Listen Now: 
A senior Child Youth and Family manager is challenging iwi and whanau to take an interest in their tamariki who may be in care.
Associate deputy chief executive Glenis Philip-Barbara told a recent Ngati Porou hui that although about 400 of the 3800 Maori children in state care are listed as Ngati Porou, the number could be higher because that figure is based on information the tamariki give when they come in.
She says a sense of belonging to a wider iwi can be the start of healing and connecting to society.
The service is trying to forge partnerships with iwi, and it wants whanau and hapu to think of those in their family who are missing.
"Every child in state care has come from somewhere. They have come from a family who has been in trouble. They have come from a family who has struggled with either family violence, drug and alcohol issues, or mental health issues,. We are asking whanau at Christmas to take stock of our own and to think about who amongst us is vulnerable and in need of the support of the wider network," Ms Philip-Barbara says.
Traditionally Maori have taken children into care through the whangai system, so she questions why the state now plays such a major role.
Copyright © 2015, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
RELATED NEWS
