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Paper 21: Effective Interventions: Programme of Action For Māori

Purpose

  1. This paper presents the Effective Interventions: Programme of Action for Māori, for Ministers' approval [CAB Min (06) 27/3A refers].
  1. The programme of action for Māori comprises 3 key elements: ongoing engagement with Māori communities, supporting and learning from promising and innovative providers and enhancing information gathering and analysis across the sector about effectiveness for Māori.

Executive Summary

  1. An important component of the Effective Interventions (EI) package (including the initiatives that fall outside of this paper) is the need to enhance justice sector effectiveness for Māori. In addition to the wider package already considered by Cabinet, Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry of Justice have been directed to develop a programme of action specifically for Māori (PoA) [CAB Min (06) 27/3A refers].
  1. The objective of the PoA is to reduce offending and imprisonment among Māori. Justice sector agencies, in consultation with Te Puni Kōkiri, will achieve this by:

a progressing the issues raised during an engagement process with Māori, and agency responses to those issues, as an immediate means of ensuring ongoing engagement with Māori providers, practitioners and offenders;

b investing in a small number of interventions that are designed, developed and delivered by Māori providers to identify and test facilitators of success for Māori in the justice sector. Te Puni Kōkiri is providing $1.5m in short-term funding (up to June 2008) for promising providers. This will contribute to an initial platform for developing an empirical evidence base about 'what works' for Māori, while agencies develop options for sustainable funding streams;

c justice sector agencies, in consultation with social sector agencies, identifying options for funding for these promising providers;

d development of options for an inter-agency fund to support innovative initiatives that have emerged from engagement with Māori;

e on-going research and evaluation across the justice sector, to enhance understanding of the causes of offending by Māori, and 'what works for Māori'; and,

f sector-wide application of research and evaluation findings in order to enhance the effectiveness of new and existing programmes, and facilitate investments in programmes which present the greatest opportunity for success among Māori.

Background

  1. The EI work programme was established to identify and support options for reducing offending and the prison population, and thereby reducing the costs and impact of crime on New Zealand society. Among the key outcomes that officials were directed to focus on were reductions in offending and imprisonment among Māori.
  1. Cabinet directed the Ministry of Justice and Te Puni Kōkiri (joint lead) to undertake the following activities, culminating in a Programme of Action for Māori (PoA) [CAB Min (06) 27/3A refers]:

a engage with Māori practitioners, providers and offenders;

b identify and mobilise the skills, experience and competency necessary to better inform the sectoral response to Māori offending;

c seek advice from Māori advisors within the justice sector;

d investigate the establishment of a fund, to be administered by the governance group, to support practical initiatives that emerge from the engagement with Māori practitioners, providers and offenders; and,

e develop an empirical evidence base about practical initiatives, including those developed within the fund and initiatives designed, developed and undertaken by Māori communities, to inform an understanding about what works and why.

  1. Cabinet Business Committee (CBC) subsequently agreed that the PoA should include the following components [CBC Min (06) 22/12 refers]:

a a summary of the engagement process;

b an overview of 'what works' for reducing Māori offending, re-offending and imprisonment;

c an overview of a research project about the impact of the use of discretionary powers in the criminal justice system;

d a suite of practical initiatives that demonstrate evidence of impact on Māori offending and imprisonment;

e a report on officials' discussions on the development of a fund for supporting practical initiatives; and

f a report on the state of inter-agency collaboration in areas of high Māori offending, and recommendations on how to enhance existing processes.

The policy and operational context

  1. There is a longstanding pattern of significant and steadily increasing levels of offending, re-offending and imprisonment among Māori. For example, the proportion of Māori inmates rose from 26% in 1960 to 37% in 1970, to just over 50% since the early 1980s. Today, Māori men and women comprise approximately 51% (2,448) and 58% (153) of their respective prison populations. The number of Māori women inmates has increased dramatically over the past 3 years. The Ministry of Justice is leading work (with the Department of Corrections and the Ministry of Women's Affairs) on this issue. The number of Māori in the offending prone age groups (15 to 29 years of age) is projected to increase significantly by 2021. Unless something is done to stem the flow of Māori into the criminal justice system, and better manage the exits of those already there, the pattern of Māori criminal justice outcomes is unlikely to improve.
  1. Policy and operational efforts to improve criminal justice outcomes for Māori are hindered by a lack of information about Māori offending, including why they are offending and re-offending, and how their offending can be effectively addressed. Accordingly, one component of the PoA is the development of medium to long-term research programme to increase our understanding of these issues.
  1. Since the 1980s, the predominant business model in the criminal justice sector has been that, given the profile of Māori representation in the criminal justice sector, all implementation will benefit Māori. The bulk of the sector's investment has been in programmes that are based on international best practice models (to which, in some cases, Māori cultural elements have been appended). There has been limited evaluation of the effectiveness of these models for Māori, which reflects a wider issue of limited evaluation across the criminal justice sector.[1]
  1. Te Puni Kōkiri has developed a hypothesis that programmes and services that are designed, developed and delivered by Māori are likely to be effective in addressing offending by Māori and facilitating re-integration of Māori inmates. This hypothesis is based on (a) the results of engagement with Māori (described further in paragraphs 20-26 below) and (b) work that has been successfully progressed in other sectors to identify what works for Māori. Examples include Te Kōhanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa Māori and Wānanga (education) and smoking cessation, whānau ora and immunisation programmes (health).
  1. It is proposed to test this hypothesis in the PoA, by identifying and supporting a small pool of interventions that have been designed, developed and delivered by promising Māori providers, in order to develop an empirical evidence base about 'what works for Māori'. Subsequently, the findings from these interventions can be applied to existing and new programmes within the sector.

