Korowai Manaaki in south Auckland can house 46 young offenders. Photo: RNZ / Philippa Tolley
Staff at an Auckland youth justice facility are smuggling in contraband, roughing up children, and silencing any informants, a damning report from the Children and Young People's Commission has found.
Mana Mokopuna conducted an unannounced visit to Korowai Manaaki in Wiri in February due to concerns raised with the commission by members of the public.
The report, released in June, showed that goings-on at the facility did not reach the threshold for torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
However, there were serious concerns regarding staff practices and a lack of stable leadership.
Between October 2023 and February 2024, there were more than 20 recorded incidents of young offenders found either smoking or in possession of drugs.
"As well as matches and lighters, mokopuna are making their own ignition devices that pose a personal safety and fire hazard risk," the report read.
Staff at Korowai Manaaki were reported to "bring contraband into the residence, physically handle young offenders inappropriately, allow the use of personal mobile phones, engage in play fighting, use inappropriate language, and discourage young offenders from speaking out".
The commission found staff members were 'buying' good behaviour from offenders with food and hygiene care items.
"Kaimahi also disclosed that some colleagues buy compliance by asking for 'rent' such as used vapes and other contraband from mokopuna to keep the appearance of being on top of the contraband issue."
Some staff members were found to be keeping close relationships with the young offenders in the facility, exchanging social media contacts, or not reporting sexual advances from offenders, the report said.
The lack of proper staff training was also an issue raised. The report said induction training was not fit for purpose, and many staff did not have the experience necessary to work with vulnerable young offenders.
It said, on many occasions, it was difficult for the investigators to distinguish young offenders from facility workers.
"As a result of kaimahi and mokopuna being close in age, some kaimahi treat mokopuna as peers to build rapport, which is leading to blurred boundaries and many kaimahi using the word 'corrupt' to describe the current operational environment in the residence."
Although staffing levels had improved, many kaimahi said this was not sufficient for them to do their job well once rostered on to the units, the report said.
"One said that the induction training does not prepare them for the realities of working and engaging with mokopuna and especially those with high and complex needs and who have had a range of adverse childhood experiences."
When the commission visited, 28 young offenders were at the unit designated as Secure Care. Photo: RNZ Insight/Philippa Tolley
Mental health concerns
Korowai Manaaki has 46 beds and is made up of five units.
At the time of the commission's visit, in February, 28 young offenders were at the unit designated as Secure Care.
Seclusion was found to be used as a de-escalation tactic for offenders with severe mental health issues.
The report said the facility was not set up to meet the needs of youth offenders with mental health issues.
"There is a critical lack of mental health trained or experienced kaimahi who can support these mokopuna therapeutically," it said.
"With a lack of specifically skilled kaimahi, resources, or equipment, detailed plans covering individual mokopuna mental health needs become redundant and the best kaimahi can do is contact on-call crisis teams when mokopuna escalate."
It found that staff were giving MP3 players to suicidal youth offenders, despite risk assessments prohibiting the use of the player or headphones.
Advocates prevented from entering units
The commission also found essential independent advocates were not always able to speak with mokopuna at the facility.
There were some occasions where they were prevented from entering units, "resulting in prolonged periods between visits for some mokopuna", its report said.
It was also told of instances where young offenders were prevented from accessing the grievance forms or were discouraged from doing so by staff working in the facility.
"Many kaimahi referred to the forms as 'snitch forms' which can deter young people from using them to voice their concerns."
Several young offenders had not been visited by their Oranga Tamariki social workers for months, and workers said social workers did not always attend court appearances, medical appointments or assessment meetings.
"Kaimahi reported that some social workers only provide updates when prompted and do not always make the effort to visit mokopuna, even when they are based in the local area."
Lack of Māori representation
Mokopuna Māori continued to be overrepresented in places of detention, including in Korowai Manaaki, the report found.
It said minimal emphasis was placed on reducing those disparities or promoting the rights of mokopuna Māori when they were in residence.
The report found Korowai Manaaki no longer had a kaiwhakaue - a person responsible for staff training, mentoring, and support.
With that role vacant, the commission said the facility did not have the capability to support kaimahi to meet their requirements under section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act, which outlines requirements for the agency to improve outcomes for tamariki Māori.
The finding comes as an urgent Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into the repeal of section 7AA is underway.
Oranga Tamariki has accepted the commission's recommendations. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Staffing issues
The commission also found staff practice at the facility was inconsistent.
Korowai Manaaki had four residence managers since July 2023, and the lack of stability resulted in kaimahi needing to adapt to different leadership styles and expectations, the report found.
Staff members still did not have a clear understanding of what good practice looked like at Korowai Manaaki, it said.
"Some kaimahi hold the view that the purpose of the residence is to secure and contain mokopuna, whilst other kaimahi envisage a trauma-informed, therapeutic environment that provides support."
Some staff told the commission they were not there to 'punish' mokopuna, whilst others saw themselves as 'babysitters,' simply there to provide an adult presence in the units.
"Multiple kaimahi described the culture as 'corrupt' with a lack of transparency across all levels. Without clear guidance from the residence management team and Oranga Tamariki National Office, kaimahi have been left to fill the void with their own ideas and ways of operating."
Recommendations
Of all the 10 recommendations made by the commission to Korowai Manaaki in 2022, only one had good progress since - to ensure all staff received the full Te Waharoa Induction Programme before working in open units.
Four recommendations had no progress, including developing a nationwide package of training programmes, reviewing the grievance process, and reducing the high use of the Secure Care unit, restraint holds, and searches.
This time, Mana Mokopuna made 11 recommendations to the facility, including implementing ways to mitigate contraband, providing suitable support for children with high and complex mental health needs, and reviewing its recruitment strategy.
Oranga Tamariki accepted all of the recommendations.
"It was pleasing to note that the threshold for torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment was not met during the visit to Korowai Manaaki," the agency's deputy chief executive Nicolette Dickson said.
"The concerns [raised] and a lack of stable leadership are acknowledged, and we are continuing to work hard to address these."
She said some of the interactions described between rangatahi and kaimahi in the report were of real concern.
"Where [the] team identified more specific safety and wellbeing concerns, immediate steps have been taken to ensure that these are being fully addressed."
Dickson said the Korowai Manaaki team was working closely with Corrections to develop a memorandum of understanding for the use of drug dogs for search purposes.