Purpose
Te Tohu o te Ora is a recurring survey that helps Oranga Tamariki better understand the experiences of tamariki and rangatahi in care.
More than 800 tamariki and rangatahi took part in the survey between Nōema 2021 and Akuhata 2022.
The survey was designed with input from tamariki and rangatahi to ensure the survey approach is relevant, engaging, and accessible, and that questions are focused on aspects of care experience that are important to them.
Te Mātātaki 2023 presents findings from the second year of the survey, and outlines priority areas where action is required to improve experiences for tamariki and rangatahi in care.
Together, Te Tohu o te Ora and Te Mātātaki help ensure Oranga Tamariki is listening to the voices of tamariki and rangatahi in care and can be held accountable for whether their experiences are improving.
Methodology
The survey used a census approach so that all tamariki and rangatahi in the legal care of the Chief Executive who met the eligibility criteria, could be offered the chance to take part in the survey and have their voices heard. Tamariki and rangatahi were eligible to take part if they were aged between 10 and 17 years old, had been in the custody of the Chief Executive under a Care or Protection order for longer than 31 days, and were not living in a youth justice residence or community home.
The Oranga Tamariki client database was used to draw up a list of eligible tamariki and rangatahi. There were 2,659 tamariki and rangatahi in the original list drawn from the Oranga Tamariki database. Following updates to confirm eligibility and ensure accuracy there were 2,327 tamariki and rangatahi listed.
Survey delivery
The survey was delivered in four rounds with between two and four regions participating in each round. The paper based survey was administered via Oranga Tamariki sites, with social workers offering the survey to eligible tamariki and rangatahi during routine visits. Social workers were encouraged to offer the survey to as many eligible tamariki and rangatahi as possible. Participation was voluntary, and a carefully designed informed consent process was used to ensure tamariki and rangatahi understood that taking part was optional. Social workers went through the informed consent process with tamariki and rangatahi and tamariki and rangatahi gave their own consent to take part. Caregivers were informed about the survey and could choose to opt out – that is, they could choose for the tamariki and rangatahi they care for to not take part.
Tamariki and rangatahi were given the option of completing the survey in te reo Māori. They were also given the option of seeking help to complete the survey from their social worker. Social workers remained nearby to provide assistance and support to tamariki and rangatahi if asked, but otherwise gave tamariki and rangatahi space to complete the survey in private.
To ensure anonymity, tamariki and rangatahi were given a survey-specific unique identifier that was not connected to their name, and they sealed their completed questionnaires in an envelope to send to the survey team at Oranga Tamariki for data entry.
Questionnaire
The questionnaire and its content were formed around the experiences tamariki and rangatahi in care said were most important to them. Through a programme of formative qualitative research that included 110 interviews with care experienced tamariki and rangatahi, we identified the domains of experience that were most important to tamariki and rangatahi, what those experiences meant to them, and why they were important. These insights were used to build the survey questions (see Table 1).
In addition to the domains of experience tamariki and rangatahi identified as important to them, the final questionnaire (19 questions in total) included questions on: sociodemographic characteristics, domains of experience that have been shown in international research to relate to positive outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi in care, experiences with Oranga Tamariki and social workers and awareness of VOYCE-Whakarongo Mai, an advocacy service for care experienced tamariki and rangatahi.
The draft survey was tested with tamariki, rangatahi and social workers to ensure it was crafted using language that tamariki and rangatahi use and understand.
Participation
Social workers offered the survey to 1,847 (79%) of the 2,327 eligible tamariki and rangatahi across Aotearoa New Zealand. Of those, 1,545 agreed to take part resulting in a response rate of 84% among those offered the survey and 66% among all eligible tamariki and rangatahi.
Analysis
For each experience question, we calculated the proportion of respondents who chose each response option.
To assess whether responses differed across each of the key sociodemographic subgroups, we combined the two positive response options for each question (‘all the time/most of the time’; ‘yes, definitely/yes I think so’). We then used statistical tests (logistic regressions) to compare the total proportion of positive responses between subgroups, to see whether responses differed by age, gender, ethnicity, or care status. We ran these subgroup analyses for each subgroup that had at least 30 respondents (all except the ‘gender not listed’ gender group).
