Guidance
Financial support for tamariki and rangatahi in care
Oranga Tamariki supports tamariki and rangatahi in care to ensure their assessed needs are met. A financial plan sets out the financial support required to meet those needs. We plan proactively and consider the full range of support needs.Key principles around financial support for tamariki and rangatahi in care
- Tamariki and rangatahi in care or custody have the right to support to meet their assessed needs.
- Support must be provided promptly, to the degree appropriate in line with the assessed needs, and consider the assessed needs of tamariki and rangatahi.
- Kaimahi must ensure that any requests for financial support are clearly linked to an assessed need and the justification for any financial expenditure is transparent and robust.
- Financial support should be proactive and future focused. This ensures effective and efficient management of financial resources and ensures timely provision of services to tamariki and rangatahi.
- Kaimahi should look to access other publicly funded government and community supports for te tamaiti or rangatahi where possible.
Assessing costs for tamariki and rangatahi in care
1 Assess the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi
Regulation 10 of the National Care Standards sets out what is to be identified in a needs assessment:
- Identity and cultural needs
- Maintaining connections with family, whānau, hapū, iwi and family group
- Safety needs
- Behavioural needs
- Play, recreation and community needs
- Emotional needs
- Education or training needs
- Health needs
- Needs relating to any disability
- How often they should be visited
2 Assess the support needs for the caregiver
Part 3, subpart 2 of the National Care Standards sets out the support that should be provided to caregivers:
- Visits by caregiver social worker and the social worker for te tamaiti or rangatahi
- Support for culture and identity
- Support for maintaining whānau or family connections
- Support for education
- Training for caregivers
- Financial support
3 Work together to ensure needs are met
- The social worker for te tamaiti or rangatahi works alongside the caregiver social worker to ensure the needs of both are met.
- Where agreement can't be reached about the provision of additional financial support, we escalate to the manager.
4 Complete the financial forecasting spreadsheet
Complete the spreadsheet for financial forecasting for each tamaiti or rangatahi in the whānau or family. Include the social work rationale for the request.
Staff resources (on Te Pae):
Client financial plans (templates are available on this page)
5 Identify financial support outside the normal costs
If we identify that te tamaiti or rangatahi or the caregiver needs financial support that is outside the normal costs for tamariki and rangatahi in care, we consult with subject matter experts and analyse the divergent views about interventions.
Child/young person and family consult
National High Needs Hub – Specialist placements for children and young people with high needs
6 Investigate the options and get quotes
We investigate the options to meet the needs and get quotes.
7 Attend the financial clinic
At the site's financial clinic, we discuss the costs and plan for te tamaiti or rangatahi and any support that's outside the normal costs.
Completing a financial plan
A financial plan is an estimate of the goods and services needed to support the needs for te tamaiti or rangatahi, guided by the assessment and the All About Me plan.
The plan is effectively a budget of anticipated costs and it is entered into CYRAS as a list of financial items.
Financial plans should align with key events in the social work process. Examples of key events where financial planning occur include:
- family group conferences and family/whānau agreements
- court reviews
- financial clinics
- care planning – including new placement and permanent care planning
- caregiver social worker visits
- regular visits to te tamaiti or rangatahi.
Wherever possible, financial plans should be done proactively and include planning for placements, school expenses, health costs, recreation and cultural activities.
Kaimahi should use the Oranga Tamariki financial decision-making guidelines when preparing their financial plan and ensure that any purchasing is in line with the appropriate financial delegation.
Staff resources (on Te Pae):
Client financial planning template – with descriptions (xlsx)
Accessing other government and community support services
Kaimahi should look to access other government and community supports for te tamaiti or rangatahi where possible, particularly in relation to education and health costs that are publicly funded.
However, if te tamaiti or rangatahi is unable to access publicly funded services in a timely manner or at all due to a lack of availability, kaimahi need to explore options for privately funded services. Consider the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi when assessing the impact of waitlists. The amount of time te tamaiti or rangatahi should wait for services to support them depends on their individual needs.
We should identify the cost implications of engaging private health or education services and discuss these with our supervisor and site manager.
External factors that can impact on financial planning
Occasionally Oranga Tamariki will fund a service for te tamaiti or rangatahi because a public or community-funded service is not available in their area or the service can’t be provided in the timeframe or the way needed for te tamaiti or rangatahi (for example, grief counselling for te tamaiti or specialist education support for a rangatahi with a learning disability).
In other circumstances, Oranga Tamariki may be directed to fund specific services by the court by way of services orders or judicial directions. These are usually situations similar to that described above where a public or community-funded service is not available or is not the right fit for the assessed need.
In these situations, we clearly document the rationale for the request in the financial narrative, including what alternatives were considered to meet the specified need and what other service options were considered. Clear documentation in these situations will enable regions to build a picture of potential service gaps.
Reviewing financial support
Any financial support for tamariki and rangatahi should be regularly reviewed. As a general rule, kaimahi should review the financial plan for te tamaiti or rangatahi every time they update the All About Me plan.
Kaimahi should also try to update the financial plan when:
- there is a change of circumstance for te tamaiti or rangatahi
- we identify unmet needs or factors impacting their oranga
- we receive any new information that requires a change to the financial plan.
Additional financial support within Oranga Tamariki
Some tamariki and rangatahi will require additional financial support that falls outside the bounds of the client financial plan. This is usually due to their assessed needs requiring support over and above that usually provided.
A number of different avenues are available to provide additional financial support, depending on the circumstances of te tamaiti or rangatahi. Each of these has specific policies and processes that must be followed to access the support.
High and complex needs
Sometimes tamariki or rangatahi will have significant unmet health, education and oranga needs that can’t be met within available services. These tamariki and rangatahi may be able to access High and Complex Needs (HCN) support and a referral should be considered.
Higher fostercare allowance
The higher fostercare allowance (HFCA) is used when a caregiver requires additional and specific financial support to meet the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi in their care that is best provided through a regular higher rate of payment.
High needs funding
The National High Needs Hub manages referrals, applications and placements to Oranga Tamariki care and protection residences and many of the nationally managed programmes.
The types of programmes the hub manages are intensive, specialised programmes, including care and protection residences, that meet the needs of our tamariki and rangathi in care with the highest needs and most challenging behaviours.
Specialist placements for children and young people with high needs
Student aide funding
Tamariki in the care or custody of Oranga Tamariki or who Oranga Tamariki has involvement with may require additional student aide support as part of their plan for educational engagement. Student aide funding is intended to top up, not replace, existing Ministry of Education support or fill a gap while awaiting other supports. Funding should be part of an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and include a review process.
Transition support
Oranga Tamariki is required to support rangatahi to transition from care or other placements, including through the provision of financial support.
Policy: Transition to adulthood – Preparation, assessment and planning