Oranga Tamariki has referred nearly thirty complaints over staff conduct to police since a review into the agency's secure residences began three months ago.
An external Rapid Review of Oranga Tamariki Secure Residences was begun in June after six staff were stood down over allegations of serious misconduct.
Four staff were linked to a video of young people being encouraged to fight in early June and, later in the month, two more were removed from residences after allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour.
The findings of the review, headed by former police commissioner Mike Bush, was made public on Thursday.
It said, despite a theoretical capacity of nearly 180 youth justice placements, residences were only adequately resourced for staff to safely manage a little more than two thirds of that number.
A staff member was quoted in the report as saying the issue was the dilemma that drove all of the agency's problems.
"We just don't have enough beds, and we often can't staff the ones we do have. But the needs of the kids are so great, there's just no way we can ever shut the front door," they said.
It said trends towards more serious youth offending and legislative change were happening at a faster than the agency was capable of adapting for.
It also identified a sense of 'review fatigue' among staff and management.
It said the agency was the subject of multiple and constant reviews resulting in so many internal strategies pans, projects and working groups that few staff could clearly articulate the Oranga Tamariki vision, purpose and strategy for the homes and residences.
The pressures meant Oranga Tamariki struggled to locate children near their home regions or to separate children from more serious offenders or gang affiliates.
It said management and leadership expertise needed to be lifted and consistent programmes of therapeutic and formal education put in place.
Boredom and disengagement among youth placed in the facilities was increasing the risks of violence in the units.
It highlighted a 'profound misalignment' between the needs of tamariki and rangatahi in care and the unskilled and unregulated parts of the workforce.
The secure residences themselves were described as 'tired assets' and the report said the agency needed to rethink its existing facilities and planned new builds to ensure better outcomes for the youth they housed.
Oranga Tamariki chief executive Chappie Te Kani said he accepted the report and its findings in full.
He said the agency had begun a 'major change programme' focused on significant improvements to the residences recommended by the report.
He said as soon as the review was announced Oranga Tamariki had established an Incident Management Team to manage complaints and get urgent work under way.
The team had received 46 complaints or allegations of staff causing harm to young people in care ranging from inappropriate language and supplying contraband to physical and sexual assaults.
Twenty-eight of these had been referred on to police and 22 staff had been removed from residences since the beginning of June.
There have since been three staff members charged by the New Zealand Police for offences under the Crimes Act 1961.
RNZ
