Oranga Tamariki has been slammed in an internal review into its attempt to remove a 6-day-old baby boy from his 19-year-old mother at Hawke's Bay Hospital.
The review, released today, found that Oranga Tamariki didn't do enough to build relationships with the family in question, nor did it properly explore placing the baby in the wider family. The lack of engagement meant the assessment behind the removal order was based on the views of a single Oranga Tamariki employee, and "no clear rationale" was noted for the decision. "Too much reliance was placed on historical information about the whānau and not enough effort was made to understand their current situation," the review said.
Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss, apologised for the mistakes and said new practices would be implemented immediately to avoid history repeating. "I know we have hurt this whānau - and I am truly sorry. Our work wasn't of a high standard and our usual checks and balances failed," Moss said in a statement. Moss said that an offer to apologise to the family in person has been made, but legal counsel for the family dispute this.
"This was never specifically offered. We need time to consider the report and provide our clients with advice before receiving her instructions on next steps," Janet Mason, from Phoenix Law, told the Herald.
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