Gráinne's update - August 2018

Just like that, we are in the second half of 2018 and in planning mode for another great year ahead.

Since Oranga Tamariki was established there have been big changes to the way we work. To start up we did lots of essential foundational work focused around ‘quality practice’, ’loving places’ and ’stronger partnerships’.

We’re already working with more children and young people for longer, and in different ways.

Now, we’re preparing for the changes we anticipate in 2019 that will bring new obligations for us. 

New legislation coming into effect in July 2019 will mean we are responsible for an expanded Youth Justice system, higher quality care for tamariki and support for caregivers, a brand new transitions service for 18-25 year olds, and more effective intensive intervention services. We also need to incorporate Māori world views into every aspect of our work.

These changes are aspirational, to make things better for children. They are absolutely achievable and present us with a unique opportunity to further shift the way we, across government and in the community, work to support and change lives for children and whanau.

We have choices in how we meet this challenge, so right now we’re defining exactly how our new operating model should look and what we’ll need to make it work.  

We’re well placed to accelerate progress, knowing more now than when we were established last year.

This is a moving space at the moment but we’re working swiftly. It was fantastic to be able to start a co-design process with providers at our National Hui. The input we had from over 370 organisations and over 1000 people will be invaluable. We have  already started integrating some changes based on what we heard ahead of the legislation update - such as building stronger relationships with iwi and Māori.

It’s my privilege to be on this journey with you, trying new things and re-imagining services. Together, we’re standing back and saying, ‘what can we do differently?’

We’re building strong services for generations of children in Aotearoa.

Ngā mihi

Gráinne