“Anger management is good ... He’s a qualified counsellor, I enjoy going there … I find things to calm myself down. I just think about what he taught me. There are some things that there’s a reason to be mad [about], but I manage myself.”
Key findings
Almost one third of and in are Māori, and most have no involvement in the oranga tamariki system. However, almost 50 percent of reports of concern made to Oranga Tamariki are about tamariki and rangatahi Māori, and they also make up two-thirds of those in care.
When tamariki and rangatahi come to the attention of Oranga Tamariki, often have wider-ranging needs, which can include the impacts of poverty, housing insecurity, family violence and poor mental health. At this point there is an opportunity to help and prevent further involvement in the system.
The data tells us that the more involved tamariki and rangatahi become, the worse their long-term outcomes. For example:
- 92 percent of tamariki and rangatahi Māorireferred for a youth justice family groupconference in 2023/24 had a previous careand protection report of concern1
- Māori adults (aged 27–30) who hadpreviously been in care are five times morelikely to be accessing public secondarymental health and addiction services, ninetimes more likely to have been in emergencyhousing, six times more likely to have beenhospitalised for self-harm and much morelikely to be victims of crime than Māoriwho have no involvement with the orangatamariki system.
We also see intergenerational involvement. For Māori parents2 who had previously been in care, almost 70 percent have children involved with Oranga Tamariki in some way and one in eight have had one or more children in care at some point in their lives.
If the oranga tamariki system was successful, when whānau come to its attention, it would keep tamariki and rangatahi Māori safe and put supports in place, across government agencies, early to avoid escalation through the system now or in the future. With the right support at the right time, fewer tamariki Māori would come into care, and if they do, they would be safe.
Oranga Tamariki and NZ Police have strategies in place to address inequality and over-representation, but we found barriers to making progress
Both Oranga Tamariki and NZ Police have put strategies in place to address long standing inequalities and over-representation. This includes the Oranga Tamariki practice shift, investing in training to help its kaimahi better engage with Māori and increased funding for and Māori providers, including investing in strategic partnerships and Enabling Communities initiatives. Likewise, NZ Police has also invested in training and has a new strategy, Te Huringa o Te Tai, aimed at improving the wellbeing and lives of Māori.
However, this report highlights barriers to progress.
Within Oranga Tamariki, competing policies, a low trust culture, layers of decision making and the inability to make the best use of existing tools, such as family group conferences (FGCs) means that social workers are not always able to work in a way that meets the needs of tamariki and rangatahi Māori and their whānau.
"[Oranga Tamariki] want us to do [mahi and hui] on the marae, but when they get the bill, they want to know why they are paying for the marae. They don’t want to pay for food. They don’t want to pay for petrol. We did a on a Saturday at a marae, and we had a $50 budget. We get $10 petrol budgets. It is not realistic."
KAIRARANGA A- (ORANGA TAMARIKI KAIMAHI)
Oranga Tamariki is not always taking action to respond to reports of concern at the earliest opportunity
When reports of concern are made about tamariki and rangatahi, we heard about high thresholds for investigation and further action. Almost half of reports of concern result in a decision to take no further action.
"[It is] no small thing to make a ROC [report of concern], you don’t go I am going to do that ... [it is] discouraging, you steel yourself to do it. We don’t treat this [report of concern] as a dumping ground, it’s as a result of what we are observing in front of us ... How am I going to sell this to validate it, [I start thinking] am I an idiot? Am I seeing risk when it isn’t there? [There are] different interpretations of risk, I guess, when you deal with it every day.”
CANTERBURY FAMILY VIOLENCE COLLABORATION KAIMAHI
When help is needed, it is important that the right help is provided. This could be from iwi, Māori or community providers or other government agencies. Failing to take any action at the earliest opportunity can leave tamariki and rangatahi at risk and whānau without the support they need and potentially lead to greater involvement in the oranga tamariki system such as youth justice. Tamariki who offended between the ages of 10 and 13 in Aotearoa in 2019/20 had high levels of abuse, reports of concern, out of home placements, school stand-downs and suspensions, and indicators of social and cultural deprivation compared to their non-offending peers3.
"In youth justice the majority of our kids are Māori. They come through with trauma in the care system, there were missed opportunities where they have interacted with the care systems. A good 90 percent of them don’t know who they are. I try to get them back to be proud of who they are. We are mopping up at the end, flicking them through to the adult system.”KAIRARANGA Ā-WHĀNAU
Family group conferences are not always carried out as intended which can mean tamariki and rangatahi Māori don’t always get the services they need
FGCs support whānau decision making but are not always carried out as intended. Financial restrictions, time pressures, limited whānau involvement and FCGs being held in Oranga Tamariki offices were described as barriers that limit the FGC process. Sometimes whānau and professionals feel their voices are not heard. Sometimes agencies can’t agree on a plan going forward, despite whānau involvement, and there can be a lack of services and supports to refer tamariki, rangatahi and whānau to. This means their plans are not always followed through and services not always delivered.
Although not a focus of this report, our recent Experiences of Care in Aotearoa report highlighted that many tamariki and rangatahi Māori in care are not getting what they need. For 2023/24, Oranga Tamariki assessed itself as meeting its own performance measures for 37 percent of tamariki and rangatahi in its care. The majority of tamariki and rangatahi in care are Māori.
