Family Start is funded by Oranga Tamariki, but faces the loss of almost half its frontline staff due to funding cuts. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
A Nelson-based organisation that supports the most vulnerable tamariki and their whānau across the top of the South Island is set to lose almost 40 percent of its frontline staff, as Oranga Tamariki reduces its funding.
Shelley Wilson has been a social worker with Family Start in Nelson for 23 years - visiting at risk infants in Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough, every week from when they are born until they are three years old.
"You basically name it, we do it, we get into a family and whatever is going on for them, we help them work through it."
The service is funded by Oranga Tamariki and gets referrals from health professionals and other organisations, who have concerns about a child's wellbeing.
"It could be anything from alcohol and drug abuse, family violence, mental health, a history of children in care or being a child in care yourself, other social and heath issues that would put at risk the optimum development of an infant.
"It's hard work, it's important work and it's being badly, badly impacted by these funding cuts."
Wilson said staff were anxious and worried about what the future held.
"We are all working on full case capacity at the moment, we are all flat out and at this point we've got a waitlist that we don't know what to do with, because we don't know where our funding is at and what we can offer, moving forward.
"We are still managing to make it work, but there's no security anymore and no long-term sense that what we do today we will be able to follow on with tomorrow and see the benefits of next week and really see these babies flourish."
A report by Oranga Tamariki in 2021 found participation in the Family Start programme was estimated to have reduced overall post-neonatal mortality in the first year of life by 42 percent.
"I think we make a massive difference in keeping children safe in New Zealand, we know our child homicide rates are outrageous, we know our child abuse rates are outrageous and we know that Family Start works really well to prevent this."
Family Start Nelson manager Rebecca Ravenscroft said they were facing the loss of up to six of their 16 whānau workers. That meant there were around 50 families they would no longer support be able to support, and Ravenscroft had been told they would be transferred into other services.
"But there is no other service in the Nelson, Tasman, Marlborough region that does what Family Start does, so effectively they are just going to be left alone."
She was particularly concerned about the cuts affecting rural and isolated whānau - and the loss of funding for interpreters for refugee and migrant whānau.
The service has a main office in Nelson, with branches in Motueka, Takaka and Blenheim. Whānau workers currently support 184 families, including in isolated areas such as Bainham, Murchison and Seddon. Of the whānau it currently supports, 12 families come from a refugee background where communication can be difficult.
"Something that is really bothering me is that our whānau workers are frontline workers, they are in the homes of these whānau and whenever they visit they have to site the baby so they are definitely frontline workers, when the Minister has told us frontline jobs won't be cut."
Government response
Minister for Children Karen Chhour would not comment on individual provider contracts, but maintained the government had not reduced front line services.
She said Oranga Tamariki was replacing its contracts with more efficient, consistent, and cost-effective arrangements and estimates it could recover $30m from providers because of under-delivery of services.
"I have advised Oranga Tamariki that it must keep the child at the centre of all its funding decisions, ultimately it must put the safety of the children in its care ahead of the safety and security of the businesses run by its providers."
Chhour said there had not been enough rigourous evaluation of Oranga Tamariki contracts in the past and that was being re-evaluated.
Ravenscroft disputed the service had under-delivered and said it was working at 90 percent of its capacity and she urged Oranga Tamariki to reverse the decision to cut funding for front-line staff.
"Our whānau workers have full caseloads and that is with our board funding one FTE position, plus we have a waiting list, so the service is well utilised."
PSA national sector lead Josh Gardner said Family Start were looking at a $14m funding cut - which meant the loss of more than 100 social workers across the motu.
"Especially in this time of need and a week and a half after the Abuse in State Care report, it is pretty devastating when these workers are trying to work with these very vulnerable families and these very vulnerable pepi."
He said the union was challenging the cuts, but if they went ahead, about 1600 families that were currently supported would no longer be seen.
"We are trying to mobilise with like allies to have these conversations with government and get them pull to back on the decisions they have put forward, this is frontline work and frontline workers in the community who make a real difference in New Zealanders lives."
Oranga Tamariki DCE enabling communities & investments Darrin Haimona said it was still in the process of finalising Family Start contracts and services will continue - but that there will be reductions based around whānau volumes, key deliverables and recent vacancies for each provider.
