Gathering information from communities

Our approach

To build a good understanding of how well tamariki
Children (plural) aged 0-13 yearsView the full glossary and rangatahi
Young person aged 14 – 21 years of ageView the full glossary are being supported we gather data from the agencies that provide services and support to tamariki and rangatahi and their whānau
Whānau refers to people who are biologically linked or share whakapapa. For the Monitor’s monitoring purposes, whānau includes parents, whānau members living with tamariki at the point they have come into care View the full glossary, and we listen to the voices of those tamariki, rangatahi, whānau and caregivers receiving the services and support. 

When we visit communities, we also meet with government agencies such as Oranga Tamariki, Police, Health and Education, iwi
TribeView the full glossary and Māori organisations, and non-government community organisations who provide services and support to tamariki.

We visit every community once every three years. When planning and visiting a community, we follow our monitoring phases which outline how we engage. 

Analysing what we hear

During our kōrero
Conversation or discussionView the full glossary with people in the communities we visit, we take a lot of notes. Our first step is to make sure the people we spoke with can’t be identified and then we work with our wider team to code this information.  

Our monitoring and analyst kaimahi wānanga (meet and discuss) to understand what was heard during the visit. Using special software, we theme information so we can analyse it and determine findings for our reports. 

We theme information using codes. We have two sets of codes, outcomes codes and system elements codes. When we code information from interviews with kaimahi from agencies, community providers, and government organisations, we use codes based on our system elements, and interviews with tamariki
Children (plural) aged 0-13 yearsView the full glossary, rangatahi
Young person aged 14 – 21 years of ageView the full glossary, whānau
Whānau refers to people who are biologically linked or share whakapapa. For the Monitor’s monitoring purposes, whānau includes parents, whānau members living with tamariki at the point they have come into care View the full glossary and caregivers are coded based on our outcomes framework.

Our Outcomes Framework

We assess outcomes for tamariki
Children (plural) aged 0-13 yearsView the full glossary, rangatahi
Young person aged 14 – 21 years of ageView the full glossary, families and whānau
Whānau refers to people who are biologically linked or share whakapapa. For the Monitor’s monitoring purposes, whānau includes parents, whānau members living with tamariki at the point they have come into care View the full glossary who receive services or support from the oranga tamariki system, and whether positive outcomes are being achieved. We analyse what we hear using outcomes based codes.

Our Outcomes Framework

Our Assessment Approach

This looks at whether positive outcomes are being achieved for tamariki
Children (plural) aged 0-13 yearsView the full glossary and rangatahi
Young person aged 14 – 21 years of ageView the full glossary, and the system elements that enable, or are a barrier to, those outcomes.

Our Assessment Approach

Our Monitoring Approach

Our monitoring approach shows how we answer our primary question:  To what extent is the oranga tamariki system meeting its obligations and supporting positive outcomes for tamariki
Children (plural) aged 0-13 yearsView the full glossary and their whānau
Whānau refers to people who are biologically linked or share whakapapa. For the Monitor’s monitoring purposes, whānau includes parents, whānau members living with tamariki at the point they have come into care View the full glossary, including tamariki and whānau Māori and disabled tamariki and their whānau?’

Our Monitoring Approach (PDF 95KB)

Our Big Questions Explained

We have 11 big questions that provide the focus for our monitoring visits. 

Our big questions explained Our big questions explained (PDF 231KB)

Our monitoring phases

When planning and visiting a community, we follow our monitoring phases which outline how we engage.

There are seven key phases, with whanaungatanga, woven throughout. This is an iterative approach designed to help us continuously learn, adapt and improve our monitoring practice.

Whanaungatanga | Engage

Whanaungatanga is about people and connections and is the foundation that supports everything that we do. When we apply whanaungatanga, we build safe, respectful, and reciprocal relationships and connections with others. These relationships enable us to actively listen and provide opportunities for people to share their experiences with us.

Hōkaitanga | Scope and plan

Hōkaitanga is the process of refining and agreeing our areas of focus for a monitoring visit. This informs our schedule of activity, including where in the community we we will go and who we will seek to hear from.

Whakaaro | Conduct fieldwork and gather insights

Our whakaaro phase outlines the things we must do when conducting our monitoring and gathering information from communities. Our kawa
PoliciesView the full glossary applies to all our kamahi when in communities.  

Tātari | Synthesise findings

Tātari is the time where we prepare our information for coding and how we share the findings of engagements with the communities we have visited.

 

Whakamahi (draft and consult)

Whakamahi is the process of closing the loop between the Monitor and those we speak to during our engagements. This is a time for sharing back to communities and thanking those that have shared their voices with us.

Whakamahi is also a time for us to reflect as a team through the process of ​​​​​​​Kia Huritao.

Whakapuaki (finalise, publish and share)

When we write our reports, we are analysing the data we have received and the information we have gathered from across the motu (country). We think about the insights we have gathered and how this information can be presented.

Once complete, our reports are provided to the Minister for Children (and other Ministers), tabled in Parliament and published on this website. 

Our reports

Turukitanga (follow up and maintain)

Turukitanga is when we reflect on what we have learned along the way about how well the oranga tamariki system is promoting well-being of tamariki
Children (plural) aged 0-13 yearsView the full glossary, rangatahi
Young person aged 14 – 21 years of ageView the full glossary and whānau
Whānau refers to people who are biologically linked or share whakapapa. For the Monitor’s monitoring purposes, whānau includes parents, whānau members living with tamariki at the point they have come into care View the full glossary.