Kia ora,

I’m making this Official Information Act request as part of ADHDInquiryNZ, a grassroots, unfunded, and non-partisan volunteer initiative supporting a public petition calling for a Parliamentary inquiry into systemic harm to people with ADHD in Aotearoa. This request focuses on information held by your agency to help identify how ADHD is currently recognised within existing systems. The information gathered from this and related requests will be used to help identify any patterns across agencies and will contribute to the evidence provided to the Petitions Committee when the petition period closes. I appreciate the time involved in OIA responses.

Please treat this as a request for official information under the OIA. I understand the agency’s obligation to assist under s 13 and that a decision should be made within 20 working days of receipt (and that any transfer must occur within 10 working days). If any part of this request requires clarification, please let me know no later than 5 working days from receipt. If an extension under s 15A is needed, please state the reason and duration. This request is confined to information held by Oranga Tamariki; please do not transfer for commentary.

This request relates to Oranga Tamariki’s work with children, young people, whānau, caregivers, and youth justice / care and protection systems. I am not seeking access to individual case files or personal information about identifiable tamariki or rangatahi.

Timeframe: This request covers the period 1 January 2015 to the date this request is received.

Format: Where datasets, tables, or modelling outputs are provided, I request they be supplied in machine-readable format (CSV or original spreadsheet file) along with any data dictionaries or field definitions. A machine-readable format is requested to minimise collation and preserve original structure.

Scope clarification to reduce unnecessary work
To streamline this request, I am not seeking internal email chains, drafts, or personal information about individuals unless they are the only holders of the substantive information described.

If any part of this request is likely to be refused under s 18(f) due to substantial collation, please identify that specific part early so I can refine it.

Context (for clarity only)
I am aware that Oranga Tamariki’s 2023 prototype disability definition includes ADHD as a neurodiverse condition. This request is not about the definition itself but the operational application of ADHD within Oranga Tamariki’s systems, including how ADHD is recognised, recorded, supported, or informed through data, training, guidance, or practice materials.

Please provide:

1. Policy, practice, and training
Any policies, practice frameworks, training materials, or operational guidance since 2015 that mention ADHD in the context of:
-care and protection
-youth justice
-family group conferences
-residential care
-assessment, planning, or support for tamariki and rangatahi.

For clarity, this request includes any ADHD-related material that Oranga Tamariki may categorise under broader behavioural, developmental, neurodisability, trauma-related, or complex-needs groupings where relevant to ADHD recognition, assessment, or support.

This includes any information relating to intersectional neurodivergent cohorts, such as ADHD alongside autism, intellectual disability, FASD, learning disability, trauma-related neurodevelopmental needs, or other co-occurring conditions where relevant to practice or support.

2. Data and analysis
Any data, studies, or reports identifying ADHD among children and young people known to Oranga Tamariki, including (where available):
-any prevalence or descriptive statistics for ADHD within care and protection or youth justice populations, if held
-any analysis of outcomes for children or young people with ADHD engaged with Oranga Tamariki.

If any Māori data governance or Māori equity considerations were applied when deciding whether to collect, categorise, or monitor ADHD-related information, please provide the relevant documents.

(Anonymised or aggregated information is sufficient; I am not seeking identifiable case information.)

3. Programmes and inter-agency coordination
Any programmes, pilots, initiatives, or formal coordination with other agencies (for example, education, health, or justice) that focus on:
-identifying ADHD among tamariki/rangatahi engaged with Oranga Tamariki
-supporting children and young people with ADHD and their whānau, caregivers, or placements
-improving access to ADHD assessment or support for those in care or youth justice settings.

4. Barriers and limitations
Any advice, reports, internal documents, or correspondence acknowledging barriers or limitations in recognising, assessing, or supporting ADHD within:
-care and protection systems
-youth justice services
-residential care
-contracted providers or community partners.

4A. High and Complex Needs Unit
Please provide any documents, analysis, reports, or guidance relating to ADHD or neurodevelopmental needs among children and young people in the High and Complex Needs Unit, including (where available) any information on prevalence, referral processes, assessment pathways, service models, and any identified barriers to support.

4B. Youth Justice residential intervention models
Please provide any documents or correspondence relating to Oranga Tamariki’s involvement in Youth Justice “boot camp” or residential intervention models (including cross-agency arrangements with Corrections), where ADHD or other neurodevelopmental needs were identified, relevant, or discussed.

5. Public-facing and caregiver-facing information
Any public-facing or caregiver-facing materials, campaigns, or online resources since 2015 that include ADHD-related information relevant to:
-tamariki/rangatahi in care or youth justice
-whānau, caregivers, or foster carers
-Oranga Tamariki staff or partner organisations.

If none exist, please confirm this.

6. Classification and categorisation
If Oranga Tamariki does not explicitly track ADHD as a separate category, please:
-confirm this
-state under which broader categories it would be recorded (for example, “behavioural”, “mental health”, “neurodevelopmental”, or “learning difficulty”)
-provide any guidance, coding standards, or data dictionaries that show how ADHD-related needs are categorised in Oranga Tamariki systems.

If information is not held
If your agency does not hold some or all of the information requested, that absence also helps clarify how ADHD is currently recognised, tracked, and responded to within care and youth justice systems. Identifying such gaps is part of building the evidence base for an informed, coordinated response.

Please confirm if the information is not held by your agency, and include any existing documents or correspondence that record a decision not to collect or monitor ADHD-related information. If applicable, please also indicate how related matters are categorised (for example, under neurodiversity, mental health, disability, behavioural conditions, or learning difficulty).

Ngā mihi,
Elspeth Baker-Vevers