmed but lots of us still see our social worker less than we are meant to.
For most of us getting ready to leave care at 18, Oranga Tamariki isn't checking that we have all of the things we need to cope on our own. Oranga Tamariki doesn’t know if we have somewhere to live, know how to manage money, or if we have an IRD number or bank account.
With custody of almost 99 percent of tamariki and rangatahi in care, these key findings are mostly about Oranga Tamariki. Oranga Tamariki has assessed itself as meeting all of its own performance measures for 37 percent of tamariki and rangatahi in its care1.
What we heard in our monitoring is consistent with this. While some areas have improved in the year since our last report, most of what we found, and what Oranga Tamariki has reported to us, remains the same. Unless underlying causes are addressed, it will be difficult for Oranga Tamariki to improve its compliance and with it the experiences of tamariki and rangatahi who are in care.
Social workers want to make a difference, and we heard this is a primary motivation for joining and remaining in the profession. To meet the social workers must be able to do social work including completing meaningful assessments and plans, visiting tamariki and rangatahi as often as they need, advocating for services, and supporting caregivers and . To do this, Oranga Tamariki must provide effective leadership, supervision and training, and the right tools and resources to do the job. Establishing and maintaining partnerships with , Māori and community organisations is necessary.
We heard about the difference that can be made when social workers are able to work effectively.
“I feel supported now, because of my new social worker, new care parents and how they help me a lot. They make me feel very supported by helping me see my siblings, my parents, my friends. My social worker now has done more than any of my other social workers. I feel happy. I am now surrounded by many people who actually listen to what I have to say, and my feelings.” CHILD
“Three weeks ago, within the day [of the report of concern], social workers were there and were uplifting. [Social workers] had already conversed [with the whānau/rangatahi] and put them in a safe space that night … Really good communication [on] what was happening. [Oranga Tamariki] called early last week to give me an update.” SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
However, we consistently heard that too much is getting in the way of social workers doing what they are trained and employed for. One third of tamariki and rangatahi are still not being visited as often as agreed, or at least every eight weeks.
“[Social worker] doesn’t do things straight away. He is busy. My caregiver tries [to contact him] but he doesn’t come around. We have to go to him – he never comes to us. I am annoyed he is absent.” CHILD
A lack of care options results in social workers spending time struggling to find caregivers, with tamariki and rangatahi then staying in motels.
“We can’t get motels [because of funding restrictions] so we have to drive around at night with kids needing emergency placements. One incident where we drove around with a threeyear- old, knocking on doors to find someone to take them.” ORANGA TAMARIKI SOCIAL WORKER
Recruitment freezes and vacancies, compounded by a workforce shortage, can lead to high caseloads.
“It’s risk. It’s high risk, it’s so unsafe with such high caseloads. The recommended numbers are 20 children for each social worker. It balances out with wiggle room, but 50+ is beyond wiggle room.” ORANGA TAMARIKI SOCIAL WORKER
Policies and processes that add administrative burdens, compounded by a low trust model for expenditure approvals, mean that the needs of tamariki and rangatahi are not always at the centre of decision-making. For example, Oranga Tamariki cannot pay board payments to the unapproved caregivers who it asks to care for tamariki and rangatahi, it instead provides vouchers for food and petrol.
“It took til the end of March to be approved but I’ve had [child] since the start of December, and I only got back payments until the end of March when the approval came through … I did get vouchers but had to ask for them and go into the office, then got told I should have been receiving $250 a week in vouchers. I didn’t want to look like a bludger, I didn’t care and I managed but I was entitled to it. When I took [child] over I was told I would have no financial burdens and could go back to work.” CAREGIVER
“I just wish that the decision-making was quicker. They [Oranga Tamariki social workers] always say that they need to go to talk with their supervisor. Especially some of the safety things we want to get in place, like the fencing and the car seat. It seems to take a while for things to get done.” WHĀNAU CAREGIVER
Rangatahi are still not being given the best chance of a successful transition to adulthood. The transition out of care and into adulthood is a key life milestone for rangatahi. For those rangatahi working with a Transition Support Service, the majority felt their transition worker made things better for them, and the Service makes a positive impact and is highly valued. However, Oranga Tamariki isn’t doing enough before they engage with the Service, to ensure key skills are taught and rangatahi have what they need to succeed as an independent adult. Life skills assessments are only completed for 16 percent of rangatahi in care. Referrals to the transition service often come too late for transition support workers to work effectively with rangatahi, with a quarter of rangatahi yet to be offered a referral.
