CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

Provision of Services

Child Protection and Abuse Policy

Intention

Ensuring the wellbeing and safety of children, including prevention of child abuse or maltreatment, is a paramount goal of Youth Project NZ. This policy provides guidelines to staff and volunteers on how to identify and respond to concerns about the well being of a child, including possible abuse and neglect.

The process for responding to a concern about a child is on page 6 of this policy.

The interests of the child will be paramount consideration when any action is taken in response to suspected abuse or neglect. Youth Project NZ commits to support statutory agencies ( Oranga Tamariki- Ministry for Children and the New Zealand Police) to investigate abuse and will report suspected cases and concerns to these agencies as per the process in this policy.

Responsibilities

Our designated person for child protection, Claire Edmondson (Project Manager), will be responsible for the maintenance and annual review of this policy alongside the Board of Trustees. Staff and volunteers will not assume responsibility beyond the level of their experience and training. Youth Project NZ commits to ensure staff and volunteers have access to the training they need.

This policy was authored by Claire Edmondson on 18.2.24. A digital copy can be found on our website at www.youthprojectnz.org . This policy is due to be updated on 18.2.25. It is consistent with Oranga Tamariki and Police guidelines and will be updated when new guidance is issued.

Procedures, purpose, scope and principles

Our children protection policy supports our staff including volunteers to respond appropriately to potential child protection concerns, including suspected abuse or neglect. It is Youth Project NZ’s commitment to protect children from abuse and to recognise the important roles all our staff and volunteers have in protecting children.

This policy provides a broad framework and expectations to protect children, including (but not limited to) staff behaviours in response to actual or suspected child abuse or neglect. It applies to all staff, including volunteers and part time or temporary roles and contractors. It is intended to protect all children that staff may encounter, including siblings, the children of adults accessing services and any other children encountered by staff as they provide their service.

In addition to guiding staff and volunteers to make referrals of suspected child abuse and neglect to the statutory agencies (Oranga Tamariki and the Police) this policy will also help our staff and volunteers to identify and respond to the needs of the many vulnerable children whose wellbeing is of concern.

We recognise that in many of these cases, the involvement of statutory agencies would be inappropriate and potentially harmful to families/whānau. Throughout New Zealand statutory and non-statutory agencies provide a network of mutually supportive services,and it is important for Youth Project NZ to work with these to respond to the needs of vulnerable children and families/whānau in a manner proportionate to the level of need and risk. Contact details for agencies and services in our community are provided as an appendix to this policy.

To ensure that Youth Project NZ demonstrates continual improvement in child protection practice, we will work to maintain a good working relationship with child protection agencies and support our staff and volunteers to protect children from abuse by consulting with experts with specialist knowledge and providing necessary training options.

We also commit to explore opportunities to work with other providers, including from other sectors, to develop a network of child protection practice in our community.

This policy applies to all staff, including volunteers and contractors.

Definitions

Child - any child or young person aged under 17 years old and who is not married or in a civil union.
Child protection - activities carried out to ensure that children are safe in cases where there is suspected abuse or neglect or are at risk of abuse or neglect.
Designated person for child protection - the manager or designated person responsible for providing advice and support to staff and volunteers where they have a concern about an individual child or who want advice about child protection policy.
Disclosure - information given to a staff member by a child, parent or care-giver or a third party in relation to abuse or neglect.
Oranga Tamariki - the agency responsible for investigating and responding to suspected abuse and neglect and for providing care and protection to children found to be in need.
New Zealand Police - the agency responsible for responding to situations where a child is in immediate danger and for working with Oranga Tamariki in child protection work and investigating cases of abuse and neglect where an offence may have occurred.
Physical abuse -any acts that may result in physical harm of a child or young person. It can be, but not limited to: bruising, cutting,hitting, beating,biting,burning,causing abrasions,strangulation,suffocation,drowning, poisoning and fabricated or induced illness.
Sexual abuse - any acts that involve forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not they are aware of what is happening. Sexual abuse can be, but not limited to:
Contact abuse - touching breasts, genital/anal fondling, masturbation, oral sex, penetrative or non-penetrative contact with the anus or genitals, encouraging the child to perform such acts on the perpetrator or another, involvement of the child in activities for the purposes of pornography or prostitution.
Non-conduct abuse - exhibitionism, voyeurism,exposure to pornographic or sexual imagery, inappropriate photography or depictions of sexual or suggestive behaviours or comments.
Emotional Abuse - any act or omission that results in adverse or impaired psychological, social, intellectual and emotional functioning or development. This can include: Patterns of isolation, degradation, constant criticism or negative comparisons to others. Isolating, corrupting, exploiting or terrorising a child can also be emotional abuse. Exposure to family/whānau or intimate partner violence.
Neglect - neglect is the most common form of abuse and although effects may not be as obvious as physical abuse, it is just as serious. Neglect can be:
Physical - not providing the necessities of life like a warm place, food and clothing.
Emotional- not providing comfort, attention and love
Neglectful supervision- leaving children without someone safe looking after them.
Medical neglect- not taking care of health needs.
Educational neglect- allowing chronic truancy, failure to enrol in education or inattention to education needs.

