Care
Ensuring a safe, stable and loving home when tamariki or rangatahi are living with non-whānau caregivers
Primary responsibility for caring for and nurturing tamariki and rangatahi lies with family, whānau, hapū, iwi and family group. Plans need to respond to the circumstances and care needs of each tamaiti or rangatahi in the care of non-whānau caregivers.
Practice approach
See and engage tamariki
I will see and engage with each tamaiti I am working with, in order to understand their needs, build their trust and ensure they have a say in decisions.
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).
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.
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.
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
Responding to concerns involving extremism or radicalisation
What we need to focus on when we respond to oranga, care, protection or youth justice concerns for tamariki or rangatahi who are or may be engaged with or connected to extremist or radical groups or ideology where violence or threats of violence feature.
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.
Interventions, Youth justice
14-day remand reviews of tamariki and rangatahi detained in a residence (section 242(1A)) or Corrections youth unit (section 242(2B))
We monitor tamariki and rangatahi who are detained in an Oranga Tamariki residence or Corrections youth unit in a prison at least once every 14 days. We try to find a community-based or other less restrictive care arrangement where appropriate.