Component 1: Quantitative and qualitative research

  1. Government's ability to effectively manage its portfolio of criminal justice investments is hindered by an absence of an analysis of all of the available data pertaining to Māori in this sector. The extent of ethnicity analysis in published data does not reflect the extent of Māori representation in the criminal justice system. Officials have considered the ability of available data to provide for more robust analysis, with the following results.

Iwi and hapū data

  1. New Zealand Police continue to develop a system to collect, analyse and interpret ethnicity data, specifically the iwi and hapū affiliations of adult offenders. It is intended that this information will identify offending patterns, and inform the development of iwi specific crime reduction programmes.

Disaggregated Māori apprehension profiles

  1. Disaggregated analysis of Māori apprehension data reveals 8 to 10 policing areas with the highest volumes of apprehensions of Māori females and males. For Māori females, the most prominent offence type is shoplifting. By contrast, Māori male's apprehensions are dominated by shoplifting, burglary, and car conversion. Te Puni Kōkiri will undertake qualitative research between June and August 2007 to determine why Māori are committing these types of offences to inform the design and redesign of criminal justice interventions.

Causes of offending by Māori

  1. Te Puni Kōkiri officials have analysed all of the existing scholarship on the causes of offending by Māori. Recognising that the factors influencing crime are complex, the literature emphasises the roles played by social and cultural alienation, strain, substance abuse, and economic factors. Many of these variables were mirrored in the recent engagement with Māori providers, practitioners and offenders where offending was considered a by-product of urbanisation, child abuse, poor social outcomes and bias. However, the majority of theoretical perspectives on offending by Māori lack quantitative evidence, overlook gender differences, and disregard distinctions between offence types. As such, they reveal little about responses that might be effective in addressing particular types of offending. There is a clear need for qualitative research to explain the most common types of offending by Māori.
  1. It is therefore recommended that a comprehensive programme of quantitative and qualitative research and analysis is developed to underpin further development of the PoA. This programme should include the following elements:

a annual compilation, analysis, and publication of disaggregated Māori criminal justice data, at every stage of the criminal justice system for which ethnicity data is available;

b collation and publication of comprehensive traffic-related apprehension and offence data, for Māori and non-Māori, consistent with all of the other data available on the Statistics New Zealand website. Traffic-related offending is one of the three major contributors to imprisonment, but data is not collected or disseminated in a manner consistent with other offence categories. Consequently, a major piece of the criminal justice picture is missing;

c assessment by the Ministry of Justice, in consultation with Te Puni Kōkiri, of the extent of Māori over-representation, after controlling for socio-demographic variables captured in census data, to better understand the underlying factors driving over-representation;

d completion of research by Te Puni Kōkiri into the causes of offending by Māori including qualitative research of pathways to offending; and,

e periodic follow-up research on Māori pathways to offending, to complement the annual disaggregated Māori criminal justice data, and to facilitate monitoring of any changes in trends that may arise from projected Māori population growth.

  1. Research findings would be used, as they become available from 2008 onwards, to support providers and practitioners to improve the effectiveness of new and existing programmes; and inform government agencies about critical success factors for the design and development of new policies and programmes.

Discretionary powers in the criminal justice system

  1. A companion paper, "Effective Interventions: Unintended Consequences of Discretion in the Criminal Justice System - Recommendations for Further Research" recommends comprehensive research to develop a clear understanding of the effects that ethnic bias may be having on levels of over-representation throughout the criminal justice process [POL Min (06) 21/5 refers].

