Ka mua, ka muri-Walking backwards into the future: Partnering with mainstream child protection services as a community-based Mata Waka organisation

INTRODUCTION: Spurred by critical reviews of Oranga Tamariki-Ministry for Children, Aotearoa New Zealand's statutory child protection agency, and growing calls for services delivered "by Maori, for Maori, with Maori", the New Zealand government is taking significant steps toward devolving responsibility for supporting the wellbeing of tamariki, rangatahi, and whanau Maori from the Crown to Iwi and Maori social service providers. Frequently overlooked in discussions of Crown-Maori partnerships are community-based Mata Waka (pan-tribal) organisations, which provide a range of much-needed services to tamariki, rangatahi and whanau Maori who are not mana whenua. The purpose of this Kaupapa Maori research was to examine the expectations that kaimahi working for a Mata Waka Kaupapa Maori service provider have of other organisations that: 1) partner with tamariki, rangatahi and whanau Maori; and, 2) partner with Mata Waka.APPROACH: Drawing on findings from wananga with kaimahi, this article illuminates the principles and values that guide their practice, using these as a foundation for exploring the complexities, challenges, and opportunities inherent in building effective partnerships with statutory child protection services on behalf of tamariki, rangatahi and whanau Maori across differences in mandate, power, world views, and guiding frameworks or tikanga Maori.IMPLICATIONS: The study findings have implications for current Crown-Maori partnership efforts and, by extension, for the wellbeing of tamariki, rangatahi, and whanau Maori.