Vulnerable Children’s Hub
0800 FOR OURKIDS
0800 367 687
www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz/
vulnerablechildrenshub
Referring to the Vulnerable Children’s Hub
0800 FOR OURKIDS / 0800 367 687
Why call the Vulnerable Children’s Hub?
Whatever a referrer’s level of concern about a child, there is no wrong door with the
Vulnerable Children’s Hub.
Dedicated Hub workers will assess the child’s situation through conversations with the
referrer and from information from other government agencies and decide on the most
appropriate referral pathway. That could either be an NGO like Barnados, referral to a
Children’s Team or to Child Youth and Family, or the Police.
The child’s safety and wellbeing always comes first.
The family’s consent is not required to make a referral. Referrers can contact the Vulnerable
Children’s Hub without talking to the family under Section 15 of the Children Young Persons
and their Families Act.
However it is always good practice to have the conversation with the family first. Most
parents struggling with issues like violence, mental illness and drug or alcohol dependence
know it is affecting their children and want to change, but don’t know how.
Your time and effort can help to make all the difference for a vulnerable child and ensure that
they have the best support put in place to get them and their family/whānau back on track.
What defines a vulnerable child?
A vulnerable child is a child with multiple and complex unmet needs.
The White Paper defines vulnerable children as children who are at significant risk of harm
to their wellbeing now and into the future as a consequence of the environment in which they
are being raised and, in some cases, due to their own complex needs. Environmental factors
that influence child vulnerability include not having their basic emotional, physical, social,
developmental and/or cultural needs met at home or in their wider community.
What’s involved in making a referral to the Vulnerable Children’s Hub?
We are testing the Vulnerable Children’s Hub in our large urban Children’s
Teams with professionals and practitioners who have concerns about a
child.
As a professional/practitioner working with a vulnerable child and his or her
family/whānau, you are well placed to make a referral to the Vulnerable
Children’s Hub. You will have firsthand and up to date information about the
child and their family.
In preparation for making a referral, you might consider speaking with other
Vulnerable Children’s Hub
0800 FOR OURKIDS
0800 367 687
www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz/
vulnerablechildrenshub
professionals you know to be working with the child and his or her family. Having the best
information assists The Hub’s social workers in making sure a thorough initial assessment is
performed, and the right referral pathway is chosen to meet the needs of the children and
family/whānau.
You can refer a child to the Vulnerable Children’s Hub by:
(1) calling The Hub – 0800 FOR OURKIDS / 0800 367 687 (Monday to Friday from 8am5pm):

to consult and discuss the concerns you have about a vulnerable child
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to make a referral for a vulnerable child or children.
(2) completing a referral anytime using the secure online form: https://viki.govt.nz/
(3) down
loading
a
referral
form
at:
www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz/vulnerablechildrenshuband posting to: The Hub, PO
Box 78013, Grey Lynn, Auckland 1245.
Making a phone referral
When you call The Hub, you will be asked to give the Hub social worker a brief synopsis of
the family situation. This helps identify if there is any immediate safety risk and if so, you will
be encouraged to contact Child, Youth and Family (CYF) immediately - and the Hub will offer
to transfer you directly.
Call the Police if a situation is occurring right now, and there are serious concerns for the
safety of the child or children.
If you are making a referral to the Hub by phone it will likely take 30-45 minutes. The Hub
social worker gathers as much information as possible to ensure a robust assessment and
the correct pathway is chosen for the child.
Please ensure that you call the Hub when you have this much time available. If the Hub’s
opening hours (8am – 5pm Mondays to Fridays) are not convenient for you, there is the
option to refer online: (https://viki.govt.nz/)
Making an online referral
You can refer a child online using the secure online form. https://viki.govt.nz/
This is a shorter process than initially referring by phone.
The Hub will assess the information you’ve provided and then call you to verify your identity
(you will be asked to confirm the name of your organisation, your role, your
relationship with the referred family, your contact details and the best times to
contact you) and gather any further information required to support the referral.
Unique identifier
At the conclusion of your phone call or when you click “Submit” on your online
referral form, you will receive a referral reference number. Quote this number if
Vulnerable Children’s Hub
0800 FOR OURKIDS
0800 367 687
www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz/
vulnerablechildrenshub
you need to call the Hub and talk about this referral on another occasion. You will also
receive information about next steps and when you can expect to hear back from the
Vulnerable Children’s Hub about the outcome of your referral.
What type of information is required when making a referral to the Hub?
Baseline Information
When you make a referral to the Vulnerable Children’s Hub, Hub social workers will look at:
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Key child and family details: This includes the child’s date of birth, their address, a
list of who else lives in the home and their relationships, the names of the child or
children’s caregivers and any other adults that are significant in their life, where the
child attends school, key health details, etc. If the child lives just outside the
Children’s Team catchment area, The Hub will check with the Children’s Team if they
will take the referral at their discretion. If the child lives well outside the Children’s
Team boundary, The Hub may, in consultation with the referrer, identify what steps
could be taken to meet the needs of the child.
Other databases: The Hub will check a range of databases for additional
information, including the CYF and Work and Income databases. This additional
information will support your referral.
Child, Youth and Family involvement: If Child, Youth and Family are currently
involved with the child you are referring, the referral via The Hub will not proceed.
You will be given a contact number for the allocated social worker or local office.
Safety Issues: The Hub will ask you to identify any safety issues, should a
Children’s Team member or social worker be sent to the child’s address to meet the
family. For example, is there a dangerous dog living on the property, is it an isolated
rural property, or are there gang affiliations?
Gathering Robust Information
The richer the information provided to The Hub, the better they can assess the child’s
situation and decide on the most appropriate way to have their unmet needs addressed.
Here are some key areas the Hub will want to consider:

