Call for Oranga Tamariki to collate data on attempted suicides
Oranga Tamariki doesn’t know how many children and young people in state care have attempted suicide in the past five years because it doesn’t collate that data.
Instead, the agency holds the information on individual files which one care-experienced rangatahi says isn’t good enough and is demanding the Government collate the data, so the public know how big the problem really is.
The ministry also doesn’t know how many young people in state care have been diagnosed with a mental illness for the same reason.
‘‘We know that there is more work that we have to do around our data recording,’’ Oranga Tamariki deputy chief executive of quality practice and experiences Nicolette Dickson said.
‘‘All of our case management recording is generally … within our case management systems, and there’s only certain structured data that we can produce on a whole of population level.’’
However, that did not mean Oranga Tamariki was flying blind, Dickson said.
Young people at risk of suicide were identified within their personal records and this would be monitored by the ministry.
Additionally, she said the role of ministry staff was to screen for potential risk, rather than decide what behaviours amounted to suicide or self-harm.
Ignored when asked for help
Ihorangi Reweti-Peters (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungunu) says he has tried to take his own life several times, but each time it’s been downplayed or ignored by Oranga Tamariki.
He entered state care before the age of 1, moving in with his grandparents who he lived with until the age of 10.
After that Reweti-Peters went to live with various caregivers, where at times, he says he suffered physical and psychological abuse.
He tried to take his own life on multiple occasions after the first Covid-19 lockdown and spent time in a Christchurch mental health facility.
‘‘During that time, Oranga Tamariki were very dismissive. They didn’t agree that I had any suicidal ideations or any problems with mental health.’’
At the beginning of 2021, RewetiPeters says he spoke at the Child Poverty Action Group post-budget breakfast where he called on the Government to make counselling and mental health support a statutory entitlement for every young person in care.
He believes Oranga Tamariki should collate and publicly release data around mental health, suicide and suicide attempts in care.
‘‘It’s important in the public domain to see the extent of young people taking their own lives based on the trauma that they have experienced, either before entering into care, or while in the care of the state.’’
What data does Oranga Tamariki hold?
The ministry does record the number of tamariki and rangatahi who have died from a suicide or suspected suicide – there have been five deaths since 2017.
While Oranga Tamariki doesn’t record data on suicide attempts, it does know how many rangatahi are being monitored and supported because of their risk.
Those figures are collected through the Towards Wellbeing Programme funded by Oranga Tamariki. It allows mental health clinicians to support social workers and assess suicide risk.
‘‘They provide us with statistics about the number of young people that they’re working with currently,’’
Oranga Tamariki general manager of specialist services Sharon Thom said.
If a young person with a suicide risk was identified, Oranga Tamariki would place a suicide alert on the case management system, known as CYRAS.
When it came to recording or publishing data relating to suicide and suicide attempts, Thom felt it was important to consider the
rangatahi behind the numbers.
She said young people in care were an extremely vulnerable population, usually coming from a background of abuse and trauma.
‘‘They’re probably a group, at times, that are more predisposed to the risk of suicide and selfharming behaviour,’’ Thom said.
Young people in care were also a group who sometimes faced stigma and marginalisation, she said. ‘‘I just think it’s quite a tricky area, particularly for the young people that will be involved and being sensitive around their needs,’’ she said.
Agency support
If a young person was experiencing worrying thoughts, Dickson said the first thing a social worker would do is speak to them to gauge the level of risk.
The next steps would depend on how serious the risk was, and could include referral to urgent mental health care or building a support plan around the young person.
This role is Public Interest Journalism funded by New Zealand on Air.