Oranga Tamariki needs to treat mothers with humanity

Racist, abusive and unsupportive - that's how a group of Maori mothers are describing their experiences with Oranga Tamariki in a new report by the Children's Commissioner. Te Kuku O Te Manawa shares the experiences of mothers with newborn pepi, who have come to the attention of staff at Oranga Tamariki. It's identified six areas for change including treating whanau with humanity, unprofessional social work practices, poor ministry support, racism, an unsupportive organisational culture and the need for iwi-ministry partnerships. The Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft told First Up's Katie Doyle the stories are 'distressing'