Watchdog For Oranga Tamariki All But Guaranteed

Family First NZ is welcoming comments by the new Minister for Children Tracey Martin who has said that there is a need for a fully independent Complaints Authority to act as a watchdog on the new state agency Oranga Tamariki (previously CYF).

“The Minister told TV3’s The Nation on Saturday that “an independent body whereby complaints can be taken, I think, would be a really good and transparent thing. It would help both the ministry and our children.”

”Both the Greens and NZ First support an independent agency with the Greens rightly saying that “there is a lot of potential for things to go wrong in child protection, and just like the police, there really does need to be independent oversight,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“We must have a mechanism that ensures two things - that families who have been notified to the new Ministry as being at-risk are actually monitored in an appropriate way, but also to prevent abuse of families by the State.”

“The police have an independent complaints authority – the IPCA. This is the type of watchdog we need for Oranga Tamariki. It is vital that we have independent accountability for an organisation that can make decisions to uplift children and potentially destroy families without even having to produce concrete evidence of abuse. At other times, CYF have not acted when there was clear evidence that they should have. Where do families turn when they believe CYF isn’t performing? There is an internal complaints process but virtually nobody trusts it, or knows about it, or uses it.”

In 2011, the Social Services Select Committee recommended that the Government investigate establishing an independent Complaints Authority for CYF.

“An independent Complaints Authority will also be in the best interests of the social workers as it will provide an independent body to ensure that appropriate policy and procedures have been followed. This will result in public confidence and accountability for actions and decisions by social workers.”

The Aotearoa NZ Association of Social Workers called for an independent complaints process for social workers in their submission to the government on the Green Paper for Oranga Tamariki. An independent report to the government in 2013 also endorsed the call for an independent CYF Complaints Authority, saying that a complaints authority is well overdue. The report said that there is “no independent voice or agency of sufficient size and capability to speak for children and hold the system to account” and that a “more accessible complaints system is required.”

A poll in 2011 found significant support (65%) for an independent watchdog for CYF (only 20% opposed).

ENDS

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