Experiences of Care in Aotearoa 2022/2023
Agency Compliance with the National Care Standards and Related Matters Regulations
The National Care Standards (NCS) Regulations came into effect in 2019, and set out the minimum standard of care that must be provided when the state has custody of a child.
Aroturuki Tamariki Independent Children's Monitor report annually on whether agencies with custody and care responsibilities are complying with the NCS Regulations and whether it is making a difference for tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people) in care. They do this by looking at what the data shows and what people tell them they are experiencing.
Experiences of Care in Aotearoa 2022/2023 is their third full report on compliance with the NCS Regulations. They found that while some things have improved for tamariki and rangatahi in care, they are still not seeing their social worker often enough, their caregivers continue to need more support and there needs to be better prioritisation across government agencies of tamariki and rangatahi in care.
Oranga Tamariki, Open Home Foundation and Barnardos have custody and care responsibilities. Oranga Tamariki had custody of almost 99 percent of the 6,054 children in care during the 2022/2023 reporting period.