Report seeks reform of Oranga Tamariki
WELLINGTON: Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft is calling for an urgent and significant transformation of Oranga Tamariki — and is telling the Government to commit to a transfer of power to Maori.
It is the commission's second part of the report, Te Kuku O Te Manawa, into the care and protection of Maori babies — and has a raft of recommendations for government and state agencies.
The first part of the report, released in June, detailed the experiences of Maori mothers of newborns involved with Oranga Tamariki — which said the child welfare system was dangerous, brutal and racist.
The second part, released yesterday, focuses on a range of recommendations of how to transform the system for Maori.
‘‘After decades of calls for change from Maori this is an opportunity to listen and get it right for mokopuna Maori,’’ Judge Becroft said.
The first recommendation asked the Prime Minister and Cabinet to commit to transferring power and resources from the Government to enable by Maori, for Maori approaches that keep Maori babies in the care of their whanau.
Steps the commission recommended to make this happen included: a
ministeriallevel partnership with iwi and Maori leadership, agreeing to establish by Maori for Maori approaches to the current statutory care and protection system.
Subsequent recommendations form a blueprint for making immediate changes to the statutory care and protection system while that transformation is achieved.
These include that Oranga Tamariki makes urgent changes including explicitly capping the caseload of social workers.
Oranga Tamariki acknowledged the report and said while the ministry had made progress in those areas, it was crucial to listen to the views of others.
Chief executive Grainne Moss said it was useful to see that the issues identified in the report were similar to those highlighted in previous reviews.
‘‘All New Zealanders want the same thing,’’ Ms Moss said.
‘‘We want to ensure that tamariki Maori are safe and well cared for.
‘‘Over the last two years, we have seen a 50% drop in the number of pepi [babies] coming into care. This is due to our commitment to working alongside Maori to support tamariki.’’
She said the recommendations of Te Kuku o Te Manawa would be assessed alongside the findings of the Waitangi Tribunal urgent inquiry, which will reconvene in Wellington later this week.
The Minister for Children, Kelvin Davis, has not yet responded to the report's recommendations. — RNZ