Source: Radio New Zealand
The report said ‘off-track’ against the target for handling the most urgent cases in time. RNZ
Oranga Tamariki reports it’s not meeting targets with critical and urgent reports of concern about children, and in fact, is a bit worse than before.
However, the Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has focused on other figures out Friday which she said shows the agency “showing strong progress against key targets”.
The minister highlighted – as did OT – that 97 percent of children were being visited by a social worker within a targeted time, caregivers were doing better, and there was a large drop in serious persistent offending.
This is from the latest report on performance against ministerial priorities for July to September last year.
But the report also said “OFF TRACK” in red capitals against the target for handling the most urgent cases in time, in its section on “ensuring the safety of children”.
The time taken has dropped to 10 percent below target, when it was nine percent below in the previous quarter.
This was due to it getting so many reports – almost 28,000 – and having too few social workers, OT said.
The target was to respond to 95 percent of critical cases within a day and very urgent reports of concern within two days.
It hit just 85 percent, down from 86 percent previously.
“Meeting report of concern timeframes has become more challenging due to the high volume of Reports of Concern and workforce pressures,” the report said.
These factors were very similar to last May; so too was the government’s response last May when it said that the figures as whole showed OT making progress.
The quarter’s 27,700 reports of concern almost matched the previous quarter but were 3000 above forecast.
The agency had pinned its hopes of hitting time targets on an upgrade of its obsolete tech system.
In Friday’s report it said the tech upgrade had improved social workers’ confidence and assessments. It added it had developed the first part of a strategic workforce tool to become more efficient.
The Independent Children’s Monitor last month said children were no safer than when Malachi Subecz was murdered, stating, “there continues to be a high proportion of reports of concern from professionals that do not result in further action by Oranga Tamariki and where tamariki and rangatahi are not seen.”
On Friday Chhour said young people were turning their lives around and being kept safer.
“We’ve recruited twice the number of social workers compared to the number of social workers who left Oranga Tamariki in the last financial year. We’ve also invested in greater professional supports and training.
“This is not mission accomplished, I also acknowledge there is still room for improvement,” she said in a statement.
Other reports released under the OIA show the agency has struggled for years to recruit and properly train staff in its youth justice residences.
Another target Chhour noted was a 14 percent reduction in children in state care residences being harmed.
Harm in state care as a whole in its various forms was down eight percent. In family placements it was at its lowest level in seven years, but jumped 23 percent in the category known as return/remain home placements when children return to the care of their parent.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
