4Purposes

1. The purposes of this Act are to promote the well-being of children, young persons, and their families, whānau, hapū, iwi, and family groups by—

2. establishing, promoting, or co-ordinating services that—
   1. are designed to affirm mana tamaiti (tamariki), are centred on children’s and young persons’ rights, promote their best interests, advance their well-being, address their needs, and provide for their participation in decision making that affects them:
   2. advance positive long-term health, educational, social, economic, or other outcomes for children and young persons:
   3. are culturally appropriate and competently provided:
3. supporting and protecting children and young persons to—
   1. prevent them from suffering harm (including harm to their development and well-being), abuse, neglect, ill treatment, or deprivation or by responding to those things; or
   2. prevent offending or reoffending or respond to offending or reoffending:
4. assisting families, whānau, hapū, iwi, and family groups to—
   1. prevent their children and young persons from suffering harm, abuse, neglect, ill treatment, or deprivation or by responding to those things; or
   2. prevent their children or young persons from offending or reoffending or respond to offending or reoffending:
5. assisting families and whānau, hapū, iwi, and family groups, at the earliest opportunity, to fulfil their responsibility to meet the needs of their children and young persons (including their developmental needs, and the need for a safe, stable, and loving home):
6. ensuring that, where children and young persons require care under the Act, they have—
   1. a safe, stable, and loving home from the earliest opportunity; and
   2. support to address their needs:
7. providing a practical commitment to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (te Tiriti o Waitangi):
8. recognising mana tamaiti (tamariki), whakapapa, and the practice of whanaungatanga for children and young persons who come to the attention of the department:
9. maintaining and strengthening the relationship between children and young persons who come to the attention of the department and their—
   1. family, whānau, hapū, iwi, and family group; and
   2. siblings:
10. responding to alleged offending and offending by children and young persons in a way that—
    1. promotes their rights and best interests and acknowledges their needs; and
    2. prevents or reduces offending or future offending; and
    3. recognises the rights and interests of victims; and
    4. holds the children and young persons accountable and encourages them to accept responsibility for their behaviour:
11. assisting young persons who are or have been in care or custody under the Act to successfully transition to adulthood in the ways provided in the Act.

12. In subsection (1)(c) and (d), assisting, in relation to any person or groups of persons, includes developing the capability of those persons or groups to themselves do the things for which assistance is being provided.