February 21, 2024
Oranga Tamariki not fixed yet says Ombudsman
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier is calling on the Government to make changes to Oranga Tamariki on a scale rarely required of a government agency.
Because of his enhanced under the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System Act, which came into force mid-last year, he reviewed 2000 complaints received between 2019 and 2023 about children in care.
Complaints included a rangatahi kept in an institution against their wishes for years, and a young disabled mother whose baby was uplifted at birth and never returned.
Mr Boshier, who is now in weekly contact with Oranga Tamariki leadership, says he cannot yet provide reassurance the agency’s practices and processes are consistently operating as they ought to.
He recommends an organisation-wide quality improvement plan, ensuring staff understand and apply legislation and policy, better attention to detail and accurate information in decision making, more training and supervision, regular tracking and reporting, and keeping better records overall.