If Oranga Tamariki staff don't have the necessary skills to deal with children at care and protection facilities then they shouldn't be in the job, the Children's Minister says in response to a damning Newsroom investigation
Children's Minister Kelvin Davis has asked Oranga Tamariki to look into the "totally unacceptable" restraint of children in care and protection units, saying people should make a police complaint if they believe staff have broken the law.
A Newsroom investigation into the treatment of vulnerable children at the specialised facilities – prompted by video footage provided by a concerned whistleblower – shows workers tackling a boy and twisting his arms behind his back, and another time putting him in a headlock before throwing him to the ground.*
Specific concerns have also been raised about the lack of qualified social workers in the four care and protection residences, with Oranga Tamariki instead hiring youth workers who do not have specific vocational requirements.
Davis, who watched Newsroom’s investigation on Tuesday morning, said the behaviour was “totally unacceptable” and he had asked Oranga Tamariki to review each of its care and protection residences to ensure there were not system-wide problems.
Officials and the independent ministerial advisory board would also be on site to get to the bottom of the matter, with Davis praising the whistleblower for bringing the behaviour to the attention of the public.
“I support anybody who raises issues around bad practice, and Oranga Tamariki needs to make sure that they have a robust system to make sure that any reports of bad practice are acted on.
“This is why I put my hand up to be the Minister for Children - to make sure that all children in New Zealand are being fairly treated and safe.”
“That's what Oranga Tamariki needs to get to the bottom of, to make sure that staff do have the skills to be able to deal with children and their behaviour, and if they don't have those skills then they shouldn't be working.”
Davis said he had also asked officials for more information about the changing ratio of social workers to youth workers at the residences, although all staff working in the facilities needed to be able to follow best practice.
“That's what Oranga Tamariki needs to get to the bottom of, to make sure that staff do have the skills to be able to deal with children and their behaviour, and if they don't have those skills then they shouldn't be working.”
While staff members could use physical restraints as a last resort, they had to adhere to the MAPA: Management of Actual or Potential Aggression de-escalation technique, and Davis said “I think everyone can see that MAPA wasn't being used.”
He would not be drawn on whether the actions of the staff were illegal, but said anyone who believed they had broken the law should make a complaint to police who could act if necessary.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she had not yet had an opportunity to watch Newsroom’s video, but had been briefed on its contents and would give Davis time to “dig into” the circumstances and receive an explanation from officials.
“Our priority has to be, in these environments where we have the responsibility for the care and protection of children, to make sure that everyone is behaving to the standard we expect...
“We have a responsibility as the state when children are in our care to make sure, even in the most difficult circumstances, that we are applying standards and that applies across the board.”
Neither National leader Judith Collins nor deputy leader and children’s spokesman Shane Reti had watched the Newsroom video when asked for comment, with Reti saying he planned to review the investigation later in the day.
* An earlier version of this report referred to 'children' in the video segments Newsroom has shown. The two in this story show staff manhandling the same boy at different times.
