Minister Karen Chhour has welcomed the new partnership between Te Puna Aonui, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and Manawa Tītī. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The government is strengthening the multi-agency response to family violence in Auckland by helping to develop local response plans in a new partnership.
Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Minister Karen Chhour made the announcement at Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei on Friday, saying it was a "pleasure" to be there "supporting innovation in the family violence system through local leadership".
Te Puna Aonui is the agency that implements the National Strategy to Eliminate Violence, and it will now partner with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and Manawa Tītī - the existing governance group overseeing the multi-agency response to family violence in Auckland - to deliver specialist outreach support.
She said Ngāti Whātua "are doing important work to improve the wellbeing of people in Auckland" and the new partnership is an "important next step".
Chhour said the new approach would "enable coordinated support and collaboration to deliver timely and effective responses to people at high risk and with complex family violence needs".
"Through this new partnership, we are investing in the development of a local system improvement plan, testing a more consistent approach to managing high risk family violence cases and delivering new specialist outreach support, so that the families who need the most support receive it."
Chhour explained a key focus of the family violence and sexual violence action plan launched at the end of last year was strengthening multi-agency responses to family violence, so people affected got the support they needed and got to safety sooner.
The "system improvement plan" would build on Manawa Tītī's strategy and its key priority areas, which included "strengthening collaborative ways of working, whānau-centred responses, early intervention, and safer and effective responses to highrisk families" to strengthen their local response.
This work emerged after a local family death review.
"Evidence shows that having proactive, specialist outreach roles, delivered by people with the right capability, skills and knowledge, can increase safety and support for victims," she said..
"Effective responses to violence include improved risk management processes, systems and practices, and intensive, proactive and whānau-centred support through specialist outreach support."
The new partnership would also enable a more "consistent approach" to identifying and responding to risk.
She acknowledged the importance of "local leadership and innovation" in the family violence system.
"I believe that the expertise required sits here, in the community, where you hold the necessary insights to enable change with families and whānau."
"Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei - through their tribal development arm, Whāi Maia - alongside Manawa Tītī, will be testing and learning about new ways of working to deliver this service, so that families and whānau get to safety sooner."
