Military-Style Academy pilot: Community stage evaluation

“Oranga Tamariki has released an interim evaluation report, which focuses on the beginning of the community phase of the Military-Style Academy (MSA) pilot. 

“The pilot is trialling a new approach to how we work with this small group of young people who have a history of persistent offending. While in the community stage, rangatahi are supported by a team including a social worker and mentor, as they undertake ongoing programme activity. Oranga Tamariki also continues to work with their whānau.

“This interim evaluation shows there have been some early signs that the programme can make a difference with some positive steps taken by the rangatahi, including one young person choosing sport over groups of friends who influence antisocial behaviour. This is an example of how changing the environment can enable a change in behaviour.  

“There have also been challenges during their transition back to the community, including the tragic death of one of the young people on the pilot in November, which was felt heavily by the nine other young people on the pilot.

“Additionally, there have been instances of alleged reoffending. While this was not unexpected, it’s important to remember that this group includes some of the country’s most serious youth offenders. This programme was never going to be easy – but it is about giving them a chance. For reasons previously stated, including the privacy and wellbeing of the young participants, we will not be going into further details about alleged reoffending at this point. 

“A key shift we’ve started to see is that before joining the pilot programme this group spent an average of seven weeks out in the community between custody orders. For those young people who have allegedly reoffended during the community stage and returned to residences, that timeframe has gone up to an average of three months. 

“The interim evaluation reflects the commitment from both the social workers and intensive mentors, where we’ve seen some close and supportive relationships formed as trusted adults for the rangatahi.

“The interim evaluation has also highlighted areas where preparation for the community stage could have been better, including beginning transition planning earlier and providing more clarity on roles and responsibilities for our staff. The evaluation process allows us to capture these lessons. 

“The MSA pilot will conclude in July this year, at which point our independent provider will create a final evaluation report to cover the programme as a whole.”