Component 2: ongoing engagement with Māori

  1. The need to further our knowledge of the causes of offending by Māori and the impact of initiatives on Māori in the criminal justice system is supported by the results of recent engagement with Māori providers, practitioners and offenders.
  1. From December 2006 to February 2007, 13 focus groups were held with 46 Māori providers and practitioners in Wellington, Whangarei, Auckland, Rotorua, Christchurch, and Dunedin. A further 14 focus groups were held with Māori offenders in Arohata Women's Prison, Christchurch Women's Prison, Rimutaka Prison, Northland Region Corrections Facility, Hawkes Bay Prison, and Waikeria Prison. Finally, one meeting has been held with a Māori reference group (MRG), established to provide high level advice and support to officials.
  1. Officials are preparing a full report of the engagement process to feed back to participants, the Māori reference group and the Ministers of Justice, Corrections, Police, Māori Affairs, and Women's Affairs. Key themes and related issues are presented in Appendix 1 .
  1. In summary, high level concerns and issues expressed by participants included: a majority of offenders indicating their desire to receive tikanga-based rehabilitation programmes; offenders expressing their wariness of criminogenic programmes; criticism of initiatives that offenders do not culturally relate to; the lack of programmes targeted at the specific needs of Māori women offenders; a perceived lack of acknowledgement of and support for Māori designed, developed and delivered programmes. Māori providers and practitioners identified a range of issues with agencies funding regimes, which many felt actively prohibited the design, development and delivery of programmes that meet the needs of Māori offenders, whānau and communities.
  1. As a way of addressing their various concerns, many participants in the engagement process sought (a) an on-going relationship with the criminal justice sector that facilitates opportunities to provide input into policy development and review, and (b) support and funding for practical initiatives, designed, developed and delivered by Māori that meet the specific needs of Māori offenders, their whānau, hapū, iwi and communities. This is echoed in the findings of Commissioner Broad's recent engagement with Māori. Ongoing engagement would also enable Māori to take greater responsibility for reductions in offending by Māori.
  1. The engagement process for the PoA should be continued so that dialogue between government, Māori communities, providers, practitioners, and offenders can be maintained. Accordingly, it is recommended that justice sector agencies, in consultation with Te Puni Kōkiri, prepare a detailed response to the issues raised, for distribution to engagement participants, as a basis for on-going engagement in the development and implementation of the PoA.
  1. Ongoing engagement will be achieved through:

a meetings with the Māori reference group, and other external Māori advisers, regarding design and implementation of the PoA;

b workshop(s) with evaluators of justice sector programmes for Māori;

c departments continuing to develop collaborative relationships with Māori communities (e.g. Police follow-up to Commissioner Broad's recent round of nationwide hui).

Component 3: identifying and supporting promising providers

  1. Currently, there is limited evidence about 'what works for Māori' in the criminal justice sector. Investing in a small number of interventions that are designed, developed and delivered by promising Māori providers presents officials with an opportunity to identify and test facilitators of success for Māori, in order to build up the empirical evidence base around this question. It will also provide a basis for agencies to nurture new, or further enhance existing relationships with Māori providers in this sector.
  1. At the request of the Minister of Māori Affairs, a number of promising providers were identified as candidates whose initiatives have the potential to impact positively on Māori rates of offending, re-offending and imprisonment [CBC Min (06) 22/12 refers].
  1. The criteria used to select the promising providers included the following:

a cognisance of criminological literature: the extent to which each initiative is grounded in empirical evidence about 'what works' to reduce offending behaviours;

b accompanied by evaluation: the extent to which each initiative is supported by robust data from evaluation;

c aligned to the Māori Potential Approach: the extent to which the initiatives align to the core principles (Māori potential, cultural distinctiveness and Māori capability) of the Māori Potential Approach;

d current governance capability and management capacity: the extent to which each organisation has the requisite governance and management capacity and capability to deliver high quality programmes and services; and

e credibility/proven track record of service delivery: the extent to which the organisations have a track record of programme and service delivery to Māori.

  1. The identified providers take a holistic approach to address the multiple needs of their clients (i.e. working with whānau rather than individuals), and encompassing tikanga as a central theoretical and practice 'platform' for programme design and service delivery. Their services and programmes are primarily aimed at (but in most cases, not limited to) responding to the needs of Māori. The promising providers are:

a Te Whakaruruhau Inc. Māori Women's Refuge, which supports women and children affected by domestic violence;

b Mana Social Services Trust, which delivers a restorative justice programme for 9 - 13 year olds who are at 'high risk' of disengaging from the education system;

c Hoani Waititi Marae, which is implementing an initiative to identify the strengths within whānau that will assist them to better respond to the negative impacts of methamphetamine use and abuse;

d Taonga Education Centre Trust, which provides alternative education to teenage mothers in Clendon (Auckland);

e Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri, which delivers a programme aimed at reducing re-offending among 20 of Auckland's top recidivist offenders and their whānau referred by Police; and,

f Consultancy Advocacy Research Trust (CART), which among other things, facilitates access to health services for hard to reach whānau.

