Fast-Track – Formative and process evaluation

In May 2021, the South Auckland Social Wellbeing Board (SASWB) established Kotahi te Whakaaro to trial a cross-agency community led response to children aged 10-13 years who were apprehended for a serious offence such as ram raiding.

The early success of this approach in South Auckland and subsequently Auckland West resulted in the Government providing funding to establish the Fast-Track protocol and expansion of both teams to include young people aged 14-17 years.

The Fast-Track Protocol was agreed between Police and Oranga Tamariki, and in May 2023, Oranga Tamariki received extra funding to set up Fast-Track teams in Hamilton, Christchurch and Auckland Central.

In 2023 Oranga Tamariki commissioned Malatest International to evaluate Fast-Track. The evaluation consisted of two parts: 

Part 1: A process evaluation focused on cross-agency ways of working for the two established sites:

• South Auckland – Kotahi te Whakaaro (est. May 2021)
• MDCAT West Auckland (est. December 2022)

Part 2: A formative and process evaluation for three recently established sites:

• Auckland Central Te Kāhui Whitiora (est. May 2023)
• Christchurch Ōtautahi Interagency (est. May 2023)
• Hamilton Fast-Track (est. May 2023).

The evaluation of the expansion of Kotahi te Whakaaro to Multi-Disciplinary Cross Agency Team (MDCAT) West and other early sites that introduced the protocol has generated lessons about what needs to be in place for the effective establishment of new cross-agency sites. 

Key learnings about setting up an efficient cross-agency way of working relate to the service design and implementation, leadership and communication, management and administration.

These include:

• Supporting and adequately resourcing local adaptations of the Kotahi te Whakaaro model
• Acknowledging the importance of community kaupapa and identity
• Shared leadership, mutual respect and trust in the team
• Marae, iwi, community and Kaupapa Māori provider representatives and/or leadership
• Involving the ‘right’ people with the ‘right’ mindset
• Providing adequate governance backbone and back-office support
• Having systems for cross-agency data sharing and monitoring

The evaluation report identifies priorities for strengthening a cross-agency way of working including the need for a standardised data and monitoring system, an outcomes framework and prioritised funding to commit to cross-agency ways of working.

As at 30 June 2024, Fast-Track had received 710 referrals for tamariki aged between 10 and 13 years and 120 referrals for rangatahi aged 14 to 17 years. Fast-Track cross agency data shows that 86% of these tamariki and rangatahi received a response plan within 48 hours of the apprehension. Fast-Track cross-agency data shows that rates of re-referral (31% for tamariki and 13% for rangatahi) suggest a lower rate of recidivism than would be expected for both groups without Fast-Track.

There are now nine Fast-Track teams across the country and in June 2024 the Government announced $30.6 million to continue the Fast-Track programme, and to also expand the cohort to include 14 to 17-year-olds in six of these locations.