“I’ve hardly had any support [from Oranga Tamariki]. I need to do everything, and I don’t have my family [to support me] … I have to do everything by myself.” RANGATAHI
Challenges for social workers and caregivers are compounded by government agencies, particularly the Ministries of Health and Education, not consistently prioritising services for tamariki and rangatahi in care.
The Oranga Tamariki Action Plan (OTAP) was supposed to make things better by improving collaboration and the coordination of services. We are yet to see evidence that it has made a difference on the ground. Where we saw and heard of collaboration between agencies, it was due to individual effort rather than a system designed to make it happen.
Key Findings Social workers, caregivers and whānau have to seek out services and supports child-by-child, relying on established relationships and goodwill, rather than there being a system that automatically responds to need.
Funding is siloed and does not necessarily follow tamariki and rangatahi within Oranga Tamariki, or between agencies. We consistently heard about stand-offs over thresholds and who is responsible for paying. The lack of prioritisation of tamariki and rangatahi in care creates inefficiencies. Social workers need to do additional tasks to get through layers of approval, find other workarounds, or agree to fund supports that are more education or healthrelated, to get access to services. When they are not prioritised, tamariki and rangatahi face delays in accessing the services and supports they need which can then impact school attendance or stable care placements. Delivery of these services is also inconsistent, with some tamariki and rangatahi getting what they need and others not.
When the needs of tamariki and rangatahi are not adequately assessed or assessment is delayed, it affects the timing and quality of decisions and plans on how those needs are met.
“It took nearly one year to get [child] assessed. Everyone knew [child] was ADHD [Attention Deficit/Hyper-Activity Disorder] except Oranga Tamariki. The reason it took so long was because they changed [child's] social worker so many times.” NON-WHĀNAU CAREGIVER
“I asked for a third Gateway Assessment where we found the sight and hearing issues and after we got it all going, [child's] doing much better now.” NON-WHĀNAU CAREGIVER
Some tamariki and rangatahi are excluded from school, or not getting the supports they need to learn because agencies disagree on who should fund the support.
“One of the [tamariki] needs speech therapy, [child] hasn’t got it yet because no one can figure out who has responsibility for it. They’re all sitting around the table figuring out how to make it someone else’s problem.” WHĀNAU CAREGIVER
“Some identified schools have pushed us. They say unless Oranga Tamariki provide teacher aide funding the child will need to leave school.” ORANGA TAMARIKI KAIMAHI
The number of tamariki and rangatahi being abused in care has continued to increase. This year 507 tamariki and rangatahi (nine percent of all tamariki and rangatahi in care) were found to have been abused or neglected while in the custody of Oranga Tamariki. The areas where disproportionate levels of abuse continue to occur are in secure residences and when children return to their parents’ care. In secure residences 23 percent of tamariki and rangatahi were found to have been abused, with 18 percent of the harm caused by residence staff and 79 percent by other rangatahi2. For tamariki and rangatahi returned home to the care of a parent while in the custody of Oranga Tamariki, 11 percent of tamariki and rangatahi were abused or neglected. These risks are well known yet key safety factors are not being prioritised3.
If we are to see positive long-term outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi in care, increased compliance with the NCS Regulations and an overall improvement in the delivery of care is required.
1 This is a measure of how many and have all nine Oranga Tamariki universal lead indicators met – it includes lead indicators around needs assessments, planning, consideration of view, and the views of professionals, visits to tamariki and rangatahi, and the quality of engagement, opportunities for play, that social workers are carrying out the actions in tamariki plans, and that tamariki views have been identified and considered. It excludes indicators that are specific to ethnicity or to ages and stages, such as transitioning to adulthood, which only apply to some tamariki and rangatahi in care at any one time.
2 The remaining three percent of harm was caused by a non-related adult, adult whānau member, child not in placement or unknown perpetrator.
3 Oranga Tamariki, Safety of Children in Care Annual Report – reporting period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. https://www.orangatamariki.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/About-us/Corporate-reports/Annual-Report/Annual-Report-2023-2024.pdf