  1. The programmes span the spectrum of interventions, from reducing entry through to reducing re-entry into the criminal justice system.
  1. All of these providers have relationships with numerous government agencies, from whom their services are in high demand (see Appendix 2 for throughputs), and have received some government funding. Te Puni Kōkiri is providing $1,527,753 in funding to support the above initiatives until June 2008.
  1. The Minister of Māori Affairs requested that Te Puni Kōkiri identify more promising providers for inclusion in the suite of Māori designed, developed and delivered practical initiatives. Several have been identified thus far, based on the earlier criteria:

a establishing a sports academy for at-risk youth in Hawkes Bay;

b providing pastoral care and support for high school students who are at-risk of disengaging from the education system, many of whom have strong links to established gangs;

c upskilling kaumātua to support and guide offenders and their whānau through their healing;

d engaging with 'hard to reach' groups to develop mechanisms for ensuring that their descendants do not get caught up in the criminal justice system; and

e establishing a methamphetamine treatment and support centre in Dargaville.

  1. In order to measure the impact and outcomes of these interventions, Te Puni Kōkiri considers it necessary to support these providers for at least three years. This will enable officials to complete programme evaluations of the initiatives, which will contribute to establishing an empirical evidence base of the key success factors for Māori.
  1. It is recommended that Cabinet direct the Ministry of Justice to identify options for funding to enable these providers to continue the programmes referred to above in the 2008/09 and 2009/10 financial years, and to report to the Cabinet Policy Committee by 30 September 2007.
  1. This approach will provide certainty for these providers, which will be subject to outcome evaluation to identify and understand critical success factors for Māori in the criminal justice sector. By 'hothousing' a small number of Māori providers, officials can identify and test facilitators of success for Māori with controlled expenditure and risk.
  1. It will also be important to broaden the pool of interventions and providers. Accordingly, it is also recommended that Cabinet direct Te Puni Kōkiri to identify further practical initiatives that show promising results for Māori, that are designed, developed and delivered by Māori, to test 'what works for Māori'.
  1. To support this work, It is recommended that Cabinet direct the Ministry of Justice to identify options for funding for further practical initiatives referred to in paragraph 36 above, and to report to the Cabinet Policy Committee by 30 September 2007;

Component 4: learning from promising providers

  1. Understanding and applying the success factors identified through working with the promising providers will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of services provided by various agencies.
  1. Although agencies may invest more in Māori designed, developed and delivered programmes over time, for the foreseeable future Māori will participate mostly in mainstream programmes. Therefore steps must be taken to ensure that all programmes and services that aim to address Māori criminal justice outcomes reflect the key success factors that emerge from this PoA.
  1. Accordingly, it is recommended that Cabinet agree to justice sector agencies, in consultation with Te Puni Kōkiri, incorporating evaluation information, including critical success factors, from the promising and innovative Māori providers referred to in this paper in developing, reviewing, and applying their evaluation frameworks for existing and new programmes and services that are delivered to Māori in this sector. It is also recommended that these evaluation frameworks are applied to all new programmes and existing programmes as soon as practical.
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  1. The total amount of funding being provided by Te Puni Kōkiri is $2.530m. Police are contributing $189,000.

Component 6: innovative approaches

  1. Through the engagement process with Māori, officials have identified innovative approaches focused on the specific needs of Māori offenders. These programmes represent the innovative potential of Māori designed, developed and delivered programmes. However, by definition, innovative approaches have no external evaluation evidence to call upon. Further, the experience of these providers suggests that they experience difficulty securing funding, as their proposals typically do not fit agency funding criteria. More flexible funding approaches would benefit these types of programmes. The identified programmes are:

Iwi crime reduction plans

  1. As a result of the Commissioner of Police engaging with Māori throughout the country, a number of iwi leaders in discussion with Police are looking for support to construct their own Iwi Crime Reduction Plans, under the umbrella of a New Zealand Māori Crime Reduction Strategy (NZMCRS). The proposed NZMCRS represents a significant move by Māori leadership, and Māori communities, to take ownership of Māori offending. This will be driven by iwi with the assistance of officials. The NZMCRS provides an opportunity for officials to work with Māori towards the common goal of reducing the over-representation of Māori in the criminal justice system. Officials will undertake further dialogue with iwi before proceeding.
  1. At this stage, Police have identified 3 iwi that are able to progress immediately: Ngāti Pōrou; Tainui; and Te Arawa. Officials will meet with leaders from these 3 iwi to develop a core document setting out the purpose, outcomes, scope, and methods likely to underpin iwi plans to reduce crime. This core document will then be presented to a wider group of iwi leaders for endorsement.

