'Te Kahu Aroha' report

In Hanuere 2021, the Ministerial Advisory Board was appointed to provide independent advice and assurance to the Minister for Children across 3 key areas of Oranga Tamariki:

• Relationships with whānau, and Māori.
• Professional social work practices.
• organisational culture.

More than 70 hui were held with service providers, hapū, iwi, communities, heads of government agencies and statutory organisations. The Board also visited over 20 Oranga Tamariki site offices and spoke to more than 750 kaimahi, including social workers.

In Hepetema 2021, the Ministerial Advisory Board report, 'Hipokingia ki te Kahu Aroha Hipokingia ki te Katoa', or 'Te Kahu Aroha' for short, was released with a list of recommendations for Oranga Tamariki:

• Decision making and resources need to be shifted to communities, with tamariki and whānau at the centre of the system.
• A new operating model needs to be formed, with better support and training for social workers.
• The power to remove tamariki from their whānau, should only be utilised in extreme situations and not as a go-to solution for complex circumstances.

The Government accepted all the recommendations of 'Te Kahu Aroha' and Cabinet agreed to the future direction of Oranga Tamariki for the next 2 to 5 years, outlined in the Future Direction Plan.

The Ministerial Advisory Board will continue in their role until mid-2023, providing independent advice and assurance to the Minister on the performance of Oranga Tamariki in:

• fulfilling the recommendations in 'Te Kahu Aroha'
• progressing the actions in the Future Direction Plan.