August 10, 2023
Oranga Tamariki dumping kids back home
The new Independent Childrens’ Monitor has issued a scathing report on the way Oranga Tamariki returns rangatahi and tamariki in its care back to their whānau.
Arotūruki Tamariki chief executive Arran Jones says it found many whānau were ill-prepared to receive their rangatahi-tamariki, especially as 50 percent of returning cases were unplanned and without notice.
Many whānau said they thought their tamariki were coming home for a visit only to find out it would be permanent.
“And then when you’ve got 50 percent of the kids returning home in an unplanned way, Oranga Tamariki isn’t visiting at all in the first four weeks,” Mr Jones says.
He says the young people are left with no mental health support after their return home.
The report shows that there are over 600 rangatahi tamariki living in residential care. The report was conducted between June and December 2022.