Data backs need for state care inquiry
Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft says new data on harm experienced by children and young people in state care reinforces the need for an inquiry.
The new research that the Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki and the Office of the Chief Social Worker produced jointly took what the ministry called a ‘‘zerotolerance’’ approach to apply a broader definition of harm.
Published yesterday, it found 85 out of a representative sample of 698 children/ young people in state care between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016 experienced harm. Given a total of 7360 entered the system over that time, it’s likely 929 of them experienced harm.
Becroft said it was encouraging to see a commitment by the ministry to better understand the extent of harm in care. It was also reassuring to see the cases appeared to have been followed up.
‘‘The numbers of those experiencing harm certainly reinforce the need for an inquiry into historic abuse of those in state care, as has been foreshadowed by the Government.
‘‘It is of course utterly unacceptable that those taken into state care because of abuse and neglect in their own families experience further harm in the system that is supposed to protect them.’’
However, he added, the research had ‘‘real limitations’’.
It involved manually reviewing the case notes, analysing reports of harm ranging from emotional distress to physical injury. Without interviews with any of the children or their wha¯nau, ‘‘it is likely the research doesn’t address the full extent of harm’’, Becroft said.
While the sampling approach allowed for the overall extent of harm to be extrapolated, other findings such as those relating to demographics, nature of harm, and placement types were descriptive only.
‘‘We look forward to further research and investigation that engages with children and their wha¯nau to more completely understand the extent, nature and prevalence of harm to children in care,’’ Becroft said.
Ministry boss Grainne Moss said the next step was setting up an expert group to discuss the findings and propose a sustainable and robust future measurement and reporting approach.
New Zealand was ‘‘leading the way’’ in its ‘‘zero-tolerance’’ approach to harm, she said. In the past, New Zealand and international jurisdictions were underreporting harm owing to narrow definitions of the word.
‘‘The important thing for us is we have to know more to be able to do better.’’
The United Nations in August recommended the New Zealand government carry out an independent inquiry into the abuse of children and adults with disabilities while in state care from 1950 to 1990.
The new Government in its first 100 days aimed to set up an inquiry into the abuse of children into state care.
Minister for Children Tracey Martin has previously said she supported the formation of an independent body to investigate state child abuse, similar to the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
Former Prime Minister Bill English dismissed further calls for an independent inquiry into historic state abuse, saying it would not add anything further to the work the Government was already doing.
The ministry was established in April this year to replace Child, Youth and Family (CYF), after an expert panel proposed a series of major operations, design, and policy changes.
In 2013 and 2014, there were findings of substantiated abuse relating to 117 children in the custody of CYF, according to reports prepared by CYF for the Minister of Social Development.