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Help for children in care

Tiakina te tamaiti
If you’re unhappy with Oranga Tamariki or one of its care or custody providers, you can talk to us. It’s free and you won’t get in trouble.

What is Oranga Tamariki?

Oranga Tamariki runs services for children and young people. It provides things like early support, emergency help, care, adoption and youth justice.

What are care or custody providers?

These are places that have been approved by Oranga Tamariki to care for children and young people who can't live with their family. 

You can talk to us about anything that’s worrying you

If you feel that something isn’t right or if you want some advice, you can talk to us. We’ll help you if we can. If we can’t look into your concern, we’ll help you find someone who can.

Anyone can talk to us

  • Children and young people
  • Family members and caregivers
  • Other adults you trust, like a teacher.

You can ask someone to be your support person and talk to us for you. If you don't have support people around you, and would like one, we can help you find someone.

What can you talk to us about?

You can talk to us about anything that’s worrying you. It’s important to have your voice heard.

You might be concerned about:

  • How you are being treated
  • Not being heard
  • A decision being made that you don’t agree with
  • Your pocket money or other allowances
  • Experiences in care
  • Contact with your family or friends
  • Connecting with your culture
  • Moving in or out of care
  • Anything else.

You can also talk to us about something you are worried about at another place, like your school.

Working together

Two other organisations work in this area with us to look at Oranga Tamariki: Mana Mokopuna - the Children and Young People's Commission and Aroturuki Tamariki – the Independent Children's Monitor.

Read more about how we work together on this page of our website:

Oversight of Oranga Tamariki