Policy
Transitions within care
We must support a positive and successful transition when tamariki and rangatahi come into care or custody, move to live with a new caregiver, move into, between or out of a residence, return home or live permanently with a new whānau or family.Update made to this policy
The section on returning home after more than 28 days in care has been removed, and a new Return Home policy related to tamariki and rangatahi returning home after being the in the care or custody of the Oranga Tamariki chief executive for longer than 56 days has been published.
Policy: Return home
Who this policy applies to
This policy applies to tamariki or rangatahi who are:
- coming into care
- transitioning between caregivers, including into and out of residences
- transitioning out of care.
When tamariki or rangatahi have been in the care or custody of the Oranga Tamariki chief executive for longer than 56 days and are returning home the Return Home policy also applies.
When te tamaiti or rangatahi is moving between regions, you must also apply the 'Casework responsibilities when our work involves more than 1 site' policy.
Guidance: The journey through residence for tamariki and rangatahi
Policy: Ensuring a safe, stable and loving home for tamariki in care
Policy: Casework responsibilities when our work involves more than 1 site
When this policy doesn't apply
This policy doesn't apply to:
- the assessment, planning and preparation for rangatahi transitioning to adulthood
- rangatahi who are moving into an independent living situation while in care
- eligible rangatahi over 18 and who return to or remain living with a caregiver.
Policy: Transition to adulthood – Preparation, assessment and planning
Policy: Care arrangements – approved independent living arrangements
Policy: Transition to adulthood – Entitlement to remain or return live with a caregiver
Involving te tamaiti or rangatahi in decision-making
We must encourage and assist te tamaiti or rangatahi to participate in planning for their transition. We must ensure that their views are recorded and taken into account. Our responsibilities to support te tamaiti or rangatahi to participate in decisions that affect them are set out in the 'Participation of tamariki' policy.
Understanding the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi
We must use our models, tools and resources to deepen our understanding of how the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi will be impacted by the transition, and any new needs that arise, so we can support a positive transition.
Before te tamaiti or rangatahi moves, we must:
- develop, or review and update, the All About Me plan – in particular, consider how the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi will be impacted by the transition
- ensure any new information and analysis, including safety needs and concerns, are accurately recorded in the All About Me plan, the assessment report and the safety plan, if appropriate
- where appropriate, ensure the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi are incorporated in the caregiver support plan
- assess the likely effects of the placement on te tamaiti or rangatahi and the household, including the effect on other tamariki, rangatahi, and other whānau or family members within the home.
Transition planning
We must support the transition and record the steps we'll take to support a positive transition in the plan for te tamaiti or rangatahi.
The All About Me plan must be developed or reviewed with, and take into account the views of:
- te tamaiti or rangatahi
- whānau or family
- members of their hapū, iwi, extended whānau or family groups and other people who have been identified as important to te tamaiti or rangatahi
- any current and prospective caregivers or residence kaimahi.
The plan must:
- be informed by the assessed needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi
- detail how we will support te tamaiti or rangatahi throughout and after the transition, including recording any steps needed to help te tamaiti or rangatahi and caregivers prepare for the transition
- state what we are doing to maintain and strengthen the connections between te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family throughout the transition
- record any actions current caregivers, new caregivers, residence kaimahi or others need to take to meet the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi and support the transition
- state how often te tamaiti or rangatahi will be visited and by whom
- take into consideration the culture of te tamaiti or rangatahi, such as supporting tikanga and values important to te tamaiti or rangatahi, or involving people, services or organisations that understand the culture of te tamaiti or rangatahi
- be framed by oranga and respond to the safety, protection and wellbeing of te tamaiti or rangatahi in a restorative way
- ensure potential safety needs and concerns are identified and understood by the family, whānau, hapū, iwi or family group, and develop a plan to address the safety needs and concerns
- ensure the relevant information, including any safety plan, is:
- developed in partnership with te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family and they’ve been given the opportunity to take ownership of and respond to the proposed plan
- understood, supported and agreed to by te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family
- shared with family, whānau, hapū, iwi, family group and other key people to support the transition, including sharing the plan with other regions as necessary.
The caregiver support plan must be reviewed alongside the All About Me plan.
