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Brought to you by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora – Southern and WellSouth primary health network

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    Kia Puāwai provides a range of evidence-based and culturally informed services to support rangatahi, whānau and communities. Our services help to strengthen whānau relationships, increase effective and positive communciation and help whānau create lasting hope and positive change together. 

    Programme

    Specialist Care Programme

    The Specialist Care Programme (SCP) provides one-to-one foster care for young people with the opportunity to live in a family/whānau setting with specialist caregivers supported by intensive clinical and social work services. 

    This is a national contract operating in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay and Northland.

    Residential Therapeutic Home - Lighthouse

    The Lighthouse provides two intensely supervised non-secure care facilities in Auckland, one home for boys and one home for girls. This is a short-term five-day alternative to police secure facilities or unplanned, inappropriate placements. During the young person’s stay, the emphasis is on engagement, settlement and successful longer-term placement.

    Residential Therapeutic Home - Te Whare Tūmanako O Kia Puāwai

    Te Whare Tūmanako O Kia Puāwai provides family-style care for 6-12 months when family is no longer an option at the time of referral. 

    The service is for boys aged 7-16 with conduct problems who are at risk. We focus on re-engaging young people in education, connecting with whānau/family, and building confidence, while developing pro-social skills to support them to successfully transition into adulthood.

    The service operates in Auckland.

    Foster Care

    Provide short to medium term respite and planned foster care for children and youth at risk who require out of home, family/whānau placements. Respite Care and Planned Respite Care aim to reduce harm caused by in-patient admissions and to support the preservation of natural families/whānau. 

    This service operates in Waikato and Tauranga.

    Youth Service West

    Youth Service West works with young people and young parents to find the best options for education, training or work based learning that will help them build their skills and find suitable employment. 

    We work alongside young people, as their personal advisors, giving them the support they need to achieve qualifications (including NCEA Level 2), and support them towards achieving financial independence. 

    Ka Awatea

    Ka Awatea, meaning ‘The Dawning of a New Era’, provides support to young people as they transition from state care to adulthood.

    Each young person is allocated a Kai Atawhai (Personal Advisor) who can work with the young person over several years and model positive social behaviour and empower the young person to make their own informed decisions about employment, training, accommodation and developing positive social peer groups. Ideally planning starts with the Kai Atawhai engaging the young person from the age of 15. When the young person turns 17 prior to discharge from the care of Oranga Tamariki, a planning meeting is held to determine what happens next. Following this meeting Ka Awatea may become the lead agency in supporting the young person to live more independently and safely in the community through to the age of 21.

    This service operates in Auckland.

    Functional Family Therapy (FFT)

    Functional Family Therapy (FFT) therapists provide a family intervention of approximately 3-6 months, typically for one hour per week, with young people and their family/whānau. These young people and their family/whānau have been identified as needing family therapy for conduct problems or other behavioural or mental health concerns by Oranga Tamariki. In the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions, FFT can also be accessed via the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). This evidenced-based therapy is delivered in the home environment. 

    This service operates in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Taranaki, Rotorua, Taupo, Bay of Plenty, Whanganui, Palmerston North, Napier, and the Lower South Island. 

    Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST)

    Multi-systemic Therapy is a short-term (5 month average) intensive behavioural based therapy that aims to help parents understand and support their children to overcome behavioural problems. This is a crisis responsive service that operates 24/7.

    DHB Funded Intensive Clinical Services (ICS)

    Intensive Clinical Services (ICS) utilises Functional Family Therapy (FFT) and interventions such as Triple P for younger children (Bay of Plenty only), to work with young people and their family/whānau that have been identified as needing family therapy for conduct problems or other behavioural or mental health concerns by the local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).

    This service operates in Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.

    FirstCare

    FirstCare is a primary mental health early intervention for infants, children and their families/whānau. It incorporates Incredible Years, Triple P (2 levels), and trauma-informed Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as options to meet individual needs. Referrals are made via the Gateways assessment for families/whānau with issues that are likely to escalate but do not meet the criteria for access to specialist mental health services. The intervention supports parents and families/whānau and ensures that children can maintain stability in their living arrangements.

    • Incredible Years is a service in which parents and children learn strategies with and from other parents in a group. Through First Care, we offer this service, on a case by case basis, at the family/whanua home in order to reach out to families for whom group attendance is challenging.
      Who is it for?
      Families with children aged 2-12
    • Triple P (The Positive Parenting Programme) offers clear and simple strategies to turn problems around and to prevent new problems from developing.
      Who is it for?
      Families with children aged 0-16

    • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a trauma-informed individual intervention.
      Who is it for?
      Children and young people referred by Gateway health and education assessments via Oranga Tamariki.

    This service operates in Auckland, Capital Coast, Hutt Valley, Wairarapa, and Bay of Plenty.

    Pae Whakatupuranga | Functional Family Therapy - Cross Generations (FFT-CG)

    The Pae Whakatupuranga FFT-CG team supports family/whānau to reduce their involvement with the New Zealand justice system. It’s designed for young people aged 10-24 years and their family/whānau. Our highly trained therapists meet with whānau in their homes or other convenient locations and work with them to:

    • Reduce the risk of intergenerational involvement in the justice system
    • Strengthen family relationships
    • Improve the way family members interact and communicate with each other
    • Improve family wellbeing by reducing aggression and conflict in the home
    • Help young people stay in the home or transition successfully to independent living
    • Help young people either stay in or return to school, training or employment. 

    Age groups

    • Youth / Rangatahi
    • Child / Tamariki
    • Adult / Pakeke