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

How we support whānau

Where possible we try to keep families together. Taking children into care is a last resort. We are working more and more with iwi and communities to support at-risk children 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.

    14 April 2022

  • Supporting families with babies

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

    6 July 2020

  • Hui ā-whānau

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

    18 November 2021

  • Keeping families together

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

    15 November 2021

  • 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 children with caregivers from their wider family or whānau.

    6 October 2020

  • Transition from care to adulthood

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

    22 February 2022

Published: May 31, 2022

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
  • 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
    • 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
    • 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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    • Caregiving support and learning
    • Caregiver stories
    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

    Youth justice

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    • Youth justice family group conferences
    • Children who offend
    • Supporting victims
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    • 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
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    About us

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