If we determine suicide or concerning or harmful sexual behaviour, we must create a person characteristic to record this.
CYRAS handbook – Creating a Person Record (staff resource)

Page URL: https://practice.orangatamariki.govt.nz/policy/caregiver-and-adoptive-applicant-assessment-and-approval
Printed: 07/07/2025
Printed pages may be out of date. Please check this information is current before using it in your practice.

Last updated: 27/06/2025

Caregiver and adoptive applicant assessment and approval

The requirements for assessment and approval of prospective caregivers (family/whānau and non-whānau) and adoptive applicants (domestic and inter-country adoption).

Updates made to this policy

This policy has been updated to strengthen the rights, voice and participation of caregivers.

The following provisional caregiver approval processes have been updated to address barriers to approval leading to tamariki and rangatahi living with unapproved caregivers: regional commissioners can grant provisional approval in any of the circumstances where they are the person with delegated responsibility for an approval requiring special consideration, and the timeframe for provisional approval has been extended from 25 days to 30 days to allow more time for a full assessment if required.
Provisional assessment for urgent placements

Who leads the caregiver or adoptive applicant assessment

A caregiver assessment must be led by a Caregiver Recruitment and Support (CGRS) caregiver social worker.

An adoptive applicant assessment must be led by an adoption social worker.

An assessment for the provisional approval of a caregiver must be led by a CGRS caregiver social worker unless it is not practicable in the circumstances.

Provisional assessment for urgent placements

If we're considering a caregiver for a specific tamaiti or rangatahi, the caregiver social worker and the social worker for te tamaiti or rangatahi (where allocated) must work together, sharing all relevant information, and build a collective understanding of oranga and the specific needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi.

Assessment timeframes

Prospective caregivers

We must complete the caregiver assessment and approval process within 60 calendar days (42 working days) of the date the prospective caregiver confirms they want to proceed with a full assessment.

If this timeframe can't be met, you must record the reason in a casenote on the prospective caregiver's CGIS record.

Adoptive applicants

We must complete the adoptive applicant assessment and approval process within 90 calendar days of the date the prospective adoptive applicant confirms they want to proceed with a full assessment.

If this timeframe can't be met, you must record the reason in a casenote on the prospective adoptive applicant's CYRAS record.

If the assessment is for a prospective Family Home caregiver

In addition to the usual requirements of a caregiver assessment, assessment for a prospective Family Home caregiver must include:

  • exploration and consideration of issues specifically relating to providing care in a Family Home
  • an interview with a panel comprising 2 supervisors and 2 social workers.

Youth justice – custody of a tamaiti or rangatahi pending hearing

Where a tamaiti or rangatahi appears before the Youth Court, the court has a range of options for custody, including ordering that te tamaiti or rangatahi be:

  • delivered into the custody of any person approved by the chief executive for the purpose 238(1)(c)
  • detained in the custody of the chief executive, an iwi social service, or a cultural social service 238(1)(d).

Custody of child or young person pending hearing – section 238(1)(c) and (d) of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989

Once the assessment is complete

After the assessment is complete, we must decide whether to approve or decline the prospective caregiver or adoptive applicant, prepare an assessment report and follow the relevant decline or approval process.

If the assessment has been completed in response to a direct application to the court for an adoption order, the social worker provides a report to the court and the decision to approve or decline the adoption application is made by the court. We do not follow our decline or approval processes, and we do not apply special considerations.

Approval requiring special consideration

If we identify circumstances requiring special consideration during the assessment process and we wish to approve the applicant, we must fully complete the assessment before seeking approval from the relevant delegation.

When the decision is made to progress the assessment, advise the person with the relevant delegation that a request for special consideration approval is pending.

Only under extraordinary circumstances will special consideration for serious offences involving the harm or exploitation of others be granted.

Post-approval requirements

Following approval, the caregiver social worker must work with the caregiver to develop their:

  • caregiver support plan, wherever possible
  • Welcome to Our Home booklet.

Policy: Caregiver support

Policy: Transitions within care

Following the approval of adoptive applicants:

  • domestic adoptive applicants are invited to complete a family profile that can be shown to expectant parents proposing to offer their tamaiti or rangatahi for adoption
  • intercountry adoptive applicants are required to provide information for the home study completed by a social worker for the consideration of the relevant authority in the country they are making application to.