Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 (Oranga Tamariki Act)

Formally recognised the ‘mixed economy’ of child welfare that had operated informally since the 19^th century (government agencies, families, and communities).^[i] The Act incorporated the Treaty and came out of recommendations from Rangihau’s 1986 report to recognise the value of kinship groups and the personal roles of Māori such as elders.^[ii] The Act asserted the primacy of families, whānau, and family groups in having and taking responsibility for the welfare of their members.^[iii] Disruptions to the families would henceforth be minimal, children's rights as individuals emphasised, and child and family viewed as inextricably bound together (emphasising family based decision making via family group conferences). It included approval and funding for community- and iwi-based schemes. The Act also distinguished between issues of welfare and those of justice, between those of care and protection and those of youth offending. Legislation was not funded adequately due to times of government retrenchment and there was also a reduction in funding for youth justice.^[iv]

The Act made funding available for community facilities to offer residential programmes. Facilities were small and localised, focusing on rehabilitating children back into their community e.g. Napier’s Nga Toko Rima Hinemanuhiri Trust that provided care specifically for Ngati Kahungunu children or the Dingwall Trust in Auckland.^[v]

The 1989 Act led to almost 6,000 youth justice family group conferences in the first year of operation.^[vi] It also replaced visiting committees with Residential Management Committees that had responsibilities to iwi and the community to ensure residences followed bicultural practices.^[vii]

By late 1989 the Department had only nine residences with 300 beds. The average number of admissions to all institutions dropped from 202 a month to 75 which led to a review of residential services in 1990.^[viii] More than 6,500 child abuse and neglect cases were recorded in 1989.^[ix]