‘Galling’: Anger grows at funding changes for OT care providers
Tuesday, 20 August 2024
More Oranga Tamariki care providers are going public about the effects of funding reductions, while the Government shows no sign of budging.
On Friday, Children’s Minister Karen Chhour released a statement with her “message to disgruntled providers”.
“Oranga Tamariki is putting the safety of children in its care ahead of the security of the businesses run by providers.”
Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira chief executive Helmut Modlik said across seven family service providers in Porirua, about 30% of funding was expected to be reduced.
The providers included Te Rūnanga, Taeaomanino Trust, Wesley Community Action, Porirua Whānau Centre, Barnardos Aotearoa, Wairere Care Services and WELLfed NZ Trust.
“It's just galling and so very hard to reconcile and understand,” Modlik said.
“The NGOs who serve in this part of the social ecosystem, charities, by and large live from year to year.
“They often have an overlay of charitable contributions of people with their time and effort. The idea that there would be a withholding of resources for spurious reasons, without justification, and expect a positive outcome in the community, beggars belief.”
Chhour said Oranga Tamariki “will now only pay up to 70% of the maximum value of a contract until the services have been provided in full”.
“Providers need to get used to the idea they’re only going to be paid for the services that are provided to children and young people in need.”
One concern among providers was the 70% payment directive. Some of the concern from charities especially was around the lack of reserves to cover the additional 30%.
Asked if she could ensure providers would be able to give 100% of contracts with 70% of the funding, due to some being charities that may not have funding reserves, Chhour said, “they'll still be getting the 70%”.
“But also, we'll be prioritising those ones if they do come and say, Hey, we're experiencing some financial issues where it comes to fixed payments that they may have to make, talk about rent, talk about all those other things, and they'll be prioritised to the front of the line for any issues like that.
“But we can't just keep having this mess at the end of contracts. It's not fair on the providers and its not fair on Oranga Tamariki.”
Meanwhile, Social Service Providers Te Pai Ora o Aotearoa, which represents community-based providers, has made a complaint to the Auditor-General, asking for an urgent inquiry into Oranga Tamariki's contracting changes.
The Social Service Providers also conducted a survey with about 70 providers responding. From the responses it was estimated about 200 frontline jobs would be lost or have reduced hours from the changes, resulting from about a $10 million reduction of funding.
One of the contracts that was discontinued was Women’s Support Motueka’s counselling service for women and girls that had been through domestic violence.
Manager Maluz Moreno said their service “addresses family violence and sexual abuse trauma, empowering clients to make long-term positive changes for themselves, their tamariki and their whānau”.
Moreno said it was a decent portion of their overall funding, and “in the long term it means our services could be reduced” if they are not able to come up with the money.
They are looking at fundraisers and asking for donations from the public.
“The consequence in the long term is pretty dire if we don’t support people struggling right now.”