Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Oranga Tamariki has been given five new reporting instructions by the Children's Minister, including how many children in care access a social worker in a two-month period.
How the ministry is performing across these new criteria will be publicly reported every quarter starting from the 2024/2025 financial year.
Minister Karen Chhour, in a letter to the chief executive Chappie Te Kani, said both her and New Zealanders are deeply concerned about Oranga Tamariki's performance.
"My first and most important priority is to ensure Oranga Tamariki is relentlessly focused on the safety of children and young people in its care.
"Too many children in the care of their family, or their caregivers, die every year in this country. It is a national disgrace," Chhour said.
"In order to provide greater transparency about its performance, I have instructed Oranga Tamariki to report quarterly, starting from the 2024/25 financial year, on the following key performance indicators:"
- Frequency of visits to children in care: the percentage of children in care who have been visited by their social worker at least once in the last eight weeks to ensure their ongoing safety and wellbeing
- Timeliness around Reports of Concern: percentage of critical (within 24 hours) and very urgent (within 48 hours) Reports of Concern that are addressed within these timeframes
- Supporting caregivers: results of a rolling survey of Oranga Tamariki caregivers, which asks whether caregivers feel supported, whether they would recommend becoming a caregiver, and whether they are thinking about stopping being a caregiver
- Improving complaint management and practices: the proportion of complaints audited that were handled in a way that fully met Oranga Tamariki standards
- Addressing youth offending: a 15 percent reduction in the total number of children and young people with serious and persistent offending behaviour.
Chhour said improving Oranga Tamariki's performance starts with "good accountable leadership" but up until now there has been plenty of "finger-pointing" when there's a failure but no clarity about who is actually responsible.
"A new approach is required. Key performance indicators and quarterly reporting, to the public, will encourage accountability and better performance in the entire organisation."