5252 (2026). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister for Children

5252 (2026). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister for Children: How, if at all, will the lesson learned from the Oranga Tamariki pilot Military-Style Academy that there was a need to interact and work more holistically with family be incorporated into the second Military-Style Academy?

Hon Karen Chhour: I am advised by Oranga Tamariki the new Military-Style Academy programme is designed to work with families/whānau to understand the context of their young person’s offending behaviour and identify needs of the wider family/whānau members which can be supported, for example through referrals to community services. I am further advised that in comparison to the Pilot, there has been stronger training, support and expectation setting for social workers and programme staff to work with families/whānau, including earlier planning for the young people’s transition back to the community.