18/07/2023
Tena Koutou Katoa
NUPE members may finally have been heard – now we must ensure they follow up on what they have said today. (See below)
You will be aware of the ongoing safety issues in the Youth Justice space. We have highlighted to OT that it is not acceptable that staff are required to work in unsafe environments where they are at true risk of significant injury or death. The risk is real and not acceptable. Unfortunately, NUPE is currently advocating/ supporting several of our members who have been injured at work ( most have been assaults). NUPE has provided a view to OT that:
1. The powers related to admission and retention in Secure Care must be utilised.
2. That more Secure Care units must be designated.
3. That those young people that present with a higher and ongoing risk of assault of others and general disorder be maintained in a Secure Unit on a Secure Programme.
Oranga Tamariki have identified 20 high risk young people and another 20 that sit just below that. It is our view that if there is a resident that is not on board with the programme, being compliant and whose behaviour presents risk or destabilisation of the unit, then they must be removed from the unit and managed on an appropriate plan in Secure Care until such time as they can be safe in the open units, this means complying with direction and participating in the programme. Poor behaviour must be addressed at the lowest level and a higher expectation of behaviour must be conveyed.
There have been ongoing issues with capacity of Secure Care, staffing Secure Care with people that can do the work required and often members report that young people rotate through Secure Care without a focus on developing strengthened behavioural skills due to the high demand for Secure Care beds. NUPE is clear that if young people are presenting with risk, they must be placed in Secure Care until they can demonstrate they are no longer a risk. This may require back-to-back retentions and more designated units.
Further NUPE advocates that those that are highest risk, older or on their way to Prison, that meet the criteria of a persistent life course offender, are removed, and managed separately from others.
NUPE has meet over the last two weeks with senior leaders from Mike Bush’s new team and they report that they had papers before Cabinet yesterday seeking to allow admission to Secure Care for general disorder. They explained an intent to designate more units as Secure Care. They detailed interim measures to address current risk as well as medium- and long-term measures which included solidifying training for leaders and the floor as well as the design and build of two units specifically for those that are highest risk.
Today the Minister Kelvin Davis released information about plans to strengthen Youth Justice, this is pasted below. It is positive that there is an acknowledgement by the Minister and leadership that Justice Residences must be safe. It is positive that there is acknowledgement that the facilities are not suitable to meet the needs of the older cohort of young people that are now in residence due to raising of the age. Searches of visitors and of young people that enter the residence is a positive step. NUPE has highlighted to the leadership that the key points on our previous work plan with OT are still imperatives. These include the roster change, better use of Secure Care, re-introduction of SOPS.
NUPE has been advocating for the safety of residences and we are being heard. Our advocacy in the FGC Coordinator space has also been heard and this is reflected in the media release below.
The bottom line is that when you go to work, you must be resourced, you must be safe and supported. NUPE also is very clear that when things go wrong, and the media is commenting it is not ok to always point fault to the frontline staff. We acknowledge sometimes practice needs to be looked at, but it is very clear that there are many significant improvements needed.
We are very aware that there is a lot more going on in the Oranga Tamariki space and we will provide a further update to OT members later this week.
Release
18 JULY 2023
Kelvin Davis
• Work started on two new youth justice units for up to 30 high needs youth.
• Legislation changes to make residences safer and more secure.
• Improved Family Group Conferences and extra Family Group Coordinators focused on youth crime.
• Better co-operation between Oranga Tamariki and Police for quicker referrals and stricter compliance
The Government is taking further steps to strengthen the youth justice system, with two new high needs units to be built and legislation to make residences safer and more secure.
“When a young person is sent to a youth justice facility by the Court the public have an expectation that they will not only be held accountable for crimes such as ram raids but also receive the rehabilitation they need,” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said.
“Youth Justice residences need to be secure, safe places and it has become clear that the introduction of 17-year-olds into the system has created challenges and we need to do things differently.
“So today, I’m announcing the Government will start work towards building two new youth justice units to cater for up to 30 higher needs youth. The units will aim to provide more intensive support for the most serious offending and will predominantly cater for older teenagers.
“There is a big difference between a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old and what support and guidance they need. I want to see these new units designed with the best-possible rehabilitation models in mind for these offenders,” Chris Hipkins said.
Minister for Children Kelvin Davis said new changes to legislation would also be introduced to allow for staff, visitors, and young people to be searched in a non-invasive manner when entering the premises.
The ability to place young people in secure care when it is believed a mass disorder event is imminent will also be a new tool available to staff.
“Over the past six months we have seen an increase in unacceptable behaviour in youth justice residences, such as damage to facilities and roof stand-offs,” Kelvin Davis said.
“That is simply not good enough and along with the immediate strengthening of these facilities staff need to be able to stop these types of events when they know something is brewing.”
“It is equally unacceptable that there is little ability to search someone, whether they be staff, visitors, or the young people themselves when they enter a residence.
“This will be an important change to reduce any contraband and weapons entering, and I expect it to be done in the least-invasive way possible – more akin to passing through a metal detector at airport security.”
While residences need to be safe and secure, it is also clear that the best way to both reduce victimisation and break the cycle for a young person is to wrap around them and their family early.
Oranga Tamariki Family Group Conferences (FGC) will see the benefit of additional resources with an extra $1 million going towards new family group coordinators who, for the first time, will be specifically focused on youth crime issues.
Family Group Conferences are formal meetings where the family comes together with professionals to talk about concerns Oranga Tamariki may hold for a child.
Additionally, Police and Oranga Tamariki have also agreed to develop a protocol that will streamline the process of referring a young person to a FGC when warranted and to respond quicker when a young person has breached a Family Court order.
“We know that these processes often reduce the chances of a young person reoffending and that’s what we know the public want.
“When the Family Court has granted custody and support orders for these young people that include conditions to manage the risk of re-offending, we need to respond quicker to any sign that is happening – these protocols will do that.
“Making sure Police and Oranga Tamariki work together and have a clear process for when someone should or shouldn’t be referred to a FGC will help speed up the system and lead to better results for everyone,” Kelvin Davis said.
