Guidance
Assessing the needs of tamariki and rangatahi in care
Tamariki and rangatahi in care often have complex needs. We use Te Puna Oranga to understand the strengths of te tamaiti or rangatahi alongside the challenges faced by them.Updates made to this guidance
Changes have been made to a number of pages on the Practice Centre to align with the practice approach. Specific changes include:
- Tiaki Oranga replaces the safety and risk screen, and is now being used throughout the life of a case, across service lines whenever we need to understand current safety.
- All references to the Tuituia domains and subdomains have been removed and we now promote the use of Te Puna Oranga and our models, tools and resources to build and deepen our understanding.
- The Tuituia report has been replaced with the assessment report.
Helping tamariki and rangatahi reach their full potential
Helping tamariki and rangatahi to reach their full potential requires us to listen to them, maintain a focus on them and strive to understand them. Tamariki and rangatahi who are or have been in care often have complex and serious needs.
To respond to these needs and work to build a positive future we need to have a current, comprehensive picture of the strengths of te tamaiti or rangatahi along with the challenges faced by them.
We need to:
- recognise and acknowledge the strengths of te tamaiti or rangatahi
- support te tamaiti or rangatahi to overcome any barriers that might prevent them from reaching their goals
- assist te tamaiti or rangatahi to build their own network of support for the future
- strengthen their connection to whakapapa, identity and belonging
- support others to fulfil their whanaungatanga responsibilities to te tamaiti or rangatahi.
With tamariki, rangatahi, whānau or family and others, we seek to:
- understand the history of the case, and locate the current risks, issues and concerns within that context
- understand the strengths of te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family and the areas to build on
- identify goals and possible solutions
- articulate what progress and success might look like to make a decision about the next steps.
An emphasis on participation
Assessment of needs must involve building and deepening our understanding with te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family and others. It's not our role to be the expert in this assessment and we work in partnership with te tamaiti or rangatahi, their family, whānau, iwi and professionals.
Te tamaiti or rangatahi and the important people in their life should have significant input to the assessment of their needs and the resulting plans that support te tamaiti or rangatahi, their whānau or family and their caregiver. Part 4 of the National Care Standards requires us to include the views of te tamaiti or rangatahi, and their whānau, hapū, iwi, along with their caregiver, and other professionals that are knowledgeable about and important to te tamaiti or rangatahi.
Remember, every engagement with te tamaiti or rangatahi is an opportunity to assess their changing needs and update their All About Me plan, including the Tamariki All About Me version of the plan.
Using Te Puna Oranga to assess the needs of tamariki and rangatahi
Te Puna Oranga is the key assessment framework used to assess the needs of tamariki and rangatahi, including those tamariki and rangatahi who are in care.
We plan our mahi using Te Puna Oranga to support purposeful engagement. Identify the dimensions of oranga that need to go deeper and be clear about the areas that are of less concern.
The areas that need to be covered in the needs assessment for tamariki and rangatahi in care are:
- identity and cultural needs
- need to maintain connections with their family, whānau, hapū, iwi, and family group
- safety needs
- behavioural needs
- play, recreation, and community needs
- emotional needs
- educational or training needs
- health needs
- needs relating to any disability
- how often they should be visited by a visitor.
These are outlined in regulation 10 of the National Care Standards.
Matters that must be identified in needs assessment – regulation 10 of National Care Standards
The National Care Standards needs assessments areas don't automatically map to the oranga domains. The following guidance is designed to help navigate how to assess the relevant areas and where to record the information.
Using the assessment report to support planning
The assessment report should be used at the end of building and deepening our understanding of needs. This articulation of needs will be used to support the development of the All About Me plan for te tamaiti or rangatahi. The All About Me plan describes how we are supporting and responding to the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi in the custody or care of the Oranga Tamariki chief executive in line with the National Care Standards. The Tamariki All About Me version of the plan provides information in the plan to te tamaiti or rangatahi in a form appropriate to their age and developmental level.
The assessment report will also be used to support the development of the caregiver support plan, and may be used to inform the caregiver assessment of a potential caregiver (when the caregiver has been identified specifically for this tamaiti or rangatahi).
The All About Me plan, the Tamariki All About Me version of the plan, and the caregiver support plan work together to support the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi and enable the caregiver to best care for te tamaiti or rangatahi.