Training

We are committed to maintaining and increasing staff and volunteers awareness of how to prevent, recognise and respond to abuse through appropriate training. As part of their induction, new staff and volunteers are made aware of the policy on child protection.

Identifying child abuse and neglect

Our approach to identifying abuse or neglect is guided by the following principles:

We understand that every situation is different and it’s important to consider all available information about the child and their environment before reaching conclusions. For example, behavioural concerns may be the result of life events, such as divorce, accidental injury, the arrival of a new sibling etc.
We understand when we are concerned a child is showing signs of potential abuse or neglect we should talk to someone, a manager or the Designated Person for Child Protection- we shouldn’t act alone.
While there are different definitions of abuse, the important thing is for us to consider overall wellbeing and the risk of harm to the child. It is not so important to be able to categorise the type of abuse or neglect.
It is normal to feel uncertain, however, the important thing is that we should be able to recognise when something is wrong, especially if we notice a pattern forming or several signs that make us concerned.
Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is a form of child abuse. There is a high rate of co-occurrence between IPV and the physical abuse of children

We recognise the signs of abuse:

Physical signs- for example unexplained injuries, burns, fractures, unusual or excessive itching, genital injuries, sexually transmitted diseases.
Developmental delays- for example small for their age, cognitive delays, falling behind in school, poor speech and social skills.
Emotional abuse/neglect- for example sleep problems, low self esteem, obsessive behaviour, inability to cope in social situations, sadness/loneliness and evidence of self harm
Behavioural concerns- for example age inappropriate sexual interest or play, fear of a certain person or place, eating disorders/substance abuse, disengagement/neediness, aggression
The child talking about things that indicate abuse( sometimes called an allegation or disclosure)

We are aware of the signs of potential neglect:

Physical signs e.g looking rough and uncared for dirty,and without appropriate clothing, underweight.
Developmental delays- e.g small for their age, cognitive delays, falling behind in school, poor speech and social skills.
Emotional Abuse- e.g sleep problems, low self-esteem, obsessive behaviour, inability to cope in social situations, sadness/loneliness and evidence of self harm.
Behavioural concerns- e.g disengagement/neediness, eating disorders/substance abuse, aggression.
Neglectful supervision- e.g out and about unsupervised, left alone, no safe home to return to.
Medical neglect- e.g persistent nappy rash or skin disorders or other untreated medical issues.

Every situation is different and staff and volunteers will consider all available information about the child and their environment before reaching conclusions. For example, behavioural concerns may be the result of life events, such as divorce, arrival of a new sibling etc.

Youth Project NZ will always act on the recommendations of statutory agencies including Oranga Tamariki and the Police. We will only inform families/whānau about suspected or actual abuse after we have discussed this with these agencies.

When we respond to suspected child abuse or any concerning behaviour we write down our observations, impressions and communications in a confidential register. This is kept separate from our other records and access will be strictly controlled.

Staff and volunteers involved in cases of suspected child abuse are entitled to have support. We will maintain knowledge of such individuals, agencies and organisations in the community that provide support.

Confidentiality and Information Sharing

We will seek advice from Oranga Tamariki and/or the Police before identifying the information about an allegation is shared with anyone, other than the designated person. Staff and volunteers should be aware that:

Under sections 15 and 16 of the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989 any person who believes that a child has been or is likely to be, harmed physically, emotionally or sexually or ill-treated, abused, neglected or deprived may report the matter to Oranga Tamariki or the Police and provided the report is made in good faith, no civil, criminal or disciplinary proceedings may be brought against them.
When collecting personal information about individuals, it is important to be aware of the requirements of the privacy principles- i.e the need to collect the information directly from the individual concerned and when doing so to be transparent about: the purposes for collecting the information and how it will be used, who can see the information, where it is held, what is the compulsory/voluntary information, and that people have the right to request to and correction of their information.
Staff may, however, disclose information under the Privacy Act/Health Information Privacy Code where there is good reason to do so- such as where there is serious risk to individual health and safety( see privacy principle 11/code rule 11). Disclosure about ill-treatment or neglect of a child/young person may also be made to the Police or Oranga Tamariki under sections 15 and 16 of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989.

Child safe practice guidelines

To avoid situations where staff and volunteers may be alone with children, all staff and volunteers should examine the opportunities or possible situations where they may be alone with children. Wherever possible an open door policy for all spaces should be used (excludes toilets). Staff and volunteers should be aware of where all children are at all times.

