- Chief ombudsman's inquiry
That is just one of the findings in the chief ombudsman's investigation - He Take Kōhukihuki: A Matter of Urgency - into the policies, procedures and practices of Oranga Tamariki when removing babies under interim custody orders.
The ombudsman examined 74 case files of babies aged up to 30 days old over a two-year period, ending 30 June 2019.
Forty-five of those cases involved Māori babies. Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss has apologised on behalf of her organisation.
"I want to say how deeply, deeply sorry we are, and that we will do everything we can to make sure other whānau don't go through what you went through," she told Checkpoint.
Chief ombudsman Peter Boshier said section 78 applications for interim custody were supposed to be reserved for urgent cases where no other options were available, and should be made without notice only in the most exceptional cases. But this was not what was happening.
Link to article: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/422914/oranga-tamariki-baby-removal-the-default-position-chief-ombudsman-s-inquiry
