What Open Home Foundation does

Open Home Foundation (Te Whare Kaupapa Āwhina) is a non-profit Christian community response organisation founded in 1977 by Ewen and Gillian Laurenson in New Zealand. It provides foster care, social work, supervised contact, kinship care, intensive wraparound support, and disability respite services (through the wholly-owned Oasis Respite Care programme) to vulnerable children, young people, and families. Service delivery is grounded in three practice frameworks: the Signs of Safety approach (implemented since 2006, with two staff licensed to train the approach in New Zealand and internationally), the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics for trauma-informed care, and Te Aho Takitoru, a proprietary Māori-centred intervention framework built around nine life principles for whānau engagement.

The organisation operates across New Zealand through regional service centres in Lower Hutt (national office), Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Hawke's Bay, and Waikato/Hauraki, with 251-500 staff and a national network of assessed, trained, and accredited Christian foster families. OHF's business model is anchored in multi-agency government contracts — primarily with Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Vulnerable Children) for care services, the Ministry of Health for disability social work and Oasis respite, and the Ministry of Social Development for the Christian Community Response — supplemented by individual donations via the Ted Sponsorship Fund and general giving programme. The organisation has a jointly-controlled international subsidiary, Open Home Foundation International (OHFI), established in 1991, operating in India, Romania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Zambia.

There is no proprietary technology platform or AI/ML capability; OHF is a direct social-service provider regulated under the Social Workers Registration Act 2003, the Vulnerable Children Act, the National Care Standards Regulations 2018, and the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, with ongoing oversight from Aroturuki Tamariki (Independent Children's Monitor). Following the June 2024 Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care final report, OHF issued an Open Letter of Apology and committed to continuous improvement of its safeguarding systems.

Name

Open Home Foundation

Legal name

Open Home Foundation of New Zealand

Website

https://ohf.org.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Open Home Foundation is a New Zealand non-profit founded in 1977 that delivers foster care, social work, disability respite, and whānau support services to vulnerable children and families, funded primarily through government contracts with Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Social Development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Garston

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Government Contracts - Ministry of Health: Contracted by the Ministry of Health to provide social work services to families with children or young people with disabilities.
2. Government Contracts - Oranga Tamariki: Contracted to provide care services for children in the custody/care of Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Vulnerable Children), including foster care, supervised contact, and safety planning services.
3. Individual Donations: Donations from individual donors to support families and children in local communities. Two options: Ted Sponsorship Fund for individual child support and general fund for new initiatives and operational costs.
4. Ted Sponsorship Fund: Dedicated fund enabling donors to support individual vulnerable children in their area for cultural activities, sporting equipment, camps, music/dance lessons, disability equipment, counselling, and family therapy.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Open Home Foundation is a New Zealand non-profit charitable organization that delivers child and family support services, including foster care placement, social work support, supervised contact, kinship care, intensive wraparound support, and family-based overnight respite care for children with disabilities. Services are provided under contract to government agencies (Oranga Tamariki, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Development) and supplemented by individual donations, operating within the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 framework.

Product overview

Open Home Foundation is a Christian community response organization providing a unified suite of child and family support services in New Zealand. The core offerings include foster care services, social work services, Oasis Respite Care for children with disabilities, Intensive Wraparound Support, Kinship Care, Manaaki Whānau, and supervised contact services. These services work together within the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 framework to support vulnerable children, families, and whānau. The organization also operates a Ted Sponsorship Fund for individual child sponsorship. OHF does not operate a technology platform but provides direct social services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Foster Care Services

