Children in the care of the state are “getting the bash” from Oranga Tamariki staff according to a new report that finds abuse of children in state care is rising.

In the 12 months to March 2024, 507 young people were abused or neglected while in Oranga Tamariki’s care, up from 497 in the previous year and 459 in the year prior, according to the Independent Children’s Monitor’s annual report into New Zealand experiences of care.

The report found there were “disproportionate levels of abuse” in youth justice residences and when children returned to their parents’ care. Almost a quarter of young people in the justice residences had been abused, with about a fifth of that abuse coming at the hands of residence staff.

It noted how the abuse committed by staff included using “excessive force including punches, hits to the head and rangatahi ‘getting the bash’”.

Monitor chief executive Arran Jones told the Herald he wasn’t surprised by the level of abuse within the youth justice residences, citing Oranga Tamariki’s recent review into reports of residence staff bullying the young people and forcing them to fight one another.

He said it was clear Oranga Tamariki hadn’t appropriately staffed the residences but he took solace from what he described as a genuine desire from agency chief executive Andrew Bridgman to address the level of abuse.

Oranga Tamariki chief executive Andrew Bridgman says he is concerned about the increase in harm and has sought to improve the processes through which young people could raise concerns about instances of harm. Photo / Jamie Ensor

Bridgman, who was not available for an interview, said in a statement he was concerned about the increase in harm and sought to improve the processes through which young people could raise concerns about instances of harm.

Children’s Minister Karen Chhour was also unavailable for an interview but said in a statement: “No amount of abuse or neglect in care is ever acceptable.”

Abuse observed within the youth justice residences across the country had been a longstanding issue for Oranga Tamariki and contributed to a rapid review published in 2023 that found the agency needed to strengthen its health and safety culture, accountability and reporting in secure residences.

The increase in abuse across 2023/24 came alongside a decrease in the number of children in state care compared with the previous year by about 100 to 4391.

Abuse committed by staff had almost doubled in the last year from 24 instances to 41. The report noted how the emotional abuse staff inflicted included verbal threats and failing to protect young people from “alleged organisational fighting”.

Rates of harm were also high for those young people who returned home while in state care with 11% abused or neglected over the reporting period.

Jones linked that finding to another from his report that showed of those young people who had an unplanned return to their home while in care, only 15% were visited weekly by a social worker.

He explained how children returning home, often to a place considered dysfunctional to begin with, were twice as likely to be harmed and he criticised Oranga Tamariki for the responsiveness of its social workers, given the agency had already identified it as a priority area.

“That’s incredibly low.”

Jones said the overall level of harm was concerning. However, he pointed to the Government’s military-style academy pilot which had found no instances of abuse during its three-month in-residence phase.

“It shows what is possible if you have the right resources in place. The question is how do you scale it up?

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.