All About Me plan to meet the needs of tamariki and rangatahi

The policy requires us to do a more formal review of the plan every 6 months.  This more formal review can be combined with the review meetings required for court plans or family group conference plans.  Given you will be updating the Tuituia assessment for these meetings it is a good opportunity to test that the All About Me plan continues to align with the goals and objectives of court or family group conference plans.  

Decisions about a change in these goals and objectives have to be made through the usual and agreed mechanisms of re-convening an FGC or court review.

We know that on the way to achieving these goals and objectives, things change for tamariki and rangatahi and adjustments need to be made in the intervening weeks and months. The plan is updated whenever there is a change in circumstance or additional information is obtained that indicates the plan isn’t meeting the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi. This can happen through a hui or individual one-on-one meetings or over the phone depending on the scale of the change and the impact on te tamaiti and those caring for them.

For example:

A caregiver social worker is told by the caregiver that their adult son and grandchild are moving back home. This is a change in circumstances, and therefore a review of caregiver is required along with a review of the potential impact on te tamaiti or rangatahi. After assessment and in consultation with key people, one section of the All About Me plan is updated and everyone receives the updated agreement – this might include others, such as whānau or family if appropriate.

Tuituia framework and domains

Policy: Review of caregiver approval

The plan has to be developed in consultation with tamariki and rangatahi. The Tamariki All About Me plan is more child friendly to ensure tamariki and rangatahi have a copy of their plan that they can understand. Work with the caregiver and/or residential manager to agree where a safe place would be to store this information to protect the privacy of all tamariki and rangatahi in the home or residence. We can give te tamaiti or rangatahi an information pouch to keep this and other information safe.

When developing a relationship with te tamaiti or rangatahi consider exploring ways they can be consulted about who should or shouldn’t have information about them. Listening to and consulting te tamaiti or rangatahi includes ensuring they participate in decision-making. If we decide to go against their wishes we need to record our rationale, how this decision will affect them and how we have explained our decision to them.  

For example: A tamaiti doesn’t want the caregiver to know that they have been sexually abused. Assessment indicates that the impact of the abuse is such that the caregiver needs to know so they are able to support and respond appropriately. Utilising good communication skills explain this to te tamaiti in a way that they can understand. Together work out what information is important to share and what information can remain private. Allow te tamaiti the opportunity to share more detail with the caregiver themselves, when they feel ready.

Explanations need to take into account the age and developmental and communication needs of those we are communicating with. Always check in for understanding and offer opportunities to ask and answer questions. This is not a one-off conversation. Follow up, checking in and explaining what is happening is always ongoing. 

National Care Standards — part 4

Tamariki All About Me plan — child-friendly version

It’s important to support caregivers by providing them with information that will help them to understand the needs of tamariki and rangatahi and enable them to understand their role and responsibilities in meeting the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi in their care. This information should be provided to the caregiver before te tamaiti or rangatahi is placed with them. Where there are gaps, missing information needs to be provided to the caregiver as soon as possible, after it is obtained. The allocated social worker and caregiver social worker should work together to this end.

It is important to acknowledge when the caregiver is whānau and the information may already be known — however, to be sure, check this out with the whānau caregiver.

All About Me plan and caregiver support plan

There is a close relationship between the All About Me plan for te tamaiti and the caregiver support plan, which will reflect the development and support to be provided to the caregiver to enable them to meet the particular needs of te tamaiti. The allocated social worker and caregiver social worker should work together to this end. Where te tamaiti is being cared for by a care provider, the responsibilities of the caregiver social worker will be assumed by the care provider. 

Policy: Caregiver support

Whānau are entitled to receive all relevant information in the plan to support those areas they will being playing a role in. However we also need to balance the right to privacy with the need to share enough information to ensure the plans succeed in addressing needs and to maintain safety and wellbeing for te tamaiti.

For example: a rangatahi may not want their religion or spirituality shared with certain whānau if they feel it will cause disappointment or conflict, especially if they have decided to break away from the religious tradition of the whānau or family.

Other people may only need to receive some of the information that is recorded in the plan.

For example: a professional focused on helping a rangatahi gain employment may not need medical information especially if it doesn’t impact on the capacity of te rangatahi to work.

Not everyone needs to receive all sections of the written plan. It is important to retain the privacy of tamariki and other individuals when sharing information about them and their whānau, hapū and iwi. It is also important to consider any restrictions of information the Family Court or family group conference have agreed to.

When sharing with tamariki/rangatahi use the Tamariki All About Me version. This will allow social workers to explain the details of the plan in a way that meets their developmental needs. If rangatahi do not want this version and prefer the All About Me plan instead provide them with a copy of this.

In some cases it may be appropriate to share the All About Me plan with Children’s Counsel. This should be managed on a case-by-case basis with a focus on what elements of the plan are appropriate to share. Any sharing of the Tamariki All About Me Plan should be done with the knowledge and agreement of te tamaiti.

Tamariki All About Me plan — child-friendly version

Policy: Sharing information