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Worried about a child?
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  • Current: How we support whānau

How we support whānau

Where possible we try to keep whānau together. Taking tamariki into care is a last resort. We are working more and more with iwi and communities to support at-risk tamariki to stay with their parents. 

  • The statistics

    While most children in New Zealand don't need our help, there are some families and whānau who need extra support.

    8 September 2023

  • Supporting families with babies

    We are working earlier with whānau to support parents when there are concerns for a pēpi. 

    6 July 2020

  • Hui ā-whānau

    When we have concerns about the safety of a tamaiti, we hold a hui-ā-whānau – a whānau meeting that uses tikanga ways of thinking – to assess the needs of the tamaiti.

    1 September 2023

  • Keeping families together

    Our early support and intensive response services aim to keep tamariki safely with their whānau, with the help of community service providers.

    1 September 2023

  • Supporting tamariki Māori

    We are working to reduce entries into care for tamariki Māori, connect them to whānau, hapū and iwi and enable culturally responsive services, with the help of our partners.

    31 May 2022

  • Family and whānau care

    We do everything we can to place tamariki with caregivers from their wider whānau.

    1 September 2023

  • Transition from care to adulthood

    From age 15, rangatahi in care are supported by a transition worker as they prepare to leave care and move to the next stage in their life.

    1 September 2023

Published: September 1, 2023

More in this section

Support for families section

  • How we support whānau
    • The statistics
    • Supporting families with babies
    • Hui ā-whānau
    • Keeping families together
    • Supporting tamariki Māori
    • Family and whānau care
    • Transition from care to adulthood
  • Intensive Response for whānau Māori
  • Care and Protection family group conferences
  • Support programmes
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Primary menu

  • Support for families , section links menu
    Support for families

    Support
    for families

    More about support for families , opens in a new window

    • How we support whānau
    • Intensive Response for whānau Māori
    • Care and Protection family group conferences
    • Support programmes
    • Children's Teams
    Support for families

    Support
    for families

    More about support for families , opens in a new window

    • How we support whānau
    • Intensive Response for whānau Māori
    • Care and Protection family group conferences
    • Support programmes
    • Children's Teams
  • Working with children , section links menu
    Working with children

    Working with children

    More about working with children , opens in a new window

    • Information sharing
    • Information for providers and partners
    • Requirements of the Children's Act
    • School-based social work programmes
    Working with children

    Working with children

    More about working with children , opens in a new window

    • Information sharing
    • Information for providers and partners
    • Requirements of the Children's Act
    • School-based social work programmes
  • Children in our care , section links menu
    Children in our care

    Children in our care

    More about children in our care , opens in a new window

    • Information for children
    • When does a child go into care?
    • What to expect when a child goes into care
    • National Care Standards
    • Transition Support Service for rangatahi
    • Safety of Children in Care
    • The Prime Minister's Oranga Tamariki Awards
    Children in our care

    Children in our care

    More about children in our care , opens in a new window

    • Information for children
    • When does a child go into care?
    • What to expect when a child goes into care
    • National Care Standards
    • Transition Support Service for rangatahi
    • Safety of Children in Care
    • The Prime Minister's Oranga Tamariki Awards
  • Caregiving , section links menu
    Caregiving

    Caregiving

    More about caregiving , opens in a new window

    • Who can be a caregiver?
    • Types of caregiving
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    • Financial help for caregivers
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    Caregiving

    Caregiving

    More about caregiving , opens in a new window

    • Who can be a caregiver?
    • Types of caregiving
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    • Caregiving support and learning
    • Caregiver stories
  • Youth justice , section links menu
    Youth justice

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    • Youth justice family group conferences
    • Children who offend
    • Supporting victims
    • Youth justice residences
    • Youth Justice Community Homes
    Youth justice

    Youth justice

    More about youth justice , opens in a new window

    • Youth justice family group conferences
    • Children who offend
    • Supporting victims
    • Youth justice residences
    • Youth Justice Community Homes
  • Adoption , section links menu
    Adoption

    Adoption

    More about adoption , opens in a new window

    • Adopting in NZ
    • Adopting a child from overseas
    • Placing your child for adoption
    • Finding your birth family
    • Surrogacy and adoption
    • Enquiry form
    Adoption

    Adoption

    More about adoption , opens in a new window

    • Adopting in NZ
    • Adopting a child from overseas
    • Placing your child for adoption
    • Finding your birth family
    • Surrogacy and adoption
    • Enquiry form
  • About us , section links menu
    About us

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    • Te Riu – our senior leaders
    About us

    About us

    More about us , opens in a new window

    • Vision and values
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    • Performance and monitoring
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    • Research
    • Careers at Oranga Tamariki
    • News
    • Contact us
    • Te Riu – our senior leaders

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