Social Development Sharna Fernandez. Image: ANA

Social Development Sharna Fernandez. Image: ANA

WC Social Development promises a shift to “preventive approaches”

The Department of Social Development has received R753.835 million.

Social Development Sharna Fernandez. Image: ANA

Social Development Sharna Fernandez. Image: ANA

The Western Cape Department of Social Development has engaged with experts from the field of prevention and early intervention services to produce sustainable solutions to protect South African children.

Social Development states