The child’s unmet needs: How do the child’s needs make him or her vulnerable,
and affect his or her daily life and well-being?
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Parent/caregiver’s behaviour: How does the parent’s/caregiver’s behaviour affect
the child and his or her behaviour and well-being? Behaviours may be detrimental to
the child, or they may be beneficial.
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Interventions, services and supports: What interventions, services
and supports have been, or are being provided, to the child or
family/whanau? What agencies have been involved or are currently
involved? Have you spoken to other professionals involved with the
child or family? (While this is not required, it can be helpful in the
referral process).
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Having a conversation with the family/whānau about the referral:
Vulnerable Children’s Hub
0800 FOR OURKIDS
0800 367 687
www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz/
vulnerablechildrenshub
Have you informed the family that you would like to refer them to the Vulnerable
Children’s Hub? Even though having a conversation with the family/whānau about
the referral is not legally required, it is best practice and achieves better outcomes
when the family is aware and comfortable with this. You will be asked about the
family’s response to being referred. Children’s Commissioner Russell Wills talks
through some examples of how to have this conversation in videos on the Children’s
Action Plan website. You can watch these here.
The Hub team will cover these key assessment areas with questions like these:

Have you seen the parents/caregiver and child interacting? What have you
observed?
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What do the parents/caregiver say about their parenting/caregiving skills and
knowledge? Do they talk positively about the child?
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Have you ever had any concerns about drug or alcohol use? Have you smelled
alcohol or seen behaviours that might suggest drug use?
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Does the child participate in after school activities and other social events?
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What is the quality of the child’s friendships at school – does he or she get invited to
play or to attend other social events? Have you heard the child talking about their
friendships?
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Do the family engage in cultural, sporting, religious, or other community activities?
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What is the family’s living situation? What is the condition of their home?
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What if any specific health, special education or disability needs does the child have?
Are they engaged with specialists or other professionals? Do you know how regular
their appointments are?
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Are you aware of any other family members or adults who are significant in the life of
the child? What is the nature of these relationships?
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Do you know about the child’s attendance at early childhood centre or school, and
their level of learning ability and progress?
It’s okay if you don’t have answers to all of the questions. The best information is provided
when professionals talk to each other. That way we get a more multi-dimensional picture of
what is happening in the child’s life.
Example from Practice: A Resource Teacher: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) called
the Vulnerable Children’s Hub to make a referral for multiple children in one family.
Prior to calling The Hub, the RTLB had spoken with the Social Worker in
School (SWiS) with whom one of the children in question was attending a
programme. The RTLB had also spoken with the school Principal about
the family in question, as well as with the Special Education Needs
Coordinator (SENCO), as one of the children had a disability. The RTLB
had also spoken with the child’s paediatrician who sees the child on a
regular basis regarding an ADHD diagnosis. All of this additional
background served to provide rich information to The Hub to inform both
Vulnerable Children’s Hub
0800 FOR OURKIDS
0800 367 687
www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz/
vulnerablechildrenshub
the recommended referral pathway, the initial approach to the family, and the early
identification of needs.
Possible Referral Pathways
The Hub worker has the following referral pathway options:

A recommendation that the needs of the child/family are best met via a universal or
targeted service. This will be recommended when only one primary need is identified
for the child. These services are health, education and social services that are
available to all New Zealand children to promote their well-being and to provide early
services for unmet needs.
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A recommendation the referral is forwarded to the Children’s Team for consideration
at the Children’s Team Panel. This option will be recommended if the child’s
immediate safety is assured, but the child is still at risk of serious harm from neglect
or abuse resulting from multiple and interrelated unmet needs requiring
comprehensive assessment and access to a range of services to meet their needs
and reduce their level of risk and harm from neglect or abuse.

A recommendation/action that Child, Youth and Family or the Police are contacted
immediately.
The Hub worker will consider the information provided by the referrer alongside information
from various additional databases, and will then make a decision as to the best referral
pathway for the particular child or children.
The Hub will contact you to tell you which referral pathway was selected for the child or
children that you referred. If the child was referred to the Children’s Team and accepted, The
Hub will contact you to advise you of this. If the referral to Children’s Team is declined the
Children’s Team will contact you to recommend another service/support agency for the
family.
What happens when a referral goes to a Children’s Team?
When a referral goes to a Children’s Team via the Hub, all the information gathered from the
initial referral is reviewed and assessed by the Children’s Team panel. The panel is made up
of expert professionals representing a number of key sectors (including child health, mental
health, education, police, justice, social services, etc). They may decide the referral should
instead go to another agency such as an NGO, or it may assign a Children’s Team Lead
Professional to work with the child and their family/whanau. A Lead Professionals are
practitioners– from across the social service sector – they could be doctors, teachers, social
workers, police officers, nurses, and so on
The Lead Professional is responsible for meeting with the child and their
family/whanau to carry out an initial assessment and to work with them to put
together one Child’s Plan. This is centred on the unmet needs of the child and
sets out the goals and services needed to reach them. The Lead Professional
will also bring together practitioners and professionals who can provide the
services the child or family needs. This group shares information about the
child and their family/whanau, and provides the wrap-around services that
Vulnerable Children’s Hub
0800 FOR OURKIDS
0800 367 687
www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz/
vulnerablechildrenshub
have been identified as being required in the Child’s Plan. It is the Lead Professional’s role
to ensure there is coordination of all the services and shared information. They must report
back to the Children’s Team panel on progress against the Child’s Plan and this will be
monitored and reviewed until such time as the Children’s Team no longer needs to be
involved with the child and their family/whanau.