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Personal information and a welfare focus
in Aotearoa New Zealand
Presentation argument
Aotearoa New Zealand’s youth justice system
has a welfare focus that is more important than
previously thought.
Presentation Outline
Key Maori concepts embedded in legislation
Statutory scaffolding of welfare
Research results
Whakapapa = genealogy:member of
whanau, hapu, iwi
Tikanga Maori
“Your whakapapa gives you everything. It places you in
the context of the world and your own culture. You know
way way back, not only the immediate relatives and the
grandparents who may have died, but right back
through the tribes. So you are very firmly centred.”
“Children belong not only to their parents
but also to the whanau and beyond that
to the hapu and iwi. They are a ‘tatou
tamariki’ (the children of us many).”
Tikanga Maori
Children, Young Persons,
and Their Families Act
1989
- a cloak woven from
many strands
“to strengthen the family,
whanau, hapu, iwi, and family
group of the child or young
person concerned
and
to foster the ability of families,
whanau, hapu, iwi, and family
groups to develop their own
means of dealing with offending
by their children and young
persons” – s208
Welfare in statute:
Deal with young offenders
by acknowledging needs
Divert from court
Family group conference
(FGC) decision making
Section 282 discharge
FGC coordinator to ensure
all relevant information
available
Research method
51 semi-structured interviews in 4 sites youth advocates (lawyers), youth court
judges, youth aid officers (police) questions about young people’s personal
information
Research results: relevance of personal information
“the charge was established but at least we knew why he was behaving the way he was and could get him some really good help”
Research results: relevance of personal information
“It’s the involvement of the widest possible group around the young person with hopefully the best knowledge of the young person and it’s a collaborative sort of approach to help young people come right.”
Research results: sources of personal information
youth advocates – home visits educational and psychological
assessments care and protection information
Research results: sources of personal information
“I always tell the court from first appearance if there is anything about this young person that they should know, for example a boy’s mother at home terminally ill and he’s out committing burglaries.”
Research results: quality of personal information
“you know inherently that there’s something going on and somehow or other all our screening tools don’t isolate the problem.”
Research results: impact of personal information
“I’ve said to young people ‘Have you got a particular talent?’ And a couple of young people have been good at carving so they’ve carved a gift for the victim.”
Research results: impact of personal information
gaps in availability of resources and supports
young people with intellectual disabilities
Conclusion
Welfare focus allows the system to see the whole child and her needs
But sometimes – seen but not helped?