Youth gang mediation

  1. Te Puni Kōkiri and New Zealand Police agreed to establish an out-reach approach that facilitated engagement with the hardest-to-reach youth gangs in South Auckland - a gap in the recently implemented Counties-Manukau Action Plan.
  1. Early results of mediation between rival youth groups has been positive, including agreement to extend the network to involve other 'hard to reach' youth and established gang leaders. A further outcome of this project is a number of the young people are now undertaking seasonal work in Hawkes Bay and the Bay of Plenty.
  1. Te Puni Kōkiri has agreed to fund an evaluation of this scheme. Further funding is required for the mediators due to increased demand for their services from Police, Territorial Authorities and the Prison Service, and for programmes that meet the social development needs of these 'hard to reach' young people.

Manukau Urban Māori Authority's (MUMA) reintegration initiative

  1. MUMA is currently in the process of designing a reintegration programme to support Māori offenders as they transition from prison back to the community. This requires the building of a number of houses on land at Ngā Whare Waatea marae in South Auckland. The houses will be made available to ex-inmates who are transitioning back into the community after serving lengthy terms of imprisonment. These offenders generally have multiple needs and require significant support to ensure their successful reintegration back into their communities and whānau. MUMA's programme meets a significant gap in service delivery to ex-inmates, as identified by a number of participants in the recent engagement with Māori.
  1. Through the MUMA initiative, offenders will be able to access suitable programmes to enhance their reintegration back into the community. Those programmes will address their education, employment and training needs (including basic life skills and driver licensing) as well as alcohol and drug abuse and anger management. MUMA has approached Housing New Zealand Corporation for assistance with the housing element of the project. Te Puni Kōkiri officials are currently considering funding for MUMA to employ a Project Manager to oversee the project and to assist in developing a proposal for sustainable funding.

Component 8: inter-agency fund

  1. As part of the development of the PoA for Māori ,Cabinet directed officials to

a investigate the establishment of a fund to be administered by the governance group, to support practical initiatives that emerge from the engagement with Māori and Pacific peoples' practitioners, providers and offenders; and,

b develop an empirical evidence base about practical initiatives, including those developed within the fund and initiatives designed, developed and undertaken by Māori and Pacific communities, to inform an understanding about what works and why [CAB Min (06) 27/3A refers].

  1. CBC also noted that the PoA would include "a report on officials' discussions on the development of a fund for supporting practical initiatives" [CBC Min (06) 22/12 refers].

Funding Issues

  1. Government funding processes need to be more flexible, accessible, consistent and user-friendly, so that good ideas and programmes are not rejected or lost because of inflexible criteria, lack of transparency, or undue compliance costs.
  1. The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) is currently reviewing the funding model it uses for all of the providers it works with, looking at issues such as how to define appropriate effectiveness measures, the circumstances in which grants (with lower compliance costs) may be offered rather than contracts, and encouraging providers to work together to, for example, rationalise their infrastructure.
  1. It is recommended that the Ministry of Justice in consultation with the MSD, Te Puni Kokiri and other relevant agencies review government funding practices and programmes that address offending, re-offending and imprisonment among Māori.
  1. The review will also examine how justice sector and other agencies can make greater use of joint contracting and the Funding for Outcomes Model in funding programmes. Officials will provide a progress report on this review by 30 November 2007, and a final report by 30 March 2008.
  1. In the meantime, to facilitate provider access to current funding sources, the Ministry of Justice will prepare and publicly disseminate information about current funding and assistance available to providers. It will provide information about funding and assistance available from the Ministry of Justice by 31 July 2007, and funding and assistance available from the wider sector by 20 December 2007.

Inter-agency fund

  1. To date, there has been limited progress in the development of options for the proposed fund, while other work has been undertaken. Discussions among officials are continuing and will be further informed by the review of funding practices noted above. It is recommended that Cabinet direct the Ministry of Justice (lead) in consultation with Te Puni Kokiri and other relevant agencies to report back on detailed options for the establishment of a fund to support innovative interventions that are designed, developed and delivered by Māori by 30 March 2008.

