‘Bleak’ kids’ homes criticised
‘‘They are the mothers and fathers of the next generation and we have an opportunity to turn their lives around. The current environment doesn’t optimise that.’’ Judge Andrew Becroft
A new report calls New Zealand’s children’s homes and youth justice residences ‘‘outdated, prison-like and bleak’’.
But these facilities are set for a revamp under the guidance of a new ministry, which says it is already cleaning them up.
The State Of Care report, released today, highlighted concerns ranging from youths escaping from justice residences, to bullying, allegations of fight clubs, and an incident where young people were locked in their rooms at a care facility because of a staffing shortage.
A single claim of fight clubs and staff punching youths at an unidentified facility was unable to be substantiated by the inspectors.
But the report’s inspections, carried out by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, also noted a widespread ‘‘snitches get stitches’’ mentality at the state care and youth detention facilities, which hindered authorities’ efforts to create whistleblowing systems.
Seven of the country’s nine Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Vulnerable Children) youth justice and care and protection residences were inspected. The report praised the improvement in the standard of these facilities, and their programmes – but also found their progress uneven.
The inspectors found no evidence of systemic abuse or human rights violations – but there was room for improvement, children’s commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft said yesterday. ‘‘They are the mothers and fathers of the next generation and we have an opportunity to turn their lives around. The current environment doesn’t optimise that.’’
Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss said she shared the commissioner’s vision of a future where the present large-scale homes would be scrapped in favour of a greater number of smaller, more targeted facilities nationwide – with some possibly iwi-run.
‘‘In five years’ time, I would want to see some alternatives.’’
The limited number of large homes can mean youths are taken far from whanau and social networks. Becroft had heard of children from Whangarei who were unable to be placed in a full Auckland facility and had to be sent to Christchurch, which was ‘‘not ideal’’.
The report also expressed concern that youths with different needs were mismatched in the facilities – teenagers with neuro-disabilities were sharing a home with peers who had addiction problems, and the high turnover of youths on remand was disrupting those serving sentences.
It also criticised the standard of some facilities. At one care and protection home, the intercom system and call buttons were not working properly, meaning young people had to wave their arms or bang on doors to get staff attention.
The graffiti at one home led to a youth commenting that it made them feel like they were living in a ‘‘mental unit’’, the report said.
Recommendations included the Office of the Children’s Commissioner being allowed to monitor the facilities twice yearly, instead of the current annual or 18-month option. Becroft said he also wanted the homes to become more culturally responsive to Maori, who remained disproportionately represented in youth justice residences.
Today’s facilities were an improvement on children’s homes of the past – currently subject to widespread claims of historical abuse. But it would be ‘‘Pollyannaish’’ to assume there were no longer abuses in the state care system, he said.
Moss said the ministry was working to make the residences more culturally responsive, and a friendly, family-like environment where youths could get the support they needed.
‘‘We are dealing with kids with complex needs who have suffered significant trauma and so we want to establish a new way of structuring our residential care to separate those with different needs; for example, those who have been sentenced and those with specific issues such as mental health or drug problems.’’
The next step was to recruit and train specialist foster carers and find the right settings, as well as look at expanding transition to work and independence programmes nationally, Moss said.