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3 May 2023
Scout Barbour-Evans
[FYI request #22338 email]
Tēnā koe Scout
Thank you for your email of 31 March 2023 to Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children
(Oranga Tamariki). Your request has been considered under the Of icial Information Act
1982 (the Act).
You have requested:
•
A copy of all current internal Complaints Procedures and Policies
•
A copy of all current internal Investigation Procedures and Policies
•
Any Procedures and policies addressing the use of Family Group Conferences for
whānau who are not going through court processes and stil have custody of their
child.
Oranga Tamariki values feedback both good and bad and are committed to responding
to feedback and working with individuals to resolve concerns.
As part of our complaints system, we have processes in place to ensure responses to
whānau feedback and complaints are completed appropriately, in a timely, fair, and
tamariki focused way. We understand all whānau are unique, and the issues raised are
often complex and of a sensitive nature. We take this into consideration, so each
investigation and response are unique to the concerns raised.
When the Feedback and Complaints team receive an issue from tamariki, whānau, or
members of the public, the team logs the issue, acknowledges receipt of the issue, and
then allocates the matter to the appropriate part of Oranga Tamariki to investigate and
address. This usually falls under two pathways, complaints addressed by the Site and
complaints addressed centrally.
The pathway for complaints addressed by site is:
•
Complaints addressed by site relate to issues around whānau experiences
with specific sites and social workers. The complaint is usually allocated to
the site staff that have the current knowledge of the case and have built
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relationships with the whānau and is overseen by the site manager. We
consider that by raising issues directly with the people involved ensures
transparency and a quicker resolution to concerns.
•
Any areas identified as needing to be resolved or learnings for social work
practice are passed on to staff at the local site, including the Site Practice
Leader working with staff when appropriate.
The pathway for complaints addressed central y is:
•
Complaints which are assessed by the Feedback and Complaints team as
complex in nature are allocated to the Complaint Management team in
National Office, who are a dedicated complaints team that sit outside of site.
•
The Complaints Management team then conduct a complaints investigation.
The complaint is usual y allocated to a senior advisor who wil contact the
person who made the complaint, staff from the sites involved, and review
other case information as needed to complete the investigation.
•
Similarly, to the above pathway, at the end of the Complaints Management
investigation, as part of the complaint resolution, Complaints Management
work with the Site to create a plan to address any identified issues.
With both complaint pathways, the complainant receives a formal outcome of the
complaint investigation via a letter or as part of a hui-a-whānau. As part of the outcome,
apologies can be offered and in some cases options to further address the concerns.
If the complainant considers the issues remain unresolved or would like their complaint
explored further, there is an additional process where they can approach the Feedback
and Complaint team again. The team wil then assess the previous complaint to ensure
that the complaints process followed was appropriate.
Further information on our statutory obligations is outlined under the Oranga Tamariki
Children’s and Young People’s wellbeing Act 1989 availabl
e here.
Please find attached as Appendix One, a diagram showing the complaints process
(
Feedback Resolution Process).
In addition to our own internal complaints process, there are external bodies able to
consider complaints and concerns about Oranga Tamariki. This includes the Of ice of the
Children’s commissioner (OCC), Social Worker Registration Board (SWRB), Office of the
Ombudsman and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
Relevant policy and guidance addressing the use of Family Group Conferences (FGC)
can be found in the below links which are made publicly availabl
e here .Therefore, we are
refusing this part of your request under section 18(d) of the Act, as this information is
publicly available.
•
Family group conferences for care or protection concerns | Practice Centre |
Oranga Tamariki
•
Care and protection family group conference | Practice Centre | Oranga Tamariki
•
Social worker referral for a care and protection family group conference — section
18(1) | Practice Centre | Oranga Tamariki
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•
Preparing for the care and protection family group conference | Practice Centre |
Oranga Tamariki
•
Family group conference to consider if a tamaiti or rangatahi is in need of care and
protection or assistance – section 28(b) | Practice Centre | Oranga Tamariki
•
People entitled to attend a care and protection family group conference — section
22 | Practice Centre | Oranga Tamariki
•
Holding the care and protection family group conference | Practice Centre |
Oranga Tamariki
•
Developing a plan at the care and protection family group conference | Practice
Centre | Oranga Tamariki
•
Review of the care and protection family group conference plan | Practice Centre |
Oranga Tamariki
•
About family group conferencing | Practice Centre | Oranga Tamariki
Oranga Tamariki intends to make the information contained in this letter and any attached
documents available to the public. We wil do this by publishing this letter and
attachments on our website. Your personal details wil be deleted and we will not publish
any information that would identify you as the person who requested the information.
I trust the information provided is useful. I encourage you to raise any concerns about
the response with
[email address]. Alternatively, you are advised of your right
to also raise any concerns with the Office of the Ombudsman by contacting them on 0800
802 602 or at
[email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Julie Miller
General Manager Monitoring and External Relationships
Quality Practise and Experience
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Document Outline
