This increase has raised concerns among abuse survivors and child welfare advocates, with worries that it goes against advice put forward by the landmark Abuse in Care inquiry, which released its findings yesterday.

In the financial year ending mid-2024, 1313 children were placed in state care, according to provisional data, up from 1082 in the previous period. Read more

An Independent Children's Monitor report, Returning Home From Care, looks at experiences and practices when children and young people's parents care for them while in state custody.

Report findings

As at 30 June 2022, 627 children and young people in care (12 percent) were living at home while in state custody.

The report says planning is important to success when the child or young person goes home. However, it says it found almost half the home stays were unplanned.

The Returning Home From Care policy used at the time recommended children be visited weekly for the first four weeks. The report says only 19 percent of children received these visits.

The report also says the children and young people whose return home was unplanned were visited less frequently during the first four weeks than those whose return was planned.

The report says that barriers arising from communication, collaboration, funding and inconsistent policies also pose problems.

These problems included long waiting lists for assessments and specialised support - like alcohol and drug counselling - for parents.

Data on children in state care successfully returning home was limited.

The report says Oranga Tamariki was unable to provide details about how many children and young people were removed from their parents' care following a return home.

Going home - pros and cons

Aroturuki Tamariki Independent Children's Monitor chief executive Arran Jones says the goal is for those in care to return home as long as it is assessed as safe.

"We heard that for many tamariki (children), rangatahi (young people) and whanau (familes), the supports and services are not in place," Jones said.

"Our report found that planning is important to the success of tamariki returning home, however, data shows that almost half of these are unplanned.

"Some of those unplanned returns may be rangatahi voting with their feet, but it is important that social workers are checking on the safety of tamariki and rangatahi.

"We also heard that communication, collaboration and funding across the social sector were barriers to success. Lack of co-ordination in the policies and practice of government agencies was also identified as a barrier to a successful return home."

Jones says there was room to do better for the sake of children and their parents.

Improvements promised

Oranga Tamariki's Nicolette Dickson says work is underway to address many of the report findings.

These include developing new policy and supporting guidance for social workers when determining how and when to support children in state care to return home, and the way transitions from one environment to the other occur.

Technology systems are also being upgraded, Dickson says.

Oranga Tamariki's strategies to simplify core processes and systems include working with other agencies to deliver Oranga Tamariki's Action Plan best.

Oranga Tamariki is developing an information-sharing process with the Ministry of Social Development to fast-track eligible families' position on the public housing register.

Source

• RNZ

Eivers' comment comes as abuse of New Zealand children in state care keeps increasing.

Oranga Tamariki's new Safety of Children in Care Report says almost 500 were harmed in 2020-21 alone.

The reported statistics are an indictment on the system of care, Eivers says.

"At a time when the state needs to be improving the outcomes for our young people, we as a country are moving backwards.

"Behind every statistic is a mokopuna, a child being harmed or hurt and a family, a whanau, under stress, and that is shameful.

"I am especially concerned that physical harm has increased in the context of young people being physically restrained often where there is no mandate to use force and often the holds were applied incorrectly, and the young person was harmed as a result or when unlawful physical actions were used by the staff member."

Eivers says under her powers as Commissioner, she will be asking Oranga Tamariki to report further on the degree of harm experienced by children.

"I look forward to this dialogue," she says.

Leaving State care for home doesn't mean kids will be any safer, the report notes. The statistics on parents physically harming them haven't improved.

The report's shameful statistics

• 289 children suffered 344 incidences of physical harm
• 183 children suffered 252 incidences of emotional harm
• 77 suffered 88 incidences of sexual harm
• 58 cases of neglect in 34 children
• 27 cases of staff in residences causing harm to teenagers they were restraining.
• More harm was done to children older than 10 than to younger ones.
• Maori and Pasifika suffered disproportionately.

According to the independent Children's Monitor (ICM), Oranga Tamariki was fully compliant just two per cent of the time across all 12 of its own practice requirements. It was compliant across six or more practice requirements three quarters of the time.

The ICM says Oranga Tamariki's poor self-monitoring makes gauging its performance impossible.

"In nearly two-thirds of cases, Tamariki are not visited as often as outlined in their plan. This means there may not be opportunities to continue assessing their safety, wellbeing and health and education needs."

The agency cannot report on Tamariki's access to health services, whether they are informed of and understand their rights; or whether caregivers are given appropriate training and information about the Tamariki they care for.

Children's advocacy group Whakarongo Mai has similar concerns.

It also notes "important assessments around wellbeing, including cultural, health (physical and mental) and transition to independence are largely not being completed".

Where to from here

Eivers says family violence, education and mental wellbeing are key priorities for her as Children's Commissioner.

"I will be ensuring a laser-like focus in my advocacy in this area.

"Our mokopuna, our children deserve better. The release of this report is the wake up call for us as a country to address this huge issue."

Source

• 1News
• Voxy
• Image: Stuff

Of the 27 children who have died since April 2017, five died by suicide, 15 from natural causes, five from accidents, and two as a result of child abuse, homicide or manslaughter.

University of Otago associate social work professor Nicola Atwool told the Herald the numbers reflect how the care system is struggling.

"The high suicide rate, there are a number of explanations, and often people blame the experiences that led to younger people being in care for that vulnerability. But in actual fact, it's usually a combination." Read more