Guidance
Determining the frequency of visits to tamariki and rangatahi in care
The needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi will determine how frequently they are visited by their social worker while in care.Why we visit tamariki and rangatahi
A key focus of visiting te tamaiti or rangatahi is to build and deepen our understanding of their oranga and their needs, including:
- what things are going well for te tamaiti or rangatahi
- any concerns te tamaiti or rangatahi may have
- discussing things that are important to te tamaiti or rangatahi
- considering whether the situation for them has changed and what may need to occur as a result
- progress with the All About Me plan for te tamaiti or rangatahi.
Determining how often te tamaiti or rangatahi needs to be visited
The National Care Standards require that we identify how often te tamaiti or rangatahi should be visited based on their individual needs. Visiting frequency needs to be reviewed regularly and updated as the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi change.
We need to consider:
- their views and wishes
- the views and wishes of their whānau or family and their caregiver
- the stability of the care arrangement and connections they have with other signficant people in their lives
- how events in their lives may be impacting on their oranga.
Situations where visits may be required more frequently include:
- where the social worker does not yet have a well-established relationship with te tamaiti or rangatahi
- when the care arrangement is new and te tamaiti or rangatahi is still settling into their new living situation
- where te tamaiti or rangatahi is feeling unsettled and in need of support at key transitions in their life.
Situations where visits may not be needed as frequently could include:
- te tamaiti or rangatahi is well established in their caregiving whānau or family
- the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi are being met
- te tamaiti or rangatahi is strongly attached to their wider whānau or family and they themselves do not want the intrusion of a social worker in their lives.
Sometimes there may be a need to engage with te tamaiti or rangatahi more frequently for a short period of time. This is likely to be when circumstances surrounding te tamaiti or rangatahi change unexpectedly or the plan is not effectively meeting their needs – for example:
- an increased risk of suicide or self-harm
- non-attendance at school
- a change in care arrangement or caregiver
- a traumatic event occurring in the life of te tamaiti or rangatahi, their whānau or family or caregiving family
- services identified in a plan not able to be secured, or
- an allegation of abuse or harm requiring investigation.
If the circumstances for te tamaiti or rangatahi change or their needs escalate quickly, it's appropriate that the social worker engages with them more frequently without completing an assessment report or updating their All About Me plan.
During these visits, continue to consider whether the visiting frequency is meeting their needs. Once the situation stabilises or the issue is resolved, we reconsider their needs for visiting frequency, taking into account the recent events, and involving the views of te tamaiti or rangatahi and significant others.
The agreed frequency of visiting should not be permanently altered without the involvement of te tamaiti or rangatahi, whānau or family, the caregiver and significant others involved in their life. This change will be supported by an assessment report and updated in their All About Me plan.
When tamariki return home after a period of time in care
When tamariki or rangatahi return home after a period of time in care, the transitions within care policy requires the social worker to determine the frequency of visits required based on the needs recorded in the All About Me plan. Because the first 4 weeks following the return home is a time of increased vulnerability, consider visiting at least once a week during that time.
Policy: Transitions within care
The views and wishes of te tamaiti or rangatahi
It's important that the views and wishes of te tamaiti or rangatahi are taken into account when determining how often they will be visited, the arrangements and circumstances.
If te tamaiti or rangatahi expresses a view that they don't wish to be visited regularly, this will need to be balanced with the social worker's assessment of their needs – the social worker will need to explore options for how the visits are undertaken to make it as acceptable to te tamaiti or rangatahi as possible.
Policy: Visiting and engaging with tamariki in care
The views of the whānau or family
Whānau or family will also have an important view of the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi and how often visiting will support them in their care arrangement and with their All About Me plan.
Seek to understand the views of the whānau or family regarding the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi and how often they think visiting will be beneficial.
Information regarding the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi
When determining how often to visit, it's important we consider:
- the oranga of te tamaiti or rangatahi with a focus of their safety, vulnerability, risk of harm and protective factors
- what is happening in the life of te tamaiti or rangatahi at the moment, for example whether it's stable or chaotic, whether there are issues/trauma that need addressing, whether transitions are planned or underway, whether there are concerns about the safety or behaviour of te tamaiti or rangatahi, whether there are any concerns for te tamaiti or rangatahi in their care arrangement
- how effective the plan is in meeting the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi
- what supportive relationships exist for te tamaiti or rangatahi – whether there is an existing network of adults that can provide support/monitoring and guidance, or whether this is a key role the social worker needs to take at this time
- what whakapapa and whanaungatanga relationships already exist that might be significant and contribute to oranga and monitoring and therefore influence how often we might need to visit
- how much they understand about what is happening for them and if they need support to have an age-appropriate understanding.
The social worker's relationship with te tamaiti or rangatahi and their role in the plan
When determining how often to visit, it's important we consider:
- if we have built a relationship with te tamaiti or rangatahi so that they know who we are, they know how to contact us, how we will work with them and our role in their lives and how often we need to visit to maintain that relationship in a meaningful way
- what is required in respect to our role with the plan for te tamaiti or rangatahi and how actively we need to be involved.
The views of the caregiver, caregiver social worker, or care partner
When determining how often to visit, it's important we consider the following:
- What level of support and visiting the caregiver feels is needed to support te tamaiti or rangatahi in their care – is there anything happening in the caregiving home that impacts on the need for visiting te tamaiti or rangatahi? In exploring this with the caregiver, it will be important to understand 'why' the caregiver feels a visit from a social worker is necessary, ensuring that this is focused on the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi. If the caregiver has additional support needs, it may be more appropriate that these are addressed via the caregiver social worker rather than the social worker for te tamaiti or rangatahi.
- The caregiver social worker – in providing support to caregivers, they need to be working closely with the allocated social worker as they build and deepen their understanding of the support needs of both te tamaiti or rangatahi and the caregiver. The caregiver social worker may have information about the caregiver or circumstances within the caregiver's home that should also inform our determination of how frequently te tamaiti or rangatahi needs to be visited.
- If te tamaiti or rangatahi is placed with a care partner (section 396 provider) but still within the care of custody of Oranga Tamariki, the views of the care partner and the caregiver caring for te tamaiti or rangatahi will need to be obtained about the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi and the frequency of visiting required.
The circumstances of the care arrangement
We need to consider the nature of the care arrangement, such as short term (was known as transitional) or permanent, planned or unplanned, along with how recently te tamaiti or rangatahi moved to the care arrangement and its stability. Remember, if the care arrangement has 'provisional approval' under regulation 51 of the National Care Standards, we need to ensure the care arrangement is closely monitored and frequency of visiting is likely to be increased to reflect this. Who te tamaiti or rangatahi is living with (whānau or family, family home, care partner, residence) may also influence our visiting frequency – for example, if te tamaiti or rangatahi is in a residence, visiting may be less frequent due to the role of other professionals on a daily basis.
Recording visiting frequency
Your built understanding and analysis of the required frequency of visits is recorded in an assessment report. It is also recorded in the All About Me plan for te tamaiti or rangatahi (including the Tamariki All About Me plan) and the caregiver support plan.
The rationale for the frequency of visiting, which is approved by a supervisor, is also recorded in the supervision phase casenotes.
Policy: Visiting and engaging with tamariki in care
All About Me plan to meet the needs of tamariki