Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The Chief Ombudsman has issued more scathing criticism of Oranga Tamariki - this time over failing to properly investigate reports of assault and violence against young children.
Peter Boshier called for sweeping changes at the agency in February, saying the agency was failing to follow its own laws in a way that was totally unacceptable for a government agency.
He's now completed fresh investigation into claims Oranga Tamariki didn't appropriately respond to reports of abuse against pre-school and primary-aged children.
Boshier said the agency received nine reports of concern from family members and professionals about the treatment of children in one family by the mother's partner between January 2022 and July 2023.
"A thorough investigation of these reports was clearly required for the safety of the children but Oranga Tamariki repeatedly failed to do this.
"When it did investigate, it didn't investigate properly. The Ministry had photographic evidence and corroborative reports from other parties but still took no action."
The Chief Ombudsman said he found a "series of failures" by Oranga Tamariki from beginning to end.
"For instance, it closed complaints without assessing them properly in the initial stages, it incorrectly advised the Family Court that there had been no family harm incidents in a period of more than a year, and it did not adhere to its own policy on making and monitoring safety plans.
"One safety plan included inappropriate requirements for the children to take action to ensure their own safety. Oranga Tamariki failed to ask the children for their views about their safety and made short term assessments which did not take into account broader violence risk factors.
"The situation left the children at serious risk and culminated in an alleged attempted kidnapping of one child and the alleged kidnapping of another child who was a relative."
Boshier said Oranga Tamariki told him it had developed a more robust safety plan during his investigation but two follow up inquiries showed this was still falling short.
He said the agency said the safety plan was working well but it was being reconsidered within a fortnight after a breach.
There was another breach three days later and the children were now in the care of their father, Boshier said.
He said his final opinion was that Oranga Tamariki acted unreasonably and contrary to law in the way it responded to repeated reports of concern.
He has made a number of recommendations the agency has accepted including undertaking an immediate and thorough assessment of the children's safety, an apology and financial remedy to the complainant for costs they incurred in seeking to ensure the children's safety through the Family Court, an audit of similar cases, training for staff, and changes to Oranga Tamariki policy and process.
"Since I became Chief Ombudsman, Oranga Tamariki has come to my attention for all the wrong reasons.
"I published a report earlier this year that outlined some of the cases I've dealt with, where system and process failures were common. I said then that I could not provide an assurance that Oranga Tamariki is consistently operating in accordance with good administrative practice. I'm afraid I still can't provide that reassurance."
Oranga Tamariki response
In a statement, Oranga Tamariki deputy chief executive Rachel Leota said it acknowledged the Ombudsman's final opinion in relation to this case.
"We accept that we failed to appropriately address and respond to reports of concern regarding the safety of the tamariki in this matter who were brought to our attention by a family member.
"We have offered an unreserved apology to the complainant both in writing and in person."
Nine of the Ombudsman's 10 recommendations in relation to this case had been actioned and addressed, including engaging with the whānau to ensure the ongoing safety of the tamariki as well as providing detailed updates to the Ombudsman, Leota said.
"We have also undertaken an audit of similar cases, provided additional training for staff, and made changes to our policy and process in relation to reports of concern.
"The final recommendation involves developing and publishing [an] updated initial assessment policy, which will be completed in early 2025. This work is underway, and has already led to improvements being implemented, such as requiring supervisor oversight of all assessment decisions made by the National Contact Centre."
Changes need to be made - Minister for Children
Minister for Children Karen Chhour said Oranga Tamariki's failure to look after children in their care is disappointing and falls short of expected standards.
"I have made my expectations clear that Oranga Tamariki needs to own this accountability."
And while the organisation has assured the minister that they have addressed nine out of the 10 concerns raised in the report, which covered the time period from January 2022 to July 2023, changes to practice and processes still need to be made to regain the public's trust.
"I think we can get there by making sure they are always able to focus on their number one priority - keeping our children safe," Chhour said.
To ensure this happens, she said new key performance indicators have been set for the organisation, which includes improvements to the frequency of visits to children in care, timeliness around reports of concern, supporting caregivers, improving complaint management and practices, and addressing youth offending.
"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."
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