From the outset, Parentline’s focus has been on working with individual children who have been abused or witnessed domestic violence. However, it always bothered us that after having affected changes in behaviour and securing their place in the world, children were then returned to the same family circumstance that created the imbalance.

Over time and with more experience, we transitioned to include parents and caregivers in the therapeutic process, so that now we offer parenting programmes and individual counselling for adults, alongside services for their children.

In the last twelve months, we have come full circle, by opting to work with the entire family – the child, his / her siblings, parents, caregivers as well as other extended family members. Which is why we are so interested in the roll out of the Whanau Ora programme, recently announced by the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon Bill English:

Whanau Ora is one of a number of Government initiatives to help families become more self managing and take responsibility for their own development. It is clear from results in recent years that traditional approaches to helping families in need have not worked that well.

We agree that whanau centred services are those that focus on the family as a whole, of building on whanau strengths and increasing whanau capacity. We see Whanau Ora as a model that is driven by the aspirations, needs and realities of the whanau as a whole; it is not about provider capture. We doubly welcome the challenge that Whanau Ora is about doing things differently; of getting the best possible return on tax payer’s money and we endorse United Future leader, Hon. Peter Dunne support of the Government’s willingness to try new and innovative approaches.

Over the next months, Parentline will be preparing for the onset of Whanau Ora. We have already started aligning ourselves with a like collective of agencies able to meet the specific needs of the families we see. For our part, we will continue to do what we do best – of working with children who have been abused or witnessed domestic violence. We are also well positioned to deliver parenting programmes for Mums and Dads and even Grandparents; but the new environment will likely see us working alongside an agency who is supporting Mum and her new baby; an employment agency working with Dad and an education institution encouraging siblings to achieve academically.

The changing face of the delivery of social services is exciting, challenging and long overdue.

In the many years that I have been involved in the delivery of social services, I am constantly on the look out for interventions and strategies that are proven to work for Māori whanau. Like most other community agencies in Hamilton, Maori are the most significant service users at Parentline; from1 July to 31 December 2009, 45.5% of clients of our clients self identified as Māori.

What I have learnt is strategies that work best are those developed by Māori for Māori, premised on the notion of Māori solutions to Māori problems; that best outcomes are strategies that encourage a collective responsibility and participation by the extended whanau and that through reconnecting whanau to Te Aō Māori (the traditional Māori ways) there is an opportunity to build individual self worth and self confidence. I have observed that when all of these components are aligned, then there is potential for the whanau to be strengthened.

Which is why I was saddened to learn of the shelving of the youth justice facility Te Hurihanga; an initiative modelled on Māori concepts of care and support that encouraged whanau participation in the recovery of young offenders.  But then heartened to read of Ministers Turia and Bennett’s Whanau Ora policy that adds another dimension – of encouraging Crown agencies to act collectively as a whanau, to help families in difficulty.

Based on Te Ao Māori, Parentline offers a programme, Te Hiringa Tipua (new growth), expressly developed for Māori whanau and delivered by Māori practitioners. This programme is for those tamariki and mokopuna who have been abused or who now present with challenging behaviours that mirror the violent behaviours they see in their family homes.

Te Hiringa Tipua extends over a period of nine weeks and commences with a noho Marae (overnight stay) followed by eight weekly sessions.  Based on Durie’s (2004) theory that cultural identity is a prerequisite to good health, Te Hiringa Tipua uses Te Ao Māori concepts of tikanga – beliefs and practices, the Marae – as the community focal point, wāhi tapu – as cultural sites of importance and encourages access by whanau to Te Reo, whānau, Hapū and iwi.  As an indication of the content of the programme, the first sessions focus on the discovery of self, Ko wai au? (Who am I?).

If you are interested in funding out more about Te Hiringa Tipua, please contact our Intake Coordinator, Lisa Herewini on 07 839 4536 or visit Parentline at 48 Palmerston Street, Hamilton. Further information on this programme is available from our website www.parentline.org.nz.