24 July 2009
Media Release
For Immediate Release

Ministry process for historic claims working well

The Ministry of Social Development says its process for dealing with claims of abuse and maltreatment in State care has been working well for some people.

Garth Young, who heads the Care, Claims and Resolution Team says “The Ministry is owning its mistakes and doing whatever it can to put things right. When we have got it wrong, we acknowledge that and apologise and if there is good reason to offer a financial settlement then we do that too.”

In the past 18 months the Ministry has made 13 settlement offers to people who have been abused or maltreated while in State care. Most of these offers have included a financial component and acknowledgement of the wrongdoing and/or an apology. The Ministry has also resolved 30 other complaints from people who have been in care, a number of which have included a financial payment.

One person recently received a settlement and apology from the Ministry and wrote to the Care, Claims and Resolution Team to thank them for their kind and understanding response. ‘It was a hard thing for me to do, to touch on all those painful things again, but it was worth it all. I feel that receiving an apology has gone a great way towards my healing.’

Another person received counselling immediately after making contact with the Ministry because he was so affected by his past. The Care, Claims and Resolution Team was also able to retrieve some of this person’s childhood belongings and put a photograph album together for him. He recently told the Team he has been feeling “…progressively better over the past 6 months. My health issues are almost gone and I’m ready to look for a full-time job and relocate.”

The Ministry acknowledges that the outcome has been less than some clients have expected or felt that they deserved. Mr Young says “Regrettably it is not always possible to reach a resolution. This is not because we don’t believe peoples claims. We know that many people have had very damaging experiences in State care.”

“It is important to understand that the claims often allege criminal behaviour and the implications can be very serious for other people. Because of this we need to consider the views and information presented by everybody in coming to a decision. Furthermore, many people also seek a large amount of taxpayer’s money and the public expects that a decision to pay a settlement is made only where there is good information to support that.”

“In working with people who have been in care we always look at a range of ways we can help them to move on with their lives. This may include providing counselling or assisting with work or training and education or other community supports or services.

The Ministry encourages anybody who believes they were abused or maltreated in care to contact the Care, Claims and Resolution Team:

ENDS

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