Shining a light on practice in the WCTO service
April 2026
Tamariki Wellbeing
This report shares three stories illustrating how WCTO kaimahi walk alongside whānau, hold trusted relationships, and weave together support across clinical, cultural, and social worlds.
This report is the final of four learning reports from a collaboration between Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, community based providers and TSI’s Tamariki Wellbeing Team to prototype changes to the WCTO service.
This report was developed by TSI in partnership with three of the WCTO providers involved in the project. They selected whānau, currently or historically within their service, whose journeys illustrate the everyday, often unseen, practice of kaimahi. Case notes were used to capture the volume and nature of contacts, the kinds of support offered, and the collaborative actions kaimahi took with other organisations. Workshops with kaimahi then mapped these journeys, identifying moments of need, stress, and growth, and the ways in which practitioners responded. These insights were transformed into visual stories that trace the relational and practical work in action.
Thank you to the kaimahi from Starship Community, Te Puawaitanga ki Ōtautahi Trust, and Te Rūnanganui o Te Ātiawa for giving us your time so generously to enable us to witness the richness and depth of your mahi. It brings to life the heart of the WCTO service and the impact it has for whānau every day.
You can find more information on this prototype and links to the three other reports here.
