Ministry changes its practices

The head of Oranga Tamariki says she is truly sorry about how the ministry tried to uplift a newborn baby in Hastings, after a review found there were mistakes into how the case was handled.

Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss said ‘‘our job is to protect children – it is to help families and give them hope ... instead we have deeply hurt a family and people close to them’’.

Oranga Tamariki stood by its decision to get involved as it had safety concerns but how it went about it was wrong, Moss said.

Oranga Tamariki entered a report of concern in February after the mother’s pregnancy was confirmed but the family was unaware that had been made, the report said.

No specific contact was made with the mother about her plans.

This was the couple’s second child – previously an Oranga Tamariki employee had set out the context for removing the first child as the basis for the concerns regarding the baby.

The employee said the plan was to talk with the family and hold a Family Group Conference in relation to the unborn child. But the family had not been made aware of this.

Consultations took place in April and ‘‘the approach changed to an agreement that a ‘without notice order for custody and declaration’ ’’ was sought to move the baby. After the baby’s birth, a custody order was left with hospital staff and on May 5, a health practitioner met family members who were upset after learning about the order.

When Oranga Tamariki employees entered the mother’s room, people began filming on their mobile phones.

Family members blocked exits

and that led to police involvement. Oranga Tamariki staff agreed to not take the baby until a hui with the family could be arranged.

The review found Oranga Tamariki ‘‘didn’t try hard enough to build good relationships with wha¯nau members or to explore options to place the baby with wider family’’. There had also been too much reliance on historical information about the family.

After the review, Oranga Tamariki made changes to its practices.

Counsel for the family, Janet Mason, said the outcome was a ‘‘step in the right direction’’ but she hoped it would provide a starting point for a conversation between the state and Ma¯ori about transitioning the care of children away from the ministry to a Ma¯ ori-managed framework.