Children who offend receive more support

Specialist Teams Manager Zane Yeoman says over the last year there has been an increase in media attention around children who offend, with many serious incidents being captured on CCTV.

“With the support of the regional leadership team in Tāmaki we decided to create a new team to support a slightly older cohort of tamaiti than the Mana Tamariki team, which supports children aged between 6-10.5 and a slightly younger cohort than Kia Manawanui which supports rangatahi aged between 13-16 years old.”

Zane Yeoman says dealing with children who offend is incredibly challenging. He says the response often sits across Youth Justice and Care and Protection and requires a lot of time and effort because the frequency of offending is often extremely high, and the risks can be catastrophic.

“Usually, the experiences of trauma and the family situations are quite complex and the responses that we have in terms of programmes or even placements to work with children who offend, tamariki struggle to engage with. The new team will use an intensive social work model to help children who offend and their whānau to engage with programmes and supports.”

Underpinning everything is the drive the site has for shifting tamariki, whānau and rangatahi to feel more connected to their communities, more hope for the future and confidence to achieve their own goals.

The Tāmaki Makaurau Specialist teams are made up of Mana Tamariki, Kia Manawanui and the newly created team for children who offend. A name for the new team hasn’t yet been decided.

Kia Manawanui is an intensive social work team designed to support complex rangatahi and their whānau from around Tāmaki Makaurau. This team works with rangatahi who have a high complex case history and are historically difficult to engage by Oranga Tamariki.

Mana Tamariki was set up to work preventatively with whānau and tamariki across most of the wider Tāmaki Makaurau area, to address their underlying needs, reduce future poor life outcomes and Youth Justice involvement. Whānau voice, choice and vision is central to the process. The teams work with whānau that are under a Family Group Conference (FGC) intervention or Family Court orders.

Zane Yeoman says it can take tamariki and whānau around two years to progress through the Mana Tamariki programme.

He says while it is incredibly challenging there has been some success in celebrating small wins, like negative drug tests and progression of plans for tamariki transitioning back to their parents from being in other whānau care.

One tamaiti that the team from the Mana Tamariki programme worked with had been in the care system for some time, had severe behavioural challenges and a disrupted school experience that resulted in multiple exclusions.

After more than two years of intensive support, the tamaiti was able to return to the care of whānau and Oranga Tamariki discharged custody orders. The mahi with this tamaiti was driven by goals developed by the whānau and the need of the tamaiti to feel a sense of belonging at home and at school.

The tamaiti is now back living with whānau, has the support of the community and is thriving at school without the need for Oranga Tamariki involvement.

A Family Court Judge was amazed at how this tamaiti completely turned their life around. The Judge described the case as an incredible situation and said the outcome for this tamaiti wasn’t something that happens every day.

Kia Manawanui

Kia Manawanui is an intensive social work team designed to support complex rangatahi and their whānau from around Tāmaki Makaurau. This team works with rangatahi who have a high complex case history and are historically difficult to engage by Oranga Tamariki.

A Kia Manawanui rangatahi will:

• have had significant childhood trauma
• display ongoing risk-taking behaviours
• be challenging to engage with
• have exhausted traditional placement and service options.

Referrals to the Kia Manawanui team are made by Tāmaki Makaurau sites for rangatahi between the ages of 12-16 whom are under s.101, s.78 or sole guardianship orders. Other custodial orders are non-applicable. Each referral must be supported by the site manager and a senior advisor.  

The team

Kia Manawanui Social Workers cover dual status in both the Family Court and Youth Court and are closely linked with transitional services.

The team's objectives:

• Stabilise the young people – accessing options across the continuum of care.
• Engage with the young people – identify the risks, strengths and needs of the young people (whakapapa, whanaungatanga, mana tamaiti, safety, health, education, identity, and wellbeing).
• Develop individualised plans with the young people in conjunction with their professional support network, and their whānau.
• Implement, monitor, and manage the individualised plans for each young person.
• Review plans to determine any changes required and to ensure goals are achieved.

​​​​​​​Mana Tamariki

Mana Tamariki is a service set up to work preventatively with whānau and tamariki (aged 6-10.5 years), across most of the wider Tāmaki Makaurau area, to address their underlying needs, reduce future poor life outcomes and Youth Justice involvement. Whānau voice, choice and vision is central to the process. Mana Tamariki work with whānau that are under a Family Group Conference (FGC) intervention or Family Court orders.

Mana Tamariki uses the Wraparound Model. This includes a Wraparound plan, which is an individualised plan to support behavioural issues, non-compliance, school refusal, emotional regulation and parenting skills.

The service also includes intensive social work support – 1-3 visits per week and monthly Wraparound hui for up to two years with the whānau and tamariki.

The team

Mana Tamariki Social Workers provide intensive social work support, support the Wraparound programme and take statutory responsibility for the whānau and tamariki.​​​​​​​

The team's objectives:

• To build trusting relationships with the whānau through whakawhanaungatanga.
• Elicit the whānau story from their perspective.
• Build a team around the whānau to collectively problem solve and support the whānau.
• Increase natural supports for the whānau that can be enduring past the programme.
• Improved life outcomes for tamariki. Reduction in Youth Justice involvement.