Guidance
Sole parent or carer imprisoned
Tamariki and rangatahi have the right to safe, nurturing care while their sole parent or carer is imprisoned. The alternative carer chosen by their parent or guardian needs to be able to meet their needs and provide safe, stable care.Our role
When a sole parent or carer is imprisoned or is likely to be imprisoned, our role is to ensure that the alternative carer has the capability, capacity and support they need to meet the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi and provide them with safe, stable care while the sole parent or carer is imprisoned.
Our consideration of the care arrangement must balance the right of the parents or guardians to determine care arrangements for their tamaiti or rangatahi with the right of te tamaiti or rangatahi to safe and stable care.
We should ensure we understand the existing custody arrangements for te tamaiti or rangatahi and who has the legal right to care for them. It’s important that we know about any court orders in place, including orders under the Care of Children Act 2004, Adoption Act 1955 or Family Violence Act 2018. This will help us ensure we are engaging with the right people.
Guardians have the rights, powers and responsibilities to make major decisions about the upbringing of te tamaiti or rangatahi, including where they live, their education, and healthcare. A change in carer may impact on aspects of upbringing that guardians have rights and responsibilities for – they should be consulted about the alternative care arrangement and have their views taken into account.
We consult with Legal if:
- we believe contact with the guardian is not in the best interests of te tamaiti or rangatahi, or
- there is conflict between guardians about the alternative care arrangements.
Supporting practice
Our practice is supported by our practice framework (encompassing our models and practice standards), our care standards, and tools and resources.
Definitions
Sole parent or carer means:
- single parent not in a relationship
- sole parent where there is a non-biologically related adult in the household with no formal relationship to the tamariki or rangatahi – for example, parent is in an undefined cohabiting relationship
- non-biologically related adult with formal relationship to te tamaiti or rangatahi – for example, adoption, foster, step-parent
- sole carer with no legal mandate – for example, whāngai.
Imprisoned means remanded in custody or serving a prison sentence.
Initial assessment
We undertake an initial assessment to determine whether a section 17 investigation (or assessment) is necessary or desirable in response to a report of concern for a tamaiti or rangatahi whose sole parent or carer is, or is likely to be, imprisoned. The initial assessment includes:
- engagement with the sole parent or carer, whānau or family, alternative carer and, where appropriate, te tamaiti or rangatahi
- consideration of the information, expertise and knowledge shared by the Multi-Agency Hub.
Multi-Agency Hub
The Multi-Agency Hub provides critical information and insights for all reports of concern relating to tamariki and rangatahi whose sole parent or carer is imprisoned or likely to be imprisoned. This informs our initial assessment to determine whether a section 17 investigation (or assessment) is necessary or desirable.
The Multi-Agency Hub is made up of Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Development, Health New Zealand, Ara Poutama Corrections and New Zealand Police. It operates during business hours from Monday to Friday.
The expertise and knowledge of the partner agencies is shared to build collective understanding of:
- the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi
- any harm or risk of harm, and protective factors
- the alternative carer’s ability to meet identified needs, alongside the sole parent or carer, guardian and whānau or family
- the impact on the caring household.
Reports of concern received at a site that relate to sole parent or carer imprisonment are sent to contact@ot.govt.nz and marked ‘Attention Multi-Agency Hub’.
Decision response pathways
Following our initial assessment, we use the intake decision response tool to help us decide the appropriate decision response pathway.
Overview of the intake decision response tool
We record the decision response and the rationale for the decision response pathway in the ‘Decision response and response timeframe’ casenote. We include the information and insights that we have based our decision on.
No Further Action (NFA)
No further action can only be selected as the response pathway for a report of concern relating to a sole parent or carer who is imprisoned or likely to be imprisoned following engagement with the sole parent or carer, whānau or family, alternative carer and, where appropriate, te tamaiti or rangatahi.
Refer to services
Referral to services can only be made for a report of concern for a sole parent or carer who is imprisoned or likely to be imprisoned with agreement from the alternative carer and once we have established that the service provider can deliver the service within a timeframe that will meet the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi and their carer.
When referring to an appropriate community agency for practical support and advocacy during the imprisonment period, we work with the alternative carer along with the sole parent or carer, whānau and family to make the referral, including all relevant information.
Core assessment – child and family assessment or investigation
When a decision response of FAR–Child and Family Assessment or FAR–Investigation is determined for a report of concern for a sole parent or carer who is imprisoned or likely to be imprisoned, the core assessment will always be completed. These decision responses cannot be amended at site to No Further Action or Refer to Service.
Core assessment practice focus when a sole parent or carer is imprisoned or likely to be imprisoned
Our core assessment requires us to build and deepen our understanding of:
- current and future oranga of te tamaiti or rangatahi, including safety and harm or the likelihood of harm
- whether te tamaiti or rangatahi has needs that require addressing, including:
- health, education and disability
- connection with their whānau or family
- behaviour.
Our practice focus for te tamaiti or rangatahi whose sole parent or carer is imprisoned or likely to be imprisoned is whether their alternative carer has the capacity, capability and support they need to meet the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi while the sole parent or carer is imprisoned.
This will include consideration of:
- individual needs of all tamariki or rangatahi who will be cared for by the carer in the home (including any tamariki and rangatahi of the carer)
- capacity of the carer to meet the individual and collective needs of the tamariki and rangatahi in the home
- needs, strengths and oranga of the carer and the whānau or family
- informal and formal resources available to support the carer and the caring whānau or family.
Recording sole parent imprisonment
Report of concern
When a report of concern relates to a sole parent or carer being imprisoned or likely to be imprisoned, we record it as a section 15 and select the intake type 'Sole parent newly incarcerated'.
Person characteristic
A person characteristic is added to all the tamariki and rangatahi of sole parents or carers who are imprisoned or likely to be imprisoned. For each tamaiti or rangatahi, we select 'Sole parent incarcerated' from the person characteristics list. Include the name of the sole parent or carer imprisoned, the location of the prison they are currently in, and the period of imprisonment.
This person characteristic should be made inactive once a sole parent or carer is no longer imprisoned.