Carers 'victims of vendetta'

By REBECCA WALSH

An Auckland couple at the centre of a Child, Youth and Family Services investigation say they have been wrongly accused of assaulting children in their care.

Keni and Waaka Otene told the Herald that they did not know the details of the allegations against them, but they were adamant they had never assaulted any of the children they provided a home to.

"I think this is a personal vendetta," Mrs Otene said.

"What they [CYFS] are doing is totally wrong. I know I'm a good caregiver. I know I'm hard but I'm also fair."

On Tuesday, the Herald reported that two children's homes in Auckland had been closed while CYFS investigated the treatment of at-risk children by staff.

One home is in East Auckland and was closed on February 8.

The Otenes have been the residential caregivers for just over three years at the other home, which was closed on February 16.

Child, Youth and Family Services has refused to give details of the allegations but says children in care may have been in danger.

Mr and Mrs Otene said they had been kept in the dark about the situation and were upset by the home's closure. Mrs Otene said that in the past three years the agency had given them inadequate support.

The couple looked after youths aged 13 to 17, many of whom were violent offenders on criminal charges.

Mrs Otene said she was regularly threatened by teenagers the size of grown men and her husband often had to break up fights.

"We are dealing with offenders, not 5- or 10-year-olds. They are offenders who are street wise."

More secure homes were needed to contain more dangerous young people, the couple said.

"Moving the more violent kids into more confined areas would work," said Mrs Otene. "We are there to give them food and a bed ... We do not deserve to be threatened or have our personal stuff stolen."

The Otenes said that in 1998 CYFS investigated an allegation that Mr Otene had chased a boy with a gun, but it found that the claim was unsubstantiated.

The couple also said they had been forced to use their own money to pay for bedding, plates and cutlery and were owed more than $200 for medical expenses.

Auckland City police are investigating one of the two homes but have not laid any charges.

Spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty would not say which home was under investigation.

But campaigner Dermot Nottingham, who is acting as the Otenes' advocate, said the police had not spoken to the couple.

Mr Nottingham believed that CYFS was "passing the buck" and it was likely that a caregiver would be seriously injured or killed soon.

The Otenes, who are staying in an Auckland motel, have five children and 17 grandchildren.

A CYFS spokesman said the agency could not comment until the investigation was over.