Mum and Dad separated, and Dad worked really hard to turn his life around so that his children could live with him again. He completed a drug and alcohol programme, committed to stop drinking, and took a positive parenting course. He was having weekend visits with the children and was ready to have them back full-time.

Our Paiheretanga social worker came on board to support the family through the transition, with the children coming back together with Dad. We developed a robust safety plan to guide the reintegration, which included visiting the home at least three times a week.

Dad has a full-time job, so most of the support was done in the evenings.

Building on the things he’d learnt in his parenting course, we helped Dad with understanding child development and having realistic expectations. We focused on communication so that Dad would be a listening parent, and the children would have a say in what was happening. There was also practical support around household management, setting up routines, healthy nutrition and menu planning.

But it wasn’t all about hard work.

We encouraged the older children to take up activities as a fun way for them to connect with Dad. Sam is doing karate and May is having swimming lessons. Tania is attending an early learning centre. We helped Dad choose a centre with a positive learning environment and good programmes and support for transitioning to school next year.

Dad was ready to step up to be the father that his children needed him to be. With our support and his willingness and openness to learning, all the professionals involved with the family and Dad unanimously agreed at the end of the plan that it had been a success.

Our Paiheretanga social worker recalls:

“The day I completed my final visit, Dad was so overwhelmed he wept. This father worked so hard at being the best dad that he could possibly be at this point in time, it was a privilege to have worked alongside him.”

Repairing Trust