Policy: Working with tamariki and rangatahi in residences
Transitioning between placements
Policy: Casework responsibilities when our work involves more than 1 site
Recording the plan
The support to meet the transitional needs must be recorded in the All About Me plan, which is either:
- updated to reflect the transition – if te tamaiti or rangatahi already has an All About Me plan, or
- developed – if te tamaiti or rangatahi is coming into care.
Helping te tamaiti or rangatahi and caregivers prepare for the transition
Before the transition, we must:
- talk with te tamaiti or rangatahi about their rights to receive the supports they need to ensure a safe transition
- encourage and talk with te tamaiti or rangatahi about whether they would like to have a support person to advocate for them throughout the transition process
- make every effort to ensure te tamaiti or rangatahi understands why they're moving to a new home
- make every effort to ensure te tamaiti or rangatahi knows when they'll be moving
- make every effort to ensure te tamaiti or rangatahi understands information about their new home (for example, who lives there, what the house routines are) and provide them with the Welcome to our Home information
- seek the views of te tamaiti or rangatahi about the move and what is important to them
- arrange for te tamaiti or rangatahi to visit where they'll be living and meet others who live or work there before they move – if this isn't possible, we must provide and explain information about the physical environment
- discuss information about te tamaiti or rangatahi with the new caregiver or residence kaimahi and share the plan with them
- arrange for te tamaiti or rangatahi to bring their personal belongings, including their life stories and taonga – if they're unable to, ensure they're stored safely
- ask te tamaiti or rangatahi about the people who are important to them and how they would like to maintain connections with them
- arrange for te tamaiti or rangatahi to maintain or re-establish connections with their whānau or family, siblings and significant others throughout and after the move
- arrange for te tamaiti or rangatahi to maintain a relationship with their whānau or family and their current caregiver – if we consider it's in the best interests of te tamaiti or rangatahi
- support the current caregiver to prepare te tamaiti or rangatahi to leave their care, and the new caregiver must also be supported to meet the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi who is moving into their care
- arrange a hui between the current caregiver and the new caregiver to ensure a smooth transition
- support any current caregiver to understand what they can do to help the transition go smoothly
- provide extra support around te tamaiti or rangatahi during the transition where required – for example, mental health concerns that may require additional supports.
Transitioning between placements
Information and visits for prospective placements
Maintaining a record of important life events
Supporting and visiting te tamaiti or rangatahi after the transition
Te tamaiti or rangatahi is likely to require additional support for some time after their move has occurred.
After the transition, we must:
- visit te tamaiti or rangatahi as soon as we are reasonably able to following the transition
- review their plan with them and check that they have the support and information they need
- review the frequency of further visits based on the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi
- visit their new caregiver and check that they have the support and information they need
- talk with te tamaiti or rangatahi about their whānau or family, or people important to them, and discuss how they would like to connect with them
- talk with te tamaiti or rangatahi about their rights and if they have any concerns about their move and how we can address them
- talk with them about whether they would like to have someone to advocate for them to ensure they are supported after the transition.
Whakamana te tamaiti or rangatahi through advocacy
The provisions of the Return home policy are also applied when tamariki or rangatahi have been in the care or custody of the Oranga Tamariki chief executive for longer than 56 days and are:
- returning to the care of their parents or other member of their family, whānau, hapū, iwi or family group who was caring for them before they came into care or custody, or
- leaving care to live with a parent who was not their carer when they came into care or custody.
When tamariki return home after a period in care
This section of the policy outlines specific requirements for returning tamariki home, who have been in the custody of the Oranga Tamariki chief executive for longer than 28 days, including tamariki who are exiting from an Oranga Tamariki residence.
Understanding the support needed for the return home of te tamaiti or rangatahi
The decision to return a tamaiti or rangatahi home to a parent or other adult who has previously cared for them must be based on a robust understanding of their needs by using our models, tools and resources. This is articulated in an approved assessment report.
When te tamaiti or rangatahi returns home, we must:
- find out the views of te tamaiti or rangatahi about returning home and what they think they will need for it to be successful if they wish to return home, and record this
- consider what te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family need to support the return home
- organise and facilitate return home meetings
- visit as agreed in their All About Me plan
- explain to te tamaiti or rangatahi what supports are available to them and what they are entitled to when they return home.
Return home meetings
At least two calendar weeks prior to te tamaiti or rangatahi returning home, the social worker for te tamaiti or rangatahi must organise and facilitate a hui ā-whānau meeting and ensure that the services and supports needed are in place both prior to and after te tamaiti or rangatahi has returned home.
