More than 95,000 reports of concern were made to Oranga Tamariki last year. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The number of reports of concern about at-risk children made to Oranga Tamariki spiked more than a third last year.
The agency said it was still trying to figure out why the number of reports has increased, while organisations supporting whānau to keep children safe say those they work with are struggling to get the support they need.
Official data shows more than 95,000 reports of concern were made to Oranga Tamariki last year - 35 percent more than in 2023.
RNZ graphic / Data from Oranga Tamariki Photo: Supplied
There is also an indication that could be the highest number since at least 2012. An Oranga Tamariki report out last year analysed a decrease in reports of concern following a peak of more than 92,000 in 2018, although that report looked at financial years.
Supplied / Oranga Tamariki Photo: Supplied
Oranga Tamariki spokesperson Rachel Leota said there were a few factors behind last year's hike.
They included more family harm reports from police, "greater engagement" from schools, more whānau members raising concerns, and some "small changes" in Oranga Tamariki's reporting.
Leota said not every report of concern needed intervention.
But the organisation's latest quarterly report measuring its work from July to September noted an increase in reports that need a "critical or very urgent" response.
Leota said Oranga Tamariki did not yet know why.
"We would need to see more of the analysis before I could make any determination on that," she said.
That information was due in the next quarterly report, but it was unclear when that would be available.
RNZ asked whether Leota considered the spike significant, and if she was concerned.
"We are doing some analysis in regards to all of those causation factors, but I do believe it is important that the community have trust and confidence in Oranga Tamariki and are able to raise those concerns," she said.
Service providers agreed it was important that people spoke up if they were worried about tamariki, but they were not convinced an increase in reporting was the only reason for the spike.
Wellington's Wesley Community Action director David Hanna said families were doing it tough, and stress was high for any number of reasons, including cost of living, inadequate housing, unemployment, and a lack of access to health services.
But funding cuts to some early intervention services like his last year would not have helped, with whānau struggling to get the support they need, he said.
"It sort of mirrors what's happening in the health system.
Zoe Witika-Hawke, chief executive at Auckland iwi health and social services provider E Tipu E Rea, said reports of concern trending down before last year proved the importance of early intervention services.
"I think it's definitely a signal that we were doing a good job, and that we can do a good job, and that we were really fine tuning the tautoko, the service, that we offered to our whānau."
Last year's spike showed whānau needed help now more than ever, she said.
"The prevention arm, if it's not there, we know that communities will see the consequences."
Leota said she did not have analysis on whether cuts or changes to early intervention and prevention services may have contributed to more reports of concern.
"We do spend $500m worth of services out in the community, last year and this year, so there are absolutely supports available for whānau and for children," she said.
Children's Minister Karen Chhour was contacted for an interview.
In January she told Oranga Tamariki to "pause its current review" of contracts with providers, which she said created unnecessary disruption and uncertainty for both providers and the public.
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