Children and young people are loved, safe and nurtured
(previously titled High Impact Innovation Programme Initiatives in Corrections)
The High Impact Innovation Programme is piloting the Kea Project (Whānau Visits Experience) at Hawkes Bay and Manawatu prisons. The Kea Project is designed to support meaningful relationships between tamariki and their whānau members in prison by making prison visits more tamariki-friendly and providing tools that enable whānau to prepare and support tamariki for their visit.
The project expanded to include Whanganui prison, with spatial design completed in December 2020.
Implementation and delivery of the pilot was impacted by the COVID-19 lockdowns and subsequent operational priorities. Project reintroduced in Hawke's Bay Regional Prison in alignment with the Kaupapa Māori Pathway (previously intended to be implemented in November 2019, however this experienced delays).
The programme is also establishing the Pre-Trial Service under the Hōkai Rangi strategy with Budget 2020 funding to provide early support to reduce the number of people entering or remaining in custody. Where these people are parents, it will have positive flow on effects for parent-child relationships.