When interpreting the results in this report, it is important to note that any difference described as ‘higher/more likely than’ or ‘lower/less likely than’ was statistically significant (i.e., the difference was not within the margin of error). In this report, the word ‘significant’ specifically refers to statistical significance and does not mean ‘large’ or ‘meaningful’. Finally, some percentages may not total exactly 100% due to rounding.
Key Results
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Do you feel settled where you live now?” to assess how comfortable and stable they feel in their current care placement. The majority of tamariki and rangatahi (90%) indicated they felt settled (chose ‘Yes, I think so’ or ‘Yes, definitely’). Six in 10 said they ‘definitely’ felt settled, one in 10 did not feel settled. There were no significant differences by age, gender, ethnicity, or care status.
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Do the adults you live with now look after you well?” to assess how well they feel cared for in their current care placement. Most tamariki and rangatahi (97%) indicated the adults they live with look after them well, with eight in 10 indicating they did so ‘all of the time’. There were no significant differences by age, gender or ethnicity, but those with no care status recorded (95%) were less likely than those with care status recorded (98%) to say the adults they live with look after them well.
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Do the adults you live with now accept you for you who are?” to assess how well they feel the adults they live with accept, respect, and believe in them. Most tamariki and rangatahi (95%) felt the adults they live with accept them for who they are, with seven in 10 saying they ‘definitely’ accept them for who they are. There were no significant differences by age, gender, ethnicity or care status.
During the formative work for the survey, tamariki and rangatahi defined having good relationships with birth family/whānau as “I know my family and get to see and talk to them”. To assess their views of their relationships with birth family/whānau, tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Do you get to keep in touch with your birth family/whānau as much as you would like to?”. The majority of tamariki and rangatahi (71%) indicated they get to keep in touch with their birth family/whānau as much as they would like to and five in 10 indicated they ‘definitely’ did. Around two in 10 said they did not get to keep in touch with their birth family/whānau as much as they would like to, and one in 20 indicated they did not want to see their birth family/whānau.
There were no significant differences by gender or care status, but there were differences by age and ethnicity:
- Those aged 10 to 12 years (72%) were less likely than 16 to 18-year-olds (79%) to say they get to keep in touch with their birth family/whānau as much as they would like to.
- Those who identified as both Māori and Pacific were less likely (66%) than all others combined (76%) to say they get to keep in touch with their birth family/whānau as much as they would like to.
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Do you get to have a say in important decisions about your life?”. A majority of tamariki and rangatahi (78%) indicated that they get to have a say in important decisions about their life. Three in 10 said they get to have a say ‘all of the time’, five in 10 said ‘most of the time’ and two in 10 said ‘not much of the time’ or ‘never’. Responses varied by age, with tamariki and younger rangatahi (10 to 12-year-olds, 74%, and 13 to 15-year-olds, 78%) less likely than 16 to 18-year-olds (84%) to indicate they got to have a say in important decisions about their life. There were no significant differences by gender, ethnicity or care status.
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Do you have somewhere you feel you belong?” to assess their sense of belonging and whether they feel that they have somewhere they can just be themselves. Most tamariki and rangatahi (88%) indicated that they have somewhere they feel they belong, six in 10 said they ‘definitely’ did. There was no significant difference by gender or care status but there were differences by age and ethnicity:
- Rangatahi aged 16 to 18 years (86%) were less likely than 10 to 12-year-olds (90%) to say they have somewhere they feel they belong.
- Non-Māori and non-Pacific tamariki and rangatahi (91%) were more likely than all others combined (87%) to say they have somewhere they feel they belong.
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Do you know your ancestry (whakapapa)?”. Just over one-half of tamariki and rangatahi (53%) indicated they knew their ancestry (whakapapa), with one-quarter confident they ‘definitely’ knew it. There were no significant differences by age or care status, but there were by ethnicity and gender:
- Males (50%) were less likely than females (57%) to say they know their ancestry (whakapapa).
- Tamariki and rangatahi who identified as Māori (59%) were more likely than all others combined (44%) to say they know their ancestry (whakapapa), while non-Māori and non-Pacific tamariki and rangatahi (41%) were less likely than all others combined (58%) to say they know their ancestry (whakapapa).