Links to other effective interventions initiatives

  1. During implementation, all EI initiatives are expected to contribute to reducing rates of offending, re-offending and imprisonment among Māori [CAB Min (06) 27/3A refers]. Te Puni Kōkiri officials are concerned to ensure that the EI policy proposals include robust ethnicity analysis, rather than rely on an assumption that Māori will benefit from any implementation in proportion to their numbers in the system.

Reporting on the programme of action for Māori

  1. To ensure that Ministers are kept up to date on progress in implementing the PoA, reports will be included in the Effective Interventions quarterly reports.

Consultation

  1. The New Zealand Police, Department of Corrections, Treasury, Ministry of Women's Affairs, Ministry of Youth Development, Law Commission, Ministry of Social Development, State Services Commission, and have been consulted on this paper. The Ministries of Health, Education, and Pacific Island Affairs, and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet have received copies of the paper.

Department of Corrections comment

  1. The Department of Corrections notes that it has established processes for making funding decisions, including criteria about likely effectiveness of services and their capacity to meet the needs of Māori.  Many of the existing contracted services would meet the criteria identified as relevant to the "promising providers". The Department considers that there is scope to learn from existing providers as well as the promising providers identified by Te Puni Kōkiri.

Financial implications

  1. The initial stages of the PoA will be funded from within existing baselines. Departments will address additional funding requirements for inclusion in the 2008/9 Budget round.

Human rights implications

  1. Disparate outcomes for Māori in the criminal justice system raise concerns about the right to be free from discrimination, section 19, New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. The proposals in this paper are intended to eliminate or reduce such disparities and are consistent with the Bill of Rights Act and the Human Rights Act 1993.

Gender implications

  1. While women make up a relatively small proportion of the total offender and prison populations, Māori women are significantly over-represented in all phases of the system, from apprehension to imprisonment. The Ministry of Women's Affairs notes that there has been a recent rapid increase in the number of women being imprisoned compared to men. Māori women are likely to be particularly affected. The engagement process highlights the need for the development of initiatives to address the specific needs of Māori women as an integral part of the programme of action.

Recommendations

  1. It is recommended that Cabinet Policy Committee:

Previous consideration

  1. note that the Ministry of Justice and Te Puni Kōkiri were directed to report back to the Cabinet Policy Committee by 31 March 2007, with a programme of action relating to Māori [CAB Min (06) 27/3A refers];

Engagement process

  1. note that Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry of Justice have engaged with numerous Māori providers, practitioners, and offenders, and a Māori reference group, established to provide high level advice and support to officials;
  1. note that through the engagement process, participants indicated that they sought:

a an ongoing relationship with the justice sector that facilitates opportunities to provide input into policy development and review; and

b support and funding for practical initiatives, designed, developed and delivered by Māori, that meet the specific needs of Māori offenders, their whānau, hapū, iwi and communities;

  1. direct justice sector agencies (Ministry of Justice lead), in consultation with Te Puni Kōkiri, to prepare a detailed response to the issues raised during the engagement process, for distribution to engagement participants, as an immediate means of ensuring ongoing engagement in relation to the programme of action for Māori;

Research programme

  1. note that the following comprehensive programme of quantitative and qualitative research will contribute to the development of the programme of action for Māori over the medium to long-term:

a annual compilation, analysis, and publication of disaggregated Māori criminal justice data, at every stage of the criminal justice system for which ethnicity data is available;

b collation and publication of comprehensive traffic-related apprehension and offence data, for Māori and non-Māori;

c assessment by the Ministry of Justice, in consultation with Te Puni Kōkiri, of the extent of Māori over-representation in the criminal justice sector, after controlling for socio-demographic variables captured in census data, to better understand the underlying factors driving over-representation;

d completion of research by Te Puni Kōkiri into the causes of offending by Māori including qualitative research of pathways to offending; and,

e periodic follow-up research on Māori pathways to offending, to complement the annual disaggregated Māori criminal justice data, and to facilitate monitoring of any changes in trends that may arise from projected Māori population growth;

