Vulnerable kids back in motels
Rotorua caregiver shortage forces placements for children’s safety
Children are again being placed in motels because there are not enough caregivers for home placements.
In Rotorua, two children on average have been in motels over the last month with a caregiver, wha¯nau member or support person for safety and well-being.
Oranga Tamariki — the Ministry for Children — says the number fluctuates daily.
The agency’s Bay of Plenty regional manager Tayelva Petley said children were placed in motels when nothing else was available.
“Temporary accommodation such as a motel is only used for young people in extraordinary circumstances and as a temporary measure.”
She said, in most cases, placements were with a member of a child’s extended wha¯nau, hapu or iwi or with a family they were not born into.
Petley said while Oranga Tamariki acknowledged placing children in a motel wasn’t ideal it was “sadly for some the safest temporary placement while it finds them a more permanent loving home”. She added: “If we need to use a motel temporarily, we try to ensure it is in the child’s community, so schooling, sport and wha¯nau (if appropriate) are nearby.
“We work hard to explore every other possible safe avenue or option for our tamariki before considering temporary accommodation.”
The process to place a young person in a motel involved an assigned social worker and supervisor and required manager approval, she said.
“If a child is not being cared for by a relief caregiver or wha¯nau member they will have a support person with them who will monitor and supervise their safety, security and well-being.
“We are working hard to reduce the need for temporary accommodation options, such as motels.”
Accommodation such as a motel is only used for young people in extraordinary circumstances. Tayelva Petley
At the end of March, the agency recorded 105 children in “out of home” placements.
The issue of children being placed in motels also arose last year. The Social Development Minister at the time, Anne Tolley, said motels were only used as a temporary measure and in exceptional circumstances.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who was Labour’s spokeswoman for children at the time, said motels were no place for vulnerable children.
She was critical of a lack of information about the practice, saying it was hard to know how often motels were used.
Petley said Oranga Tamariki had a “team of people solely focused on establishing more homes for young people who need it most”.
“Every week some children and young people need emergency care because a crisis has resulted in an end to their current living situation or placement.”
Earlier this year the organisation received an additional $15.7 million of funding.
This enabled more short-term crisis care options, as well as longerterm placements to provide stability, a digital solution to enable real-time, nationwide information on care demand and supply and more resources at a regional level.
Oranga Tamariki was working hard to increase the number of “safe and loving places” available for tamariki when home wasn’t working, Petley said.
Nationally, the number of caregivers had grown by 150 since the organisation was established in April last year.
“It is an ongoing and dedicated process to attract more caregivers throughout the country.
“We are continually recruiting caregivers, but it’s not just a question of numbers. It’s about matching the right caregiver to the right child, so the wider the range of caregivers we have, the better.”