Oranga Tamariki apologises to family

Oranga Tamariki has apologised to a family for trying to uplift a newborn baby, after a report found there were mistakes in how the case was handled.

‘‘I know we have hurt this wha¯ nau – and I am truly sorry,’’ chief executive Graine Moss said yesterday, as Oranga Tamariki released the practice review, which was sparked by the way its staff tried to ‘‘uplift’’ the baby at Hawke’s Bay Hospital in May.

The review found safety concerns for the baby meant Oranga Tamariki did the right thing to get involved, but mistakes were made in how the government department worked with the family and other partners.

Oranga Tamariki entered a report of concern after the mother’s pregnancy was confirmed, but the family were unaware this had been made. It was the pair’s second child.

In the review, the staff member said the plan was to have a family group conference in relation to the unborn child.

An assessment was made in March but the family had not been made aware of the intention for a referral to a conference.

Consultations took place in April and the review said ‘‘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; on May 5, a health practitioner met with the family who were upset after learning about the order.

When Oranga Tamariki staff entered the mother’s room, the mother, family and midwives began filming on their mobiles.

Family members had blocked exits so the baby could not be removed, and a reporter was in the hospital. This led to police involvement but it is not clear who called police.

Oranga Tamariki staff eventually agreed to not uplift the baby until a hui with the family could be arranged.

In a statement, the review found ‘‘the ministry didn’t try hard enough to build good relationships with wha¯ nau members or to explore options to place the baby with wider family, and the systems in place to check decisions didn’t work as intended’’.

There had also been ‘‘too much reliance’’ placed on historical information about the family and their first child, and not enough effort was made to understand their current situation.

Oranga Tamariki has since made changes to its practices, Moss said. She was ‘‘deeply saddened’’ by the review’s findings and apologised to the family.

‘‘Our work here wasn’t of a high standard and our usual checks and balances also failed.

‘‘While there were safety concerns for this baby, we didn’t do a good job for this family and that is unacceptable.’’

Counsel for the family, Janet Mason, said it was good Oranga Tamariki had acknowledged shortcomings in its processes, but it was ‘‘not an isolated incident’’ and ‘‘just the tip of the iceberg’’.

There were many other families who had since come forward about similar experiences, and uplifts were an ‘‘enormous problem’’ that had been ‘‘going on for generations’’, Mason said.