Practical initiatives

  1. note that Te Puni Kōkiri has committed approximately $1.5m to fund some promising Māori designed, developed and delivered initiatives, up to June 2008, to identify and test what works to reduce offending, re-offending and imprisonment among Māori;
  1. direct the Ministry of Justice to identify options for funding to enable the providers to continue the programmes referred to in recommendation 6 above in the 2008/09 and 2009/10 financial years, and to report to the Cabinet Policy Committee by 30 September 2007;
  1. direct Te Puni Kōkiri to identify further practical initiatives that show promising results for Māori, that are designed, developed and delivered by Māori, to test 'what works for Māori'.
  1. direct the Ministry of Justice to identify options for funding for the providers of the further practical initiatives referred to in recommendation 8 above, and to report to the Cabinet Policy Committee by 30 September 2007;
  1. agree that justice sector agencies, in consultation with Te Puni Kōkiri, will incorporate evaluation information, including critical success factors identified through project evaluations of promising and innovative Māori providers, in developing, reviewing, and applying their evaluation frameworks for existing and new programmes and services that are delivered to Māori in the criminal justice sector as soon as practical;
  1. note that Te Puni Kōkiri and the New Zealand Police are providing funding to build capacity and capability within the New Zealand Māori Wardens;
  1. note that the engagement process has identified three innovative approaches to reducing offending and re-offending by Māori (being: the iwi crime reduction plans; youth gang mediation work; and the reintegrative initiative of the Manukau Urban Māori Authority), which would benefit from more flexible funding arrangements outlined in recommendations 13 - 16 below;

Funding issues

  1. note that the Ministry of Justice will prepare and disseminate information about current funding and assistance available to providers from the Ministry of Justice by 31 July 2007, and from the wider sector by 20 December 2007;
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On-going reporting

  1. note that quarterly reports to Cabinet on the Effective Interventions programme will include reporting on the programme of action for Māori
  1. note that officials will report to Cabinet by August 2007 on how the revised outcomes framework for the justice sector will be used by agencies to report on progress on reducing Māori and Pacific peoples' offending, which will include information on progress of outcomes such as patterns of offending by Māori (CAB (06) 27/3A refers).
Hon Parekura Horomia
Minister of Māori Affairs		 Hon Mark Burton
Minister of Justice

Appendix 1: Key themes and related issues from engagement

Providers and practitioners

Providers and practitioners stated that, in their experience, there are/is:

a low levels of agency support for tikanga, Māori designed, developed and delivered initiatives, and a lack of understanding of Māori approaches to offending and imprisonment;

b lack of Māori, hapū, iwi and community input into the design of policies and initiatives and setting of criminal justice outcomes and priorities;

c low levels of evaluative evidence of impact of programmes;

d a willingness to participate in evaluation of their programmes;

e insufficient information on funding sources and criteria;

f prohibitive transaction and compliance costs;

g a lack of 'seed funding'; and

h a lack of willingness by agencies to provide sustainable funding, particularly for tikanga-based initiatives.

Offenders - men

Male offenders stated that, in their experience, there is/are:

a a limited number of programmes and services based on tikanga and those aimed at meeting the specific needs of Māori;

b a general lack of pre- and post-release support to facilitate successful reintegration back into whānau and the community;

c a strong desire to have more access to tikanga programmes;

d restrictions in accessing a range of programmes which limits their ability to demonstrate behavioural and attitudinal changes necessary for Parole Board hearings;

e a strong desire to participate in education, employment, training, drug and alcohol and tikanga programmes;

f that both Corrections and the Parole Board prioritise criminogenic programmes over tikanga and 'cultural'-based rehabilitation programmes; and

g positive effects from the Māori Focus Unit regime.

Offenders - women

As well as sharing many concerns identified by male offenders, female offenders emphasised:

a issues relating to mothers and babies in prison, and the needs of pregnant women in prisons;

b women's roles as caregivers generally - the importance and difficulty of maintaining connections with children, partners and other whānau, children's schools - the difficulty of building strong whānau foundations for the future;

c their concern for their children and grandchildren in terms of breaking the cycle of offending;

d the impact of home detention on family relationships;

e domestic and sexual violence as underlying causes of offending;

f substance abuse and mental health issues including depression, grief, trauma, anger, lack of self-esteem;

g the fact that some women's experiences at home meant that they felt safer in jail than outside;

h that men had better access to a range of programmes and facilities, including;

- employment and training programmes

- tikanga programmes and Māori Focus Units (MFUs)

- Faith Based Units

- drug and alcohol treatment - particularly as many women were on short-term sentences and therefore ineligible

i a focus on domestic skills such as cooking, laundry and sewing rather than employment and training that would provide pathways out of offending post-release;

j disrespect by Corrections staff of cultural practices around menstruation, food, death and grieving; and

k the need for help with transitional housing on return to the community, with reconnecting with whānau, and for longer term support for women post-prison.

The need for tikanga-based interventions, such as Māori Focus Units, in the women's prisons was a very strong feature in the engagement with women prisoners. The women talked about the benefits they had obtained from connecting or reconnecting with their culture and history through the limited tikanga programmes available, and their desire to continue to participate in these programmes.