Where a child or young person requires assistance e.g if they are intellectually or physically disabled, if possible involve the parents/caregivers and outside agencies to assist. If this assistance is not available, ensure staff members are aware of the appropriate procedures when giving assistance.

Any events or activities held outside of a school environment should have at least two members of staff/volunteers present.

Disclosure of abuse or neglect is made

There are a number of basic guidelines that should be followed to ensure the safe handling of any disclosures of abuse from a child or young person:

Don’t panic
Remember the safety and well-being of the child or young person comes before the interests of any other person.
Listen to the child or young person and accept what they say
Look at the child or young person, but do not appear shocked
Don’t seek help while the child or young person is talking to you
Reassure them that they did the right thing by telling someone
Assure them that it is not their fault and you will do your best to help
Let them know you need to tell someone else
Let them know what you are going to do next and that you will let them know what happens
Be aware that the child or young person may have been threatened
Write down what the child or young person says in their own words- record what you have seen and heard also
Make certain you distinguish between what the child or young person has actually said and the inferences you may have made. Accuracy is paramount in this stage of the procedure.
Tell your manager or designated child protection person
Refer to Oranga Tamariki- Ministry for Children, or the Police
After making the referral to Oranga Tamariki- MInistry for Children, or the Police, look after yourself. Discuss the matter with your manager or designated Child Protection person.

Important notes:

The same action should be taken if the allegation is about abuse that has taken place in the past, as it will be important to find out if the person is still working with or has access to the child or young person.
Dealing with an allegation that a professional, staff member, foster carer or volunteer has abused a child or young person is difficult but must be taken seriously and dealt with carefully and fairly.

DO NOT

Attempt to deal with the situation yourself
Formally interview the child or young person:
- Never ask leading questions
- Never push for information or make assumptions
- Only necessary relevant facts should be obtained
Make assumptions, offer alternative explanations or diminish the seriousness of the behaviour or alleged incidents
Keep the information to yourself or promise confidentiality
Take any action that might undermine future investigation or disciplinary procedure, such as interviewing the alleged victim or potential witnesses, or informing the alleged perpetrator or parents/carers
Permit personal doubt to prevent you from reporting the allegation to the designated child protection officer

When an allegation is made against a member of staff or volunteer

All matters involving allegations against staff or volunteers need to escalate to the Board of Trustees.

To ensure the child is kept safe, management and Board of Trustees may take steps to remove the staff member against whom the allegation has been made from the environment, subject to the requirements of the applicable individual contract and relevant employment law.

Guidelines for steps to be taken:

Disclosure/allegation of child abuse by a staff member/ volunteer
Management to be notified
Management notify Board of Trustees
Trustees to consult with Oranga Tamariki or the Police
Trustees to refer to contract of staff/volunteer
Oranga Tamariki or Board of Trustees to advise employee or volunteer and seek a response ( depending on outcomes of discussions with statutory agencies)
Employee/volunteer will be advised of their right to seek support/advice from appropriate representatives
Board of Trustees to contemplate removal of employee/volunteer from the programme environment, subject to the employment agreement
Board of Trustees to maintain close liaison with Oranga Tamariki or the Police.

We commit not to use ‘settlement agreements’, where these are contrary to a culture of child protection. Some settlement agreements allow a member of staff to agree to resign provided that no disciplinary action is taken, and a future reference is agreed. Where the conduct at issue concerned the safety or wellbeing of a child, use of such agreements is contrary to a culture of child protection.

Effective date: 18.2.24

Review Date: 18.2.25

Appendix

Contact Details

Oranga Tamariki- Ministry for Children - 0508 326 459

NZ Police- 111

Ministry Of Education- 04 463 8000

Ministry of Education Auckland- 09 265 3000

Kainga Ora- 0800 801 601

Children's Commissioner 04 471 1410 / 0800 224 453

Starship Hospital- 09 367 000

Need to Talk- trained counsellors and peer support workers Freephone or text 1737

Lifeline- trained staff and volunteers that can provide confidential support on a range os issues- 0800 543 354 Text 4357

Skylight- Counselling services to anyone experiencing any kind of grief, loss and trauma which includes separation or change in family 0800 299 100 info@skylight.org.nz

Are you Ok Help you understand what is considered an unsafe relationship 0800 456 450

Citizens Advice Bureau- helps you understand your rights and fill out forms 0800 367 222

CCS Disability Action- provides information and support to people and families 0800 227 200 info@ccsDisabilityAction.org.nz

Whānau Ora- works with whānau to build strong, healthy and safe lifestyles. They take whānau centred approach to improving wellness including working on your economic, cultural, environmental, and social needs.

Youthline free call 0800 376633 free text 234 email talk@youthline.co.nz for general enquiries info@youthline.co.nz