Minister for children Kelvin Davis said Te ra Mātua was a bespoke iwi-led solution and would be one part of larger reform. Photo / Warren Buckland
Minister for children Kelvin Davis said Te ra Mātua was a bespoke iwi-led solution and would be one part of larger reform. Photo / Warren Buckland
Ngāti Kahungunu has given its first in-depth look at its iwi-led model that aims to prevent whānau entering the Oranga Tamariki system.
The iwi, with its health and wellbeing advisory group Te Tumu Whakahaere o Te Wero (Te Wero), and Oranga Tamariki, officially launched Te Ara Mātua at Waipatu Maraeon Wednesday.
Four years earlier at the same marae, the iwi had held a series of wananga with whanau to understand the stories and personal experiences they had with Oranga Tamariki and the wider care and protection system.
Emotions were high at that time after a stand-off at Hawke’s Bay Hospital during the attempted Oranga Tamariki uplift of a 7-day-old baby boy.
Former Ngati Kahungunu chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana stated in the days following the stand-off that “not one more child will be uplifted and iwi will intervene at all costs”.
A report, Korero Mai Whanau, was commissioned after the wananga and Ngāti Kahungunu gave a series of recommendations to the Government before beginning the process of designing, developing and implementing Te Ara Matua alongside Te Tumu Whakahaere o Te Wero and Oranga Tamariki.
Four years on, a four-part whānau pathway has been created that will define Te Ara Mātua.
The first part is to grow whānau, hapū and iwi capability to be the first support option for whānau.
The second part involves collective work to ensure whānau have support, including regular contact, the sharing of stories, assessment of need, allocation of resources and mutual agreement.
Part three is about ensuring whānau voices are at the centre of decisions and plans, and includes providing role models, whānau identifying their Whānau Pou [support people] involved in the journey, regular check-ins and a collective decision on a plan.
Part four involves providing support for whānau to care for their mokopuna - whānau receive toolkits of resources and information and are given training and development.
Chappie Te Kani, chief executive at Oranga Tamariki - Ministry for Children at the launch of Te Ara Mātua partnership between Oranga Tamariki and Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated at Waipatu Marae. Photo / Warren Buckland
Iwi chief executive Chrissie Hape said in a statement she was pleased with the progress that had taken place and she thanked the whānau who shared their traumatic experiences as part of the Kōrero Mai report.
“I acknowledge Oranga Tamariki for seeing the need for change and being open to opportunities to improve the way we will do things together to enable a transition that will enhance the mana of our whānau,” Hape said.
“One of the changes is allowing whānau to champion their own changes by being involved in the design and roll-out of the transition.”
Oranga Tamariki chief executive Chappie Te Kani said in a statement that the programme’s development had been iwi- and whānau-led.
“Your experiences have been fundamental to the development of Te Ara Mātua. I wholeheartedly believe that other whānau will soon experience a very different journey thanks to you,” Te Kani said.
Minister for Children Kelvin Davis said Te Ara Mātua was part of a wider plan to transform Oranga Tamariki by empowering iwi and local organisations to be more involved.
“In August 2022 Te Atatū was launched in the Far North. Like Te Ara Mātua, their aim is to see fewer tamariki entering into care by ensuring that more effective, locally led prevention strategies are used to achieve this,” the statement said.
“The changes are making a difference. Since 2018 uplifts are down 73 per cent and there are 1600 fewer children in care.”
There are currently nine similar prototypes across Aotearoa.
Davis told Hawke’s Bay Today it was important the solutions were “bespoke” for each region.
“You can’t just take something from Ngāti Kahungunu and plonk it up north with Nga Puhi or vice versa.”
Te Kani and Davis said there were 29 whānau involved with the development of Te Ara Mātua and who were part of the programme at launch.
“Other whānau will go on to benefit from this as well,” Davis said.
