Mana Whānau is an intensive, in-home whānau support service for:
Mana Whānau is a whānau-led, evidence-based service that works. It’s based on the belief that with the right support and resources, most whānau can care for their tamariki safely.
The service focuses on reducing toxic stressors to free up the ‘mental bandwidth’ that enables parents to care for their tamariki effectively, while building new skills and capabilities. It is flexible and whānau-led, which means it looks different for everyone we work with - whānau drive the changes they want to make. Tamariki are the heart of Mana Whānau. Our goal is to support whānau to provide children with safe, warm, loving care.
Our kaimahi work alongside whānau for six months, supporting them to:
Mana Whānau is for families who are at risk of having their tamariki removed from their care, as well as those needing support to have them returned home.
All referrals to the service are made by Oranga Tamariki.
Mana Whānau is voluntary. It works best for whānau who acknowledge the Oranga Tamariki concerns, are keen to make changes and want to work with us.
In September 2020, Point and Associates completed an independent evaluation of the first two years of Mana Whānau. They found that as at July 2020, a total of 39 out of 44 participating whānau (89%) had retained care of their tamariki, or had them safely returned to their care.
In total, 130 tamariki (94% of those involved with the service) were living safely with their whānau.