Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister, Hon Kiri Allan - Minister of Justice & Hon Kelvin Davis Minister for Children  

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Tēnā koutou,  

Pillars - Ka Pou Whakahou (Pillars) youth advisory panel is calling for urgent legislative action and  policy change regarding the implementation of Children's Care Plans (CCP) for the children of  incarcerated parents or community sentences.  

Pillars Ka Pou Whakahou is a charity that works with the children and whānau of people in prison.  Pillars has a youth advisory panel that is led by youth aged 15 to 23. According to Pillars data, 96% of  Pillars children are struggling emotionally; 85% are struggling at school, and 88% have experienced  family harm.¹  

Pillars know first-hand that protective legislation for our youth is lacking. The tragic death of Malachi  Subecz is a reflection of inadequate and lacking legislation to protect and safeguard children.  Evidence clearly indicates that the impact on children whose parent(s) are sentenced to prison there is significant. Disappointingly though, children of incarcerated parents still receive little to no  support². The absence of a legislative framework predisposes children of incarcerated parents to  ending up in the criminal justice system themselves, and ultimately, leads to intergenerational  harm. 

Aotearoa needs whānau-centred CCP’s alongside the establishment of a Whānau Outreach Liaison  roles (beyond Family Court Navigators). We believe Whānau Outreach Liaison should be established  in every court across Aotearoa. To future proof these changes, we are a seeking bipartisan  agreement on CCP’s to place children’s safety and wellbeing before political populism which will also  ensure we meet our international law obligations:³ 

“The court has an obligation under art. 3 of UNCRC to ensure the best interests of the child  is the primary consideration in all actions concerning children”.⁴  

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Why do we need Children’s Care Plan legislation and policy:  

Children with a parent in prison are an often-forgotten cohort who themselves serve an invisible  sentence⁵ of adversity, trauma, and intergenerational harm. “Instability, financial hardship;  emotional distress; long-term negative health and education outcomes; and high risk of  intergenerational offending”⁶ mean that NZ children with a parent in prison are significantly more  likely to go to prison themselves ⁷. These adverse child experiences compound - and without  intervention - perpetuate poor social outcomes that at worst can lead to early death.⁸ What  happened to Malachi Subecz must not happen again. Governments need to ”lead and coordinate  support and resourcing for the benefit of children, and place the wellbeing of children and whānau  at the centre of all justice decision-making and “facilitate meaningful whānau connection”.⁹ 

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What is a Children’s Care Plan and how we should implement them:  

A CCP would provide a wrap-around careand a positive and supportive pathway for every child with  a sentenced parent. Each plan would be unique to the needs of every child, and would be written in  consultation with whānau and the child.. These plans would cover acute needs like ensuring every  child has a safe and supported place to live, counselling, healthcare, and education support or  pathways to employment.  

Children’s Commissioner, Justice Eivers, recently called for the incarceration of a parent to trigger an  automatic notification to Oranga Tamariki. While some of the answers may be found in the state,  (namely resourcing and accountability) we do not believe that all the answers are found in Oranga  Tamariki. Rather we encourage the establishment of a Whānau Outreach Liaison role to be  established, these liaisons will consult with whānau to co-design their Children’s Care Plan. This  would be an automatic process that occurs through the courts. The Whānau Outreach Liaison would  then refer whānau to the most appropriate local service providers based upon each child’s unique  Care Plan. This Whānau Outreach Liaison role may be enacted through Whānau Ora, or potentially  even through the growth of Pillars Ka Pou Whakahou. A similar role is already in action within the  Family Court (Kaiārahi – Family Court Navigators). We are requesting that this specialized Whānau  Outreach Liaison role be established in every court across Aotearoa, because “…in terms of the  criminal jurisdiction — distinct from family — there is no express incorporation of a wellbeing and  best interests’ assessment of dependent children in the Aotearoa sentencing framework.” ¹⁰ 

Trust and rapport are vital for effective whānau outcomes, through a mana-enhancing and  strengths-based process that empowers families as experts of their own lives.¹¹Documentation of  Care Plans would then be included into offenders’ cultural/background reports and could influence  the sentence that a parent receives¹²and will certainly influence the support every child receives. An  accessible nationwide directory of service providers is an actionable measure needed to enact  

Children’s Care Plans. Referral to Oranga Tamariki may be a secondary action if the Whānau  Outreach Liaison is unsuccessful in engaging with a particular whānau. 

Glennis Phillip-Barbara (Assistant Māori Children’s Commissioner) stated that “governments need to  see children in the context of their family, and the family in the context of community, and support  the development of those” ¹³. We are calling for urgent action on Children’s Care Plan legislation,  policy, and implementation. Follow your promises made by Hokai Rangi. Acknowledge your  responsibilities to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Protect our human rights as children and young people - that  we deserve to be safeguarded from resounding harm of the justice system.  

We need action now to draft and introduce this legislation immediately.  

“Our hardship is real. Please- look at us, listen to us.” ¹⁴ 

Let’s work together towards a safer tomorrow for all children of incarcerated and sentenced parents.  

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Yours Sincerely,  

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Corrina Thompson (née Dixon)  

Senior Mentoring Coordinator and Lead Researcher/Whānau Kai-āwhina at Pillars Ka Pou Whakahou  In collaboration with: Pillars Ka Pou Whakahou Youth Advisory Panel: Sharn Te Whiu, Orla Angi, Jarhley  Angi, Nathan Ah Siu, Juliann Purea-Desai, Kingston Ha-ncy and Amethyst Edwards With support  from: JustSpeak 

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Aphiphany Forward-Taua

Executive-Director at JustSpeak   

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¹Dixon, C. (2022). Complexities at a glance: Current datasets of Pillars whānau (working document).  

²Gordon, L. (2009). Invisible children: First year research report. ‘A study of the children of prisoners.’ Pillars. Available at:  https://www.pillars.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/A-study-of-the-children-ofprisoners-year-1-report-2009.

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⁴ Maslin, F., & Minson, S. (2022, p. 371). What about the children? Sentencing defendants who are parents of dependent children. New  Zealand Law Journal. LexisNexis NZ Ltd. Available at: What about the children Sentencing defendants who are parents of dependent  children — [2022] NZLJ 367.pdf

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⁷Lambie, I. & Gluckman, P. (2018). Using evidence to build a better justice system: The challenge of rising prison costs. Office of the Prime  Minister’s Chief Science Advisor. Available at: https://www.pmcsa.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/Using-evidence-to-build-a-better justicesystem.p 

⁸Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022). About the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study. Available at  

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/about.html 

⁹Parliament of Victoria Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee (2022, p.126). Inquiry into children affected by parental  incarceration. Available at: Vic Parliament Report 2021.pdf 

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¹⁴ Pillars Youth Advisory Panel member