Appendix 2: Promising Providers - Throughputs

Te Whakaruruhau Māori women's refuge supports women and children affected by domestic violence

In 2006, they provided crisis intervention for 3111 women, 2760 children and 3108 offenders. They also made 7,120 referrals on to collaborating agencies, including 1002 to Drug and Alcohol services.

From July 2005 to June 2006, their services reached 2597 Māori women and 1331 Māori children.

Te Whakaruruhau is currently the only refuge operating in the Hamilton area. It is also one of only two organisations participating in the POL400 New Zealand Police pilot that aims to improve reporting of domestic violence and inter-agency co-ordination.

Mana Social Services Trust delivers a restorative justice programme for 9 - 13 year olds who are at 'high risk' of disengaging from the education system

Between June 2003 and October 2004 (inclusive), 120 students and 19 schools participated in the programme. Principals reported reduced school suspensions and exclusion rates in participating Rotorua schools. Of the 120 students that participated in the initiative, 93% (102) remained in school (84% of their cases involved violence, particularly aggressiveness and bullying). Flow-on effects of the programme's success were that 18% fewer Māori needed the service the following year and more parents were actively participating in the educational activities of their children.

Hoani Waititi Marae initiative aims to identify factors that strengthen whānau affected by the negative effects of Methamphetamine use and abuse

Funding for this initiative will result in 25 presentations in Auckland to audiences ranging in size from 10 to 120. The presentations will provide attendees with an environmental scan of 'P' use and abuse and available assistance, which will be informed by interviews with former presentation and focus group participants. From the presentations, audience members will be invited and selected to participate in 10 focus groups (of up to 12 people per group). From the new focus groups, a report will be prepared that identifies services that are effectively supporting whānau to deal with issues arising from methamphetamine use and abuse, gaps in service provision and issues that whānau still are still struggling with.

Taonga Education Centre provides alternative education to teenage mothers in Clendon (Auckland)

The suburb of Clendon, Manurewa is where solo parenting and negative social outcomes are prevalent. This school-based intervention caters for 30 teenage mothers (predominantly Māori) and their children. Demand for teen parent enrolments meant that the Early Childcare Centre needed to increase its capacity, to enrol up to 39 tamariki. This has meant that enrolments of teenage mothers have been able to increase from 23 to 30 students. Not only is there 100% retention of the girls, but their educational achievement levels are exceeding that of students in the main school (James Cook High). Students' learning and career aspirations are identified on enrolment. The Education review office noted that most students leave with improved prospects for employment and with increased parenting and life skills. 5 students currently participate in a work experience programme linked to their career goal. Their pre-schoolers are also benefiting from participation in licensed Early Childhood Education.

Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri (TWRoM) delivers a programme aimed at reducing re-offending among 20 of Auckland's top recidivist offenders and their whānau referred by Police

Originally this programme involved 10 recidivist offenders. Of the 10 original participants, 3 are still completing the therapeutic programme (individual, couples and family therapy delivered in a bi-cultural context). 2 others have relocated and are no longer participating in the programme.

TWRoM is currently working with 14 recidivist offenders and their whānau that have been referred to the programme by the New Zealand Police. TWRoM is engaging with 3 of the offenders while they are still in prison. TWRoM is also supporting the mothers and children of the 3 prisoners and assisting with reintegration of the inmates.

A major factor that entices offenders to participate in this programme is reconciliation with their whānau and the positive benefits the programme has on their children. Children of offenders continue to participate in the school holiday programme irrespective of whether the parents are still engaged in the programme.

Consultancy, Advocacy and Research Trust (CART) facilitates access to services for hard to reach whānau

One such service is the immunisation programme. The goal of this programme is to improve the health and wellbeing of a hard to reach and hard to deal with community (in the main this community consists of gang members, their partners and children). Health improvement will sought through raising awareness, through providing opportunities to access health services, and through encouraging life changing behaviours at a personal, whanau and group level. The programme delivers activities in the Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Waikato and Wellington regions. Recent activities included immunisation awareness seminars in Petone, attended by 44 clients, which was followed by a diabetes and TB screening process run by Capital Coast DHB in September 2006; and a hui in Putaruru in October 2006, attended by 17 adults and 16 children to provide information on immunisation for TB and Hepatitis. Overall, 100 individuals have participated in the health programme since its inception.

Footnotes

1 The Department of Corrections is currently evaluating programmes for Māori identified in the Ministerial Review of Targeted Programmes (Cab (05) 22/8 refers). This is a significant work item which will provide a better understanding of the efficacy of some motivational and rehabilitative programmes for Māori that have been developed and delivered by the Department of Corrections.