7Duties of chief executive

1. It is the duty of the chief executive to take such positive and prompt action and steps as will in the chief executive's opinion best ensure—

2. that the purposes of this Act are attained; and
3. that those purposes are attained in a manner that is consistent with the principles set out in sections 4A and 5.

4. In carrying out the duty imposed by subsection (1), the chief executive must—

5. monitor, and advise the Minister on, the effect of social policies and social issues on children, young persons, families, whanau, hapu, iwi, and family groups:
6. promote—that are designed to provide assistance to children and young persons who lack adequate parental care, or require protection from harm, or need accommodation or social or recreational activities:
   1. the establishment of services (including social work services, family support services, and community-based services) designed to improve the well-being of and long-term outcomes for children and young persons; and
   2. the adoption of policies (including the provision of financial support to parents, families, and family groups)—
7. ensure, where practicable, that any services funded by the department to reduce the impact of early risk factors for future involvement in the care, protection, or youth justice systems under this Act are co-ordinated with other government-funded activities for improving outcomes for children, young persons, and families, or reducing the impact of those early risk factors so that those services and activities—
   1. are unified under a shared strategy and set of outcomes with respect to children and young persons with those early risk factors; and
   2. adopt a common approach to evaluating the set of outcomes sought and, where possible, determining the return on investment by the Government in those services and activities; and
   3. are available to meet the needs of children and young persons of different ages and at different developmental stages, and include processes to support children and young persons to move between services and activities as they get older and develop:
8. comply with regulations (relating to standards of care) made under section 447(1)(fa):
9. establish, amend, or replace, after consulting the Public Service Commissioner, 1 or more complaints mechanisms to enable children and young persons, their parents, whānau, families, and caregivers—
   1. to complain about actions or omissions under this Act or regulations made under this Act in relation to those children and young persons by the chief executive, the chief executive’s delegates, and employees of the department; and
   2. to receive responses to those complaints that are—
      1. timely and fair; and
      2. centred on the child or young person:
10. ensure that the policies and services provided by the department are informed by the outcomes of cases considered by the complaints process and any reviews of those outcomes:
11. develop and publish policies and practice standards in relation to the chief executive’s role in—
    1. managing, and participating in, family group conferences; and
    2. giving effect to the conferences’ outcomes:
12. publish information, in any form or medium that the chief executive considers will be accessible to children and young persons in the care or custody of the chief executive and their parents, whānau, families, and caregivers, summarising—
    1. the rights of children and young persons in the care or custody of the chief executive; and
    2. the standard of care they should expect from the department under this Act or regulations made under this Act:
13. in relation to child abuse,—
    1. promote, by education and publicity, among members of the public (including children and young persons) and members of professional and occupational groups, awareness of child abuse, the unacceptability of child abuse, the ways in which child abuse may be prevented, the need to report cases of child abuse, and the ways in which child abuse may be reported; and
    2. develop and implement protocols for agencies (both governmental and non-governmental) and professional and occupational groups in relation to the reporting of child abuse, and monitor the effectiveness of such protocols:
14. ensure that services are available to children and young persons who are subject to any action or receiving any service under Parts 2 to 7 (with particular consideration to be given to the needs of those in care) that provide them with an opportunity and support to express their views about—
    1. matters that are important to them in relation to that action or service; and
    2. the operation and effectiveness of processes and services under this Act, for the purpose of contributing to the improvement of these:
15. ensure, wherever possible, that all policies adopted by the department, and all services provided by the department,—
    1. recognise the social, economic, and cultural values of all cultural and ethnic groups; and
    2. have particular regard for the values, culture, and beliefs of the Maori people; and
    3. have regard to the views of children and young persons, including the views received by the services referred to in subsection (2)(bb):
    4. support the role of families, whanau, hapu, iwi, and family groups; and
    5. avoid the alienation of children and young persons from their family, whanau, hapu, iwi, and family group:
16. establish and fund care and protection resource panels:
17. establish procedures to ensure that the cases of children and young persons in respect of whom action has been taken under this Act are regularly reviewed in order to assess the adequacy and appropriateness of that action:
18. ensure that persons providing services under this Act receive adequate training and comply with appropriate standards:
19. monitor and assess the services provided under this Act by the department and by other organisations, groups, and individuals:
20. ensure that the department seeks to develop strategic partnerships with iwi and Māori organisations, including iwi authorities, in order to—
    1. provide opportunities to, and invite innovative proposals from, those organisations to improve outcomes for Māori children, young persons, and their whānau who come to the attention of the department:
    2. set expectations and targets to improve outcomes for Māori children and young persons who come to the attention of the department:
    3. enable the robust, regular, and genuine exchange of information between the department and those organisations:
    4. provide opportunities for the chief executive to delegate functions under this Act or regulations made under this Act to appropriately qualified people within those organisations:
    5. provide, and regularly review, guidance to persons discharging functions under this Act to support cultural competency as a best-practice feature of the department’s workforce:
    6. agree on any action both or all parties consider is appropriate:
21. consider and respond to any invitation from 1 or more iwi or Māori organisations to enter into a strategic partnership in accordance with paragraph (h) and subsection (7).

22. The services referred to in subsection (2)(bb) must operate independently from other services provided under this Act.

23. In this section, in care means—

24. placed or detained in the custody or care of the chief executive, a person, a body, or an organisation under this Act; or
25. remanded in the custody of the chief executive under section 173, 174, or 175(1A)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011; or
26. detained in a residence under section 34A of the Corrections Act 2004.

27. To avoid doubt, a summary of rights published under subsection (2)(bag) cannot create new rights or detract from existing rights.

28. In section 7(2)(bad) and (bb),—

    caregiver includes a caregiver within the meaning given in section 386AAA

    young person includes a young person within the meaning given in section 386AAA.

29. For the purposes of subsection (2)(h) and (i), 1 or more iwi or Māori organisations may invite the chief executive to enter into a strategic partnership.