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Do you have people in your life who love you no matter what?” to assess the
extent to which they felt loved unconditionally. Almost all tamariki and rangatahi (97%) indicated they had people in their life who love them no matter what, with eight in 10 indicating they ‘definitely’ did. There were no significant differences by age, gender, ethnicity or care status.
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Do you have a friend or friends you can talk to about anything?” to assess friendship relationships. Most tamariki and rangatahi (86%) indicated they had friends they could talk to about anything; six in 10 said they ‘definitely’ did. There were no significant differences by age, gender, ethnicity, or care status.
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Do you get the chance to learn about your culture?” to assess the extent to which they have the chance to connect with their culture. A majority of tamariki and rangatahi (75%) indicated they had opportunities to learn about their culture; four in 10 said they ‘definitely’ did. Two in 10 indicated they did not have opportunities to learn about their culture (‘not really’ or ‘not at all’). There was no significant difference by gender, but there were differences for some age, ethnicity, and care status groups:
- Rangatahi aged 16 to 18 years (70%) were less likely than 10 to 12-year-olds (77%) and 13 to 15-year-olds (76%) to say they had the chance to learn about their culture.
- Tamariki and rangatahi who identified as Māori (79%) were more likely than those who were non-Māori (69%) to say they had the chance to learn about their culture.
- Tamariki and rangatahi who identified as Pacific (81%) were more likely than those who were non-Pacific (74%) to say they had the chance to learn about their culture.
- Non-Māori, non-Pacific tamariki and rangatahi (63%) were less likely than all others combined (80%) to say they had the chance to learn about their culture.
- Those who were receiving Care and Youth Justice services (66%) were less likely than those in the Care services only group (76%) to say they had the chance to learn about their culture.
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Do you think you will have a good life when you get older?” to assess their hope for the future. A majority of tamariki and rangatahi (72%) indicated they expect to have a good life when they get older; four in 10 said they ‘definitely’ expect to. Two in 10 tamariki and rangatahi said they ‘don’t know’ whether they expect to have a good life when they get older. Responses differed by age group, with 10 to 12-year-olds (67%) less likely than 13 to 15-year-olds (75%) and 16 to 18-year-olds (76%) to expect to have a good life when they get older. However, it is important to note that this difference was due to the younger age group being more likely to say ‘I don’t know’ rather than choosing more negative response options. There were no significant differences by gender, ethnicity, or care status.
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked, “Does Oranga Tamariki help make things better for you?” to assess their overall satisfaction with the organisation. Most tamariki and rangatahi (84%) indicated that Oranga Tamariki helps make things better for them; four in 10 said they ‘definitely’ did. Responses did not differ by ethnicity or gender, but they did by age and care status.
- 13 to 15-year-olds (79%) were less likely than 10 to 12-yearolds (88%) and 16 to 18-yearolds (85%) to indicate that Oranga Tamariki helps make things better for them.
- Those with no care status recorded (78%) were less likely than those with care status recorded (85%) to say that Oranga Tamariki makes things better for them.
Tamariki and rangatahi were asked two questions to assess their relationship with their social worker: “Does your social worker do what they say they will do?” and “Do you feel you can talk to your social worker about your worries?”. Most tamariki and rangatahi gave positive responses to the questions about their relationship with their social worker (88% and 82% respectively), although only four in 10 indicated their social worker does what they say they will do ‘all of the time’ and that they can ‘definitely’ talk to their social worker about their worries. For the first question, “Does your social worker do what they say they will do?” responses did not differ by age, gender, or care status, but there were differences by ethnicity:
- Tamariki and rangatahi who identified as Māori and Pacific (77%) or Pacific (84%) were less likely than all others (89%) to say that their social worker does what they say they will do.
For the second question, “Do you feel you can talk to your social worker about your worries?” responses did not differ by gender, but there were differences by age, ethnicity, and care status:
- 13 to 15-year-olds (78%) were less likely than 10 to 12-year-olds (84%) to say they can talk to their social worker about their worries.
- Those who identified as both Māori and Pacific (73%) were less likely than all others combined (82%) to say they can talk to their social worker about their worries.
- Those with no care status recorded (74%) were less likely than those with care status recorded (84%) to say that they can talk to their social worker about their worries.