Oranga Tamariki has apologised after posting details about a young girl in an advert on Seek and TradeMe.
Chief executive Gráinne Moss apologised and said she was "uncomfortable about the level of detail" in the post, which has since been deleted, but the agency did not breach the privacy of the child.
Minister for Children Tracy Martin said: "It probably isn't the most appropriate website to advertise for caregivers for our children."
The job listing, seeking caregivers in Whanganui, contained details about a "school-aged girl" who "needs a 'forever' home".
It listed her iwi affiliations, hobbies, and details about her background including that she'd experienced "significant trauma since birth" and "requires positive support, consistent routine and boundaries".
Ngā Rauru iwi chair Marty Davis says he's fuming about the advert which contained details about one of the iwi's young people.
He said "the silence is deafening from Oranga Tamariki" which has not approached the iwi about the child.
Ms Moss said the mistake was from a staff member "with the best of intentions".
"What we will do is we will review the guidelines to learn from this incident," she said.
"We did not breach the privacy of that child, we acted immediately to take down the information. We do need more caregivers and we do use social media, and actually a number of our really good caregivers have come through social media. The thing is we need to use all of our media channels appropriately."
National MP Alfred Ngaro brought up the issue during a select committee on Wednesday, saying iwi should have been approached in the first instance to seek a caregiver for a child.
He said "anyone would think twice" about the advert and advertising for a caregiver for a child was a "sensitive issue".
Newshub.