Earlier intervention and more holistic youth justice initiatives are needed to reduce offending
In youth justice, tamariki and rangatahi Māori remain over-represented in police proceedings. More can be done to support tamariki and rangatahi at early stages and to reduce offending and prevent escalation through the system. In 2024, a study commissioned by NZ Police found that bias and structural racism influence decision making4. NZ Police data for 2023/24, similarly shows a difference in the severity of proceedings against tamariki and rangatahi Māori and non-Māori:
- Tamariki Māori aged 10-13 are less likely to be referred to alternative action or given a warning and more likely to be prosecuted or referred to a youth justice FGC than others.
- Rangatahi Māori aged 14-17 were more likely to be prosecuted and less likely to get a warning or be referred to alternative action than others.
More holistic youth justice initiatives for tamariki and rangatahi Māori and their whānau would be helpful, but it is important to prevent offending in the first place. It is vital that agencies work together more effectively when concerns are raised about the safety and wellbeing of tamariki and rangatahi to improve outcomes and address behaviours that could lead to offending.
Oranga Tamariki funding decisions and lack of prioritisation across government agencies prevent tamariki and rangatahi Māori accessing the things they need
Recent funding decisions made by Oranga Tamariki have reduced services aimed at decreasing involvement in the oranga tamariki system, and the way this was done has eroded trust. This has impacted services delivered by iwi and Māori providers, along with other services that tamariki and rangatahi Māori, and their whānau, rely on.
"I don’t feel tika or pono at the moment. We’ve worked closely with iwi and forged good relationships, it’s been hard, but the goal-post changes then we have to go back and tell them. It breaks trust … it’s the difficulties in contracts that’s the issue and their trust in us is dwindling, yet we are asking for more and more with less [funding].”
ORANGA TAMARIKI LEADER
"Our kids are hearing on the news about funding cuts and have mentioned running away so they won’t be kicked out of here. How do you manage those conversations when they are worried about the place closing?”
KAUPAPA MĀORI ORGANISATION KAIMAHI
When looking at services provided by other government agencies such as Education and Health, we heard about tamariki and rangatahi in the oranga tamariki system not being consistently prioritised. This is similar to our findings about tamariki and rangatahi in care, in our recent Experiences of Care in Aotearoa report.
A lack of prioritisation across government agencies, a retreat to core services that is often at the cost of collaborative working arrangements and increased controls on spending within Oranga Tamariki has reduced the ability of tamariki and rangatahi Māori to get access to the things they need.
"In a world of diminishing resources there is a power struggle. It is about workloads and funding … and it gets in the way of good collaboration.”
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE KAIMAHI
In the face of these challenges, in every community we visited, we heard about initiatives that were addressing many of the broader issues that whānau face. The consistent factors across these initiatives were that they were provider led, worked with tamariki and rangatahi Māori alongside their whānau and had high trust models working collaboratively with government agencies. Iwi and Māori providers have enduring connections with the whānau they work with, and it is clear that their commitment extends beyond any contract they may have with government.
Despite efforts, disparities are not reducing and the cycle of intergenerational involvement in the system continues
Ultimately, despite the efforts of agencies in the oranga tamariki system, disparities for tamariki and rangatahi Māori persist and are not reducing. This report speaks to a cycle of intergenerational involvement. If government agencies provided the support needed to have positive outcomes, there would also likely be a reduction in intergenerational involvement with the oranga tamariki system. This is one of our pou – our stakes in the ground – that we will continue to monitor over time.
"Just like to grow up successful and if I find the right person, to give my kids what I couldn’t have.”
RANGATAHI
This is our first report on outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi Māori and their whānau and serves as a baseline. Every measure demonstrates that more is needed. Agencies in the oranga tamariki system will need to work together, prioritise services and reduce silos to achieve better outcomes.
“My mentor helped me make my plan and shown me things I can do … make a different path that I want to do … I shared my thoughts, he listened and helped me with a few things that I have problems with, helping me get here.”
“[Youth Aid officer] helped me by giving me a curfew and gave me the letters to write out for the people I stole from ... He keeps me in place pretty much and keeps me where I should be on the right path and not doing bad stuff.”
“They [Papakura Marae] supported me by getting me a job. They support me, they got me a few licences and that, my learners at the moment, yesterday I went for restricted. They help me build up my confidence, like talking to people.”
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1 Ministry of Justice (2024). Youth justice indicators summary report: December 2024 (p. 8). https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Publications/Youth-Justice-Indicators-Summary-Report-December-2024_v1.0.pdf
2 Māori aged 27–30
3 Reil, J., Lambie, I., Becroft, A., & Allen, R. (2022). How we fail children who offend and what to do about it: ‘A breakdown across the whole system’. Research and recommendations. Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation, New Zealand Law Foundation & University of Auckland. https://www.borrinfoundation.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Children-Who-Offend-Final-research-report- March2022.pdf
4 Understanding Policing Delivery Independent Panel (2022). Independent panel report 1. NZ Police (p.41) https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/upd-independent-panel-report-one.pdf