Declaration children are in need of care and protection — custody order — Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, ss 5, 13, 14, 78 & 101 — United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child. In 2016 Oranga Tamariki applied for a declaration that four children were in need of care and protection. The children's mother initially denied this was the case for any of her children. Eventually she acknowledged that care and protection concerns existed for three of the children and this case centered around whether it was necessary to make a declaration for only one child, CL. Under the Oranga Tamariki Act (the Act), the Court can make a declaration that a child or young person is in need of care or protection if one or more of the grounds in s 14 of the Act can be made out. Where the Court makes a declaration under s 67, it may make an order placing the child in the custody of the chief executive of Oranga Tamariki (or other appropriate service or person). The relevant grounds under s 14 in this case were that the child was being harmed (physically, emotionally or sexually), ill-treated, abused or seriously deprived, or that the child's development was being neglected or impaired to a serious but avoidable extent. The mother had several relationships which exposed her children to domestic violence. There had been unstable accommodation and a lifestyle of partying and excess alcohol. CL was at his eighth school, having been excluded from his previous school for a series of violent outbursts. It was found that CL had been harmed by the exposure to his mother's lifestyle. His emotional development was also impaired. Next the Judge had to decide whether there was need for protection by way of a declaration. CL had shown violent tendencies and clear emotional harm caused by his unstable childhood. The Judge acknowledged the effort the mother and her partner had put into becoming better parents and living a better lifestyle, but thought they had not done enough in depth work to resolve their problems, particularly their ability to resolve conflict in a healthy way. It was unlikely the mother could cater to his high needs and prevent the cycle of abuse she had inherited from her family from being passed down to CL. A declaration was made that CL, like the other children, was in need of care and protection. Judgment Date: 22 March 2018. * * * Note: Names have been changed to comply with legal requirements * * *