‘Vulnerable’ deleted from title of children’s ministry

The Government will remove the word ‘‘vulnerable’’ from the state care agency Oranga Tamariki: Ministry for Vulnerable Children.

Children’s Minister Tracey Martin said the ambit of the ministry also would be widened over time, and measures and targets would ensure the agency held the same aspirations for all children.

The change will be phased in and rebrand funding will be found within the baseline, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

Martin had received official advice the cost would be about $418,000. That included $380,000 for technical changes to computer systems and savings would be incurred by not rebranding stationery automatically.

The previous Government had also put aside $530,000 to change signs from CYF to Oranga Tamariki Ministry for Vulnerable Children, but it had not been spent.

Ardern said it was important the ministry’s work was geared towards the welfare of all children, and did not ‘‘stigmatise’’ children it worked with.

The name was controversial when the ministry was established under previous National minister Anne Tolley. She would not resile from it, even in the face of criticism from advocacy groups, Opposition MPS, her own youth panel and the children’s commissioner.

The previous Government said the ministry had to have a specific focus on working with New Zealand’s most vulnerable and that work had to be targeted, though the name was often shortened to Oranga Tamariki.

But Martin said the Government now had a ‘‘larger vision’’.

‘‘We will not take our focus from the 5600-5700 children in state care, and the tens of thousands of children who are on the edge, who need our attention.

‘‘But Oranga Tamariki: The Ministry for Children will, over the period of this Government’s term widen its view to ensure that we have measures to hold ourselves to a standard for all New Zealand children.’’

Martin said every child was vulnerable at some stage, and the 5700 were in circumstances that made them ‘‘currently’’ the most vulnerable, but stigma could last beyond their interactions with the ministry.

Ardern said targets needed to be set, and the Government held accountable for lifting the lives of all children.

‘‘A child that’s living in poverty won’t necessarily ever come into contact with those social workers who are working specifically with children at Oranga Tamariki.

‘‘But we actually do want the ministry to have regard to their livelihood and wellbeing as well.

‘‘So within the child poverty legislation, there will be a requirement for successive governments to have a wellbeing strategy,’’ she said. ‘‘So focusing on improving outcomes for kids across housing, health, education.

‘‘Over time, we hope to see Oranga Tamariki really in a position to lead some of that work as well.’’ But that would take time.

‘‘They’re a ministry that is, at the moment – rightly so – focused on getting things right for children who have experienced care, and that should be their focus for now.’’

''Within the child poverty legislation, there will be a requirement for successive governments to have a wellbeing strategy. So focusing on improving outcomes for kids across housing, health, education." Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern