Working with Māori

Whakapapa research

Whakapapa research focuses on researching and identifying people, places and events that will provide tamariki with access to important cultural connections for their sense of belonging, wellbeing and identity.

Practice approach

Use professional supervision

I will use professional supervision to critically reflect on my practice, in order to ensure my decision-making is robust and to build the quality of my professional practice.

Intake, Practice tools

Recording decision responses

We use contact records, casenotes, or reports of concern to record decision responses. For tamariki and rangatahi in care, we also talk directly with the allocated social worker or their supervisor.

Assessment and planning

Towards Wellbeing suicide prevention programme

Towards Wellbeing provides advice to social workers who work with tamariki and rangatahi who may be suicidal (including thoughts/ideation/plans/suicide attempts and those who have died by suicide).

Care

Assessing the home environment of applicants

The oranga (wellbeing) of te tamaiti must be at the centre of decision-making that affects them. This includes addressing their need for a safe, stable and loving home. When assessing applicants’ homes, we must mitigate or manage any safety risks.

Adoption

Helping adoptive applicants prepare a whānau or family profile

We provide expectant parents with profiles prepared by adoptive applicants who match their preferences and their wishes for their tamaiti, and who have been assessed as able to meet the needs of the specific tamaiti.

Practice approach

Keep accurate records — guidance

I will document my key actions and decisions for each tamaiti I am working with, in order to ensure significant decisions are clearly evidenced and transparent.

Youth justice, Interventions, Policy

Youth justice family group conference – supporting, monitoring and reviewing the plan

We support tamariki, rangatahi, whānau or family to implement their youth justice family group conference plan. We also monitor progress, review the plan as agreed and determine when it is completed.

Practice approach

Serious harm

Harm can have a varying degree of impact on te tamaiti or rangatahi. Sometimes a single traumatic event (for example, a violent sexual or physical assault) can have a significant impact on te tamaiti or rangatahi and may constitute serious harm.

Youth justice family group conferences: Completion and presentation of decisions, recommendations and plans

Each family group conference is unique and therefore every plan will be different from the next in reflecting the exceptional circumstances of te tamaiti or rangatahi. However, there are certain things that a family group conference must address and these are discussed below.