EXPLORING ADOLESCENTS’ PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING IN RELATED FOSTER CARE PLACEMENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1989, children have a right to express their views and participate in matters concerning them.  This aspect of participation is also encompassed in legislation in South Africa.  The country has adopted a developmental social work approach after becoming a democratic nation in 1994 to guide social work service delivery on all levels. The purpose of this paper is to explore the participatory decision making experiences that adolescents have relating to their foster care placements. Against this background, the theoretical premise of the paper is based on the principles of participatory decision making. A qualitative research study was conducted in which thirty-five adolescents in related foster care placements across South Africa were interviewed.  The responses of adolescents indicate that these young people in foster placements feel they are not sufficiently included in the decision making aspects related to welfare service delivery to them. This presents a challenge to developmental social work, which aims to be democratic, inclusive, and participatory. The paper concludes with discussing the implications of these findings for foster care in South Africa and recommends that adolescents should be taken seriously in matters concerning them

Development of a training programme for state prosecutors to address re-victimization of the sexually abused child during forensic procedures

In this study the researcher developed a training programme for state prosecutors to address re-victimization of the sexually abused child during forensic procedures. The study commenced with a literature study focusing on the following aspects: Person-centred approach as scientific foundation for the work with sexually abused children during forensic procedures. Sexual abuse and the long-term effects thereof. Addressing re-victimization of the sexually abused child during forensic procedures. After finalizing the literature study, the researcher did the empirical study, which was a combined qualitative-quantitative study. The researcher started with the qualitative study, where prosecutors dealing with sexual abuse cases were interviewed to determine their training needs. After their training needs were determined a training programme was compiled. This training programme formed part of the quantitative study and was implemented during a training session for prosecutors at the Justice College in Pretoria. The programme was also evaluated making use of a pre- and post-test questionnaire to determine whether there was a knowledge improvement after the presentation of the programme.Thesis (DPhil (Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2007.Social Work and Criminologyunrestricte

IS THE DEVELOPMENTAL SOCIAL WELFARE APPROACH TO CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES WORKING? VOICES OF CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND SOCIAL WORKERS IN EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

Decades of research have highlighted the challenges facing child protection services in a developmental approach. The aim of the article is to explore whether the developmental social welfare approach contributes to an improvement of child protection services. A descriptive case study design was applied in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. The findings revealed limited knowledge among social work practitioners about the implementation of the developmental social welfare approach. The findings also revealed an overwhelmed child protection system that lacks coordinated and integrated services. It is recommended that child protection services be divided into prevention, early intervention and statutory services

AN ANALYSIS OF POLICIES AND LEGISLATION RELATING TO CHILD PARTICIPATION BY CHILDREN IN ALTERNATIVE CARE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Worldwide, children in the care of the state constitute one of the most vulnerable groups in society. They are often not heard, or their views not respected in matters concerning them. This is incongruent with the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN, 1989). Guided by a conceptual framework of child participation theory, this article analyses South African legislation and policies to determine how and when child participation is being promoted. Findings indicate that providing information to children on how to participate meaningfully is the key for effective child participation and that practical guidelines should be developed

Development of a training programme for state prosecutors to address revictimisation of the sexually abused child during forensic procedures

In this paper the researchers developed a training programme for state prosecutors working with sexually abused children during court procedures. The study commenced with a literature study focusing on: (a) the person-centred approach as a scientific foundation for the study, (b) the long-term effects of sexual abuse, and c) the revictimization of sexually abused children during forensic procedures. The empirical study was a combined qualitative-quantitative study. The researchers started with the qualitative study, where prosecutors dealing with sexual abuse cases were interviewed to determine their training needs in this field of service delivery. After training needs were determined, a training programme was compiled. This training programme formed part of the quantitative study and was implemented during a training session for prosecutors at the Justice College in Pretoria. The programme was evaluated using pre- and post-test questionnaires

The current landscape of child protection services in South Africa : a systematic review

CITATION: Strydom, M., Schiller, U, & Orme, J. The current landscape of child protection services in South Africa: a systematic review. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 56(4):383-402, doi:10.15270/56-4-881.The original publication is available at http://socialwork.journals.ac.zaChild protection services are seen as the largest field of social work service delivery in South Africa. Repeated warnings of the ‘crisis state’ of child protection services have gone unheeded. The aim of this article is to determine the current landscape of child protection service delivery and research within the South African context. The developmental social welfare approach was used as the epistemological framework for this systematic review. Findings indicated a significant emphasis on statutory services and a lack of resources for family preservation efforts. Appropriate costing models should be generated to specify critical needs and garner support from stakeholders.https://socialwork.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/881Publisher's versio

Exploring child protection content in social work curricula in South Africa and Sweden

Child participation and agency are vital elements in child protec-tion. Ensuring child participation can contribute to successful inter-ventions. Social workers are often the central agents in ensuring that children participate in matters concerning them and that the best interest of the child principle is adhered to in these matters. The aim of this study is thus to understand if and how social work education in South Africa and Sweden teaches child participation in child protection work. We study curricula for social work pro-grammes in three South African and two Swedish universities. Results indicate broad themes of similar content in curricula in both countries and both indicate gaps in terms of in-depth training in child protection, as well as children to a very low degree are regarded as agents. Students are not explicitly trained to encourage child participation. Further research can show whether and how such knowledge is developed in practice and how the social work programmes can prepare the students for such development. If social workers should be able to promote child participation, regard them as active agents and support them in developing resilience, they need to have that perspective in their fundamental training