The meeting must include:
- te tamaiti or rangatahi (where appropriate)
- the parent or parent figure
- whānau care service provider
- other whānau or family group
- the lawyer for child, and
- key professionals who are working with te tamaiti or rangatahi and their parent or parent figure – for example, teacher for te tamaiti or rangatahi, medical professionals, NGO support workers, and current caregiver if appropriate.
The social worker must use the child and family consult as a way to help them understand, identify and consider indicators of harm, alongside the strengths and resources of whānau or family.
Within four calendar weeks of te tamaiti or rangatahi returning home, the social worker for te tamaiti or rangatahi must organise and facilitate a return home meeting with the above people to discuss the transition progress.
The return home meeting must occur as required to review the plan and progress of the transition until the custody order can be discharged.
The reviews when tamariki have returned home will focus on ensuring that necessary supports are available to te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family, to ensure wellbeing and safety and so that custody orders only remain in place as long as is necessary.
Policy: Ensuring a safe, stable and loving home for tamariki in care
Return home visits
When te tamaiti or rangatahi has returned home, the frequency of our visits with them must be based on their individually assessed need. The frequency of visits will not be reduced until the post-return home meeting has been held.
The first four weeks following the return home is a time of increased vulnerability and visiting must at a minimum be once a week.
Each visit with te tamaiti or rangatahi must involve efforts to engage with them on their own so they are able to speak freely about any worries they may have.
Determining the frequency of visits to tamariki and rangatahi in care
Policy: Visiting and engaging with tamariki in care
Unexpected transitions
There will be situations where tamariki and rangatahi need to be moved to a new home urgently. In these cases, the assessment, planning, provision of support and monitoring required for the transition must be provided to the extent it can be before the move.
Where possible, we must:
- explain to te tamaiti or rangatahi the reasons they’re moving
- ensure an opportunity for whakawātea occurs so that te tamaiti or rangatahi is cleared from their current place before moving (a whakawātea is about acknowledging that te tamaiti or rangatahi is now leaving and moving on to a new care arrangement)
- talk with te tamaiti or rangatahi about their right to be supported, even in the most urgent circumstances
- provide te tamaiti or rangatahi with as much information as we can on what to expect during the transition
- make every effort to ensure the information is provided in a way that can be easily understood by them
- explain to te tamaiti or rangatahi what the house routines are in a way that makes sense to them
- talk with them about any safety plans that are in place to support their understanding of how to ensure everyone is safe
- explain what supports or help are available and let them think about what would help them most
- talk with them about other supports or help they would like
- maintain whakapapa relationships by ensuring whānau or family, siblings and significant others know where te tamaiti or rangatahi is moving to and why – unless this isn't in the best interests of te tamaiti or rangatahi
- give caregivers an explanation of the reasons why the move is happening – unless this isn't in the best interests of te tamaiti or rangatahi
- consider any immediate safety needs or concerns arising from the transition
- record any identified safety needs or concerns and how they will be addressed in a safety plan, and share this plan as needed
- talk with te tamaiti or rangatahi about the move and how they feel about the move, and record this
- ensure the caregiver is appropriately supported and a caregiver support plan is created as soon as possible.
Any steps outlined in this policy that we're unable to take before the move must be carried out as soon as we can after the move.
Practice framework prompts for this policy
Our practice is framed in te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi), based on a mana-enhancing paradigm for practice and draws from te ao Māori principles of oranga within the context of our role in statutory child protection and youth justice in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our practice framework helps us make sense of and organise our practice.
Ngākau whakairo
How am I ensuring the right of te tamaiti or rangatahi to be well informed and fully participate in the decisions about their transition to a new home?
Ngākau whakairo practice framework domain
Whai mātauranga
What knowledge and whose voices are informing the support being provided to te tamaiti or rangatahi and their whānau or family through the transition of te tamaiti or rangatahi to a new home?
Whai mātauranga practice framework domain
Whai oranga
How does te tamaiti or rangatahi define their oranga? How might this be impacted when transitioning to a new home?
Whai oranga practice framework domain
Whai pūkenga
What skills help me to develop a shared understanding of the needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi throughout their transition, particularly new needs arising from the transition?
Whai pūkenga practice framework domain
Whai ākona
How are my own ideas and experiences of significant change in my own life impacting on my approach to managing transitions with this tamaiti or rangatahi?