Some social workers are having to rely on written advice rather than meeting a lawyer to discuss a case. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Oranga Tamariki is training social workers about their legal duties, but says it is not asking them to take on more tasks in court.
The ministry recently said it had discovered its legal section was usurping social workers, who were poorly trained and anxious about their legal obligations.
It has promised to fix this, and said it was still working on how a review would proceed.
In its most recent round of public sector spending cuts, Oranga Tamariki pulled back from cutting lawyers' jobs when social workers said they were afraid their lack of training would be exposed in court.
"To be clear, Oranga Tamariki is not asking social workers to do more in court," it told RNZ on Thursday.
"We are continuing to monitor how we service each of the courts to ensure we are focusing on children's safety and the best possible outcomes for children and families."
It was also training staff about their statutory social work role.
Due to "some resource gaps throughout the country" in its legal team, sometimes social workers were having to rely on written advice rather than meeting a lawyer to discuss a case, it said.
"There is no expectation that social workers would ... attend Family Court Hearings or participate in other formal legal process without appropriate representation from a lawyer."
