Minister for Children Karen Chhour. Photo: NZME / Mark Mitchell
The government is celebrating what it says is the first recorded reduction in levels of reported harm in state care residences.
Minister for Children Karen Chhour said the Youth Justice and Care and Protection residences had seen a 14 percent drop in reported harm since 2024.
She put that down to improved training, recruitment and leadership at Oranga Tamariki, as well as better induction programmes for staff, and a new practice of using transparent bags, so the contents could be watched over.
"We have introduced a practice of only using see-through bags in these residences, so that the contents can be observed," Chhour said, "This supports safety by preventing unauthorised or potentially harmful items being brought in, even inadvertently.
"It is tragic that any harm occurs, but we have made a number of investments and changes to practice to get meaningful reductions to harm. We are fixing what matters."
She said, when children and young people experienced harm in a residence, there was planning for immediate safety, medical response was provided when needed and police were involved when required.
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