State of Care series, #5, December 2017

From October to November 2016, the Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) conducted a review of six Child, Youth and Family (CYF) sites. This review was in preparation for the establishment of Oranga Tamariki in April 2017. The review confirmed that high quality preparation for family group conferences (FGCs) is important both for engagement of children and young people and their whānau in FGCs and the subsequent quality of FGC plans. At the time of the visits, pre-FGC practices varied hugely across different sites.

The OCC concluded that as part of the transformation of CYF into Oranga Tamariki, there was a significant challenge ahead to ensure children and young people and their whānau are adequately prepared for FGCs and that groundwork has been properly laid for FGC involvement. Since the visits, OCC has been encouraged by the efforts made by Oranga Tamariki to improve FGC preparation. (From the website). On the website you will also find a video of Judge Andrew Becroft talking to Restorative Practices Aotearoa's Mike Hinton about family group conferences and restorative justice, and the OCC's media release about this report. Record #5697