State carer to measure all harm
All instances of child harm, intentional or otherwise, are set to be recorded as Oranga Tamariki looks to stop children in its care being hurt.
However, a new measurement system was not just about finding perpetrators – in some cases there would be none. It was also hoped it would result in giving carers the right training to look after children and help the state carer act in the same way any parent might if their child was bullied at school, had suffering grades or was experiencing any kind of physical or emotional harm.
Oranga Tamariki has overhauled how it records harm in state care, broadening the definition on the basis that ‘‘all harm is harm’’.
It had also set up a new unit to monitor, in real time, all those recorded and substantiated instances of harm to children.
The agency’s chief executive, Grainne Moss, said it would ensure carers and case workers could take action swiftly.
‘‘We have a zero tolerance so we say, basically, any harm is harm. It looks at physical harm, sexual harm, neglect and also emotional harm,’’ Moss said.
‘‘The other thing it does is it looks at where does that harm occur and who creates the harm for the child. Before, we used to only report on caregivers, but now we will look at any form of harm that may have happened by another child, a neighbour.
‘‘It may be that a child has had a bit of an accident, it may be that there isn’t actually anyone at any fault, but somebody has created harm,’’ said Moss.
And, given all children who had entered state care had suffered some form of harm, even historical incidents that were reported and substantiated would be recorded as current so that real-time support could be provided, if necessary.
‘‘It is our responsibility to heal them, but life is full of risks and so harm can come in many forms. I think the vulnerability of children in care is something we need to pay particular attention to because of the history that they have had,’’ Moss said.
Every quarter, the new system would report on the number of children in care with substantiated findings of harm. It would provide a breakdown of the type of care the harm occurred in and the type of person who caused the harm, as well as comment on the actions taken in response.
It would also report annually on the number of children who had multiple instances of harm, the number of people who caused harm multiple times and track themes and characteristics of the children experiencing harm.