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Ministry of Social DevelopmentcoreOthersGovernment agency providing social development policy and funding. OHF works closely with MSD to provide a Christian Community Response to the needs of vulnerable children and families.
• Ministry of HealthcoreOthersContracted by Ministry of Health to provide social work services to families with children with disabilities and to operate OASIS respite care service for children with ASD or intellectual disability.
• Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Vulnerable Children)coreOthersGovernment ministry responsible for vulnerable children. OHF provides contracted care services for children in Oranga Tamariki custody, including foster care, social work support, safety planning, and supervised contact services. OHF also engages in monitoring and reporting with Aroturuki Tamariki - Independent Children's Monitor.
• Te Ahurea Pūtahi (Cultural Services Team)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural services team providing cultural support including whānau hui facilitation and Marae-based hui for Māori families engaging with OHF services.
• Signs of Safety (Dr. Andrew Turnell and Steve Edwards)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOHF has implemented Signs of Safety as a practice approach since 2006 and has two staff licensed to train the approach in New Zealand and internationally.
• Social Workers Registration BoardsupportingOthersRegulatory body for social workers in New Zealand. OHF social workers are required to be registered in accordance with the Social Workers Registration Act 2003.
• Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW)supportingOthersProfessional association for social workers. Many OHF social workers are members of ANZASW. OHF adheres to ANZASW Practice Standards and Code of Ethics.
• Aroturuki Tamariki - Independent Children's MonitorsupportingOthersIndependent monitoring body for children in state care. OHF engages in regular monitoring and reporting with Aroturuki Tamariki to ensure compliance with National Care Standards.
• NASC (Needs Assessment Service Co-ordination Agencies)coreOthersRegional agencies that assess needs and coordinate services. NASCs make referrals to OHF's OASIS respite care and Intensive Wraparound Services.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Barnardos New Zealand: New Zealand's largest child welfare charity, providing foster care, family support, and social work services for vulnerable children. Closely comparable to OHF in mission, service mix, and government-contract funding model, with a broader national footprint and no faith-based affiliation.
• Presbyterian Support (Family Works): Network of regional Presbyterian Support organizations delivering social work, family support, counseling, and youth services across New Zealand. Directly comparable to OHF's family preservation, social work, and wraparound offerings, also operating under government contracts with Oranga Tamariki and the Ministry of Social Development.
• IHC New Zealand: Largest NZ disability support provider, offering respite, residential, and advocacy services for people with intellectual disabilities. Directly comparable to OHF's Oasis Respite Care line and broader disability social work services, with similar NASC referral pathways and government funding.
• Lifewise: Auckland-based social services organization (part of Methodist Mission Northern) providing housing, homelessness, disability, and family support. Overlaps with OHF on intensive wraparound and social work services, with comparable community-led and government-contracted operating model.
• Royal New Zealand Plunket Society (Whānau Āwhina Plunket): NZ's largest provider of Well Child/Tamariki Ora services, supporting families with young children aged 0-5. Comparable in target beneficiary population (vulnerable families/children) and government-funded service delivery, though focused on early childhood rather than foster care and statutory social work.
• Dingwall Trust: Auckland-based charitable trust providing residential care and social work for children and young people in need. Comparable to OHF in residential/foster care and trauma-informed social work delivery, operating at smaller scale but similar funding mix.
• Key Trust (Hamilton): Waikato-based charitable trust providing foster care, social work, and family support services. Highly comparable to OHF in service mix, government contracting, and Waikato regional presence, making it a direct regional competitor for contracts and carers.

Broad incumbents

• Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Vulnerable Children): NZ government ministry that is OHF's largest customer and the statutory child protection agency. Not a direct competitor in service delivery, but operates in the same space as the dominant funder and policy-setter for the services OHF provides.

Emerging players

• Youthtown: Auckland-based youth development charity providing mentoring, life skills, and wraparound support for at-risk young people. Comparable to OHF's intensive wraparound and supported family arrangements segments, with partial overlap rather than head-to-head competition.
• Te Rourou Whai i te Ora (Big Buddy / Youthline-type services): NZ-based youth support and counseling services. Partial overlap with OHF's teen parenting and family preservation work, but a narrower youth-counseling focus rather than full foster care and social work delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/OpenHomeFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-home-foundation

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Home Foundation