September 10, 2018
Whānau Ora workforce fighting fatigue
Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare says he wants to do something about fatigue in the whanau ora workforce.
The Minister raised the issue at the biennial conference of Te Pou Matakana, the North Island Whānau Ora commissioning agency.
He says navigators are key to the success of the integrated social services delivery model, and they need a different range of skills than conventional social workers.
Training and keeping people is difficult without changes to the way whanau ora is funded and managed, with Māori providers relying on short term contracts.
"We also know too that when contracts end with social service providers, organisations in the Whānau Ora space don't end right there. They continue to invest in this whanau, monitor and work with these families without government support. That has created fatigue in this workforce so many go on to other opportunities or go into a space that is more secure and high paying," Mr Henare says.
Funding is one of the issues to be considered once he receives the report from the review panel looking onto Whānau Ora.
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