Caregiver review meetings

Before the review meeting

Before you visit, make sure that the caregiver knows:

• what the review is about
• what the potential outcomes might be.

Who to talk to

You must meet with all of the approved caregivers at the caregiving home.

If the caregivers have tamariki or rangatahi, or there are other adults living in the home, it's a good idea to talk with them as well and explore their views about having other tamariki and rangatahi in the home. Include their responses in the review.

What to discuss

The purpose of the review meeting is to:

• review the caregiver's approval status
• ensure that they are willing and able to meet the needs of the tamariki and rangatahi in their care
• identify what support or capability building the caregiver and their household might need to help them provide care.

It's also a good time to recognise the caregiver’s strengths and to affirm them in their demanding role.

Tools to help you

Te Puna Oranga or the three houses might be useful for guiding your review.

Oranga-framed practice prompts

Three Houses engagement tool

The tamariki and rangatahi in their care

Discuss the challenges and joys of the individual tamariki or rangatahi living with the caregiver. This might identify training needs for the caregiver or concerns for the tamariki or rangatahi.

You will also need to spend time with the social workers of the tamariki and rangatahi living with the caregiver. You might want to do this before your review visit so that you can discuss any difficulties with the caregiver or pass on any compliments.

If there any issues between the social worker and caregiver, you might need to organise a mediation meeting between them.

The caregiver's current situation

Ask the caregiver to update you on their current situation and note changes since the last review. Cover the same areas as the initial caregiver assessment, such as work, home situation, who is living in the home.

Encourage the caregiver to speak openly and frankly about issues and stressors affecting their whānau or family, including:

• health problems
• personal issues
• financial stresses
• relationship worries.

How are these stressors impacting on the caregiver's willingness and ability to provide care?

Their future plans

Talk with the caregiver about their plans for the future — note any anticipated changes to the household and discuss how these might affect their role as a caregiver. 

Their needs

Spend some time focusing on the needs of the caregiver and their whānau or family.

You may have had discussions during the year about respite care or childcare, or the caregiver may have asked for your assistance in some way. Have the needs of the caregiver been met, and if not, how could their needs be met? Does the caregiver need to take a break, have specialist training or receive in-home support?

Talk with them about their training needs and make sure that they are receiving the training calendar and any Oranga Tamariki caregiver publications.

Changes in preferences

When the caregiver was assessed, they made have indicated a preference for providing care for a particular group of tamariki or rangatahi. Ask the caregiver if this is still their preference.

If they're considering a change, they will need a new caregiver assessment and may require additional support or capability building.

After the review meeting

You'll need to keep a written record of the information you gathered and what you discussed with the caregiver.

After the caregiver review