Practice approach
Whakamana te tamaiti: Practice empowering tamariki Māori — guidance
I will apply the principles of Mana Tamaiti, Whakapapa and Whanaungatanga to my practice, in order to ensure I’m responsive to tamariki and whānau Māori.
Care
Use of legal orders to support a safe, stable and loving home for tamariki in permanent care
Legal orders for permanent care can support security and stability for tamariki who have been in our care or custody and their caregivers.
Assessment and planning
Specialist child interviews
Specialist child interviews are conducted as part of our mahi when te tamaiti or rangatahi may have been the victim of abuse or witnessed an incident that may constitute a criminal offence.
Assessment and planning
Subsequent child – section 18A assessment by social worker
Social workers need to complete a thorough section 18 assessment by working closely with the parents, family, whānau, hapū, iwi or family group to understand if te tamaiti is unlikely to be at risk of the kind of harm experienced by a previous tamaiti.
Interventions, Youth justice
Supporting tamariki and rangatahi with their family group conference plan or court order – section 258(3)
We ensure tamariki and rangatahi get the support they need so they have the best chance of completing a youth justice family group conference plan or complying with a Youth Court order.
Adoption
Balancing the Adoption Act and the Oranga Tamariki Act
When parents are considering adoption, we need to understand statutory obligations and be able to explain the impact of different legislation to birthparents so we can help uphold the mana of everyone.
Adoption
Informing adoptive applicants of the proposed placement
Once te tamaiti has been born and birthparents have reviewed their adoption plan and want to proceed, we let adoptive applicants know they've been chosen to adopt te tamaiti.
Care, Intake, Assessment and planning
Safe sleeping and Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI)
We support whānau or family and caregivers to protect pēpi from Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) by following safe sleeping practices and providing a smoke-free environment, and we help them address any concerns.
Care
Allegations of harm in care or custody
The safety and wellbeing of te tamaiti or rangatahi in care or custody is our first concern when there are allegations of harm or concerns for oranga.
Seeking solutions with whānau and families
We consider a family/whānau agreement when we have concerns for the oranga of te tamaiti or rangatahi but there are positive safety factors within the whānau or family.