CCS Disability Action Caregiver Newsletter – Spring 23
Kia ora and Welcome,
CCS Disability Action are committed to supporting caregivers that support tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people) in Oranga Tamariki care under our organisation.
Recently you were invited to complete a survey lead out by the organisation’s quality team, thank you to those of you who were able to respond… and for those of you who didn’t, don’t worry, you will have another opportunity.
The 3 very clear pieces of feedback we received were
Relationships with Oranga Tamariki.
Coordination of supports.
Relationships with CCS Disability Action has broken down for some of you.
We want you to know that we heard your feedback and would like to share with you our responses.
Relationships with Oranga Tamariki
The term “It takes a village to raise a child” is so true, especially for the tamariki and rangatahi that are in the care system, we acknowledge that for this to work well for you – CCS Disability Action need to support ongoing relationships between caregivers and Oranga Tamariki. Some caregivers have a great relationship with Oranga Tamariki and others, not so much. CCS Disability Action will continue to work behind the scenes to create effective working relationships with Oranga Tamariki, we will be ensuring we are up to date with latest policies and processes, educate them on the vision and philosophy of CCS Disability Action and how they can best support caregivers and the tamariki and rangatahi they are providing care for.
However, we are aware that there will still be times that this frustrating for a caregiver, we encourage you to continue to talk to CCS Disability Action about this so that your coordinator can continue to advocate on your behalf.
Coordination of Supports
Most of tamariki and rangatahi in care have large teams (or a village) wrapped around them, all with quite specific roles that sometimes overlap… this can become confusing not only for caregivers but for members of the team as well. It is the role of your CCS Disability Coordinator to coordinate these supports if you are not finding them working well for you and the tamariki/rangatahi in your care… please let them know and they will endevour to iron out the creases. We do want to acknowledge that New Zealand is facing a workforce crisis currently and there are some supports that are out of our control. The waitlists for medical appointments, respite and supports to attend school etc are very long but we will endevour to keep you up to date with what we are doing to advocate for supports to happen in a timely manner.
Relationships with CCS Disability Action
CCS Disability Action thank you for sharing your feedback around “how we are doing” we want to encourage you to share your concerns and complaints and will do our best to rectify any that are within our control to do so… unfortunately it is not always us, we may just be the messenger, however in these circumstances we will continue to advocate for what you need.
Alongside this, we have recently launched our website portal for caregivers to ensure you keep up to date with the latest policies and process and as a part of this – we now have this, our quarterly newsletter – a space to share new information to you 4 times a year.
We have also worked with Oranga Tamariki to create a new funding process that will enable your teams to be more responsive to the needs of yourselves and the tamariki and rangatahi in your care. This still requires pre-approval; however, the approvals will come in hours or days rather than the weeks or months you are currently experiencing.
Finally, I just want to take a moment to acknowledge each and everyone of you for the care you provide, the heart that you bring to this mahi is so rewarding and the impact of tamariki and rangatahi is huge – I look forward to continuing to connect with you all and strengthening the quality of care we provide together – Thankyou
Nga Mihi
Berne Peters
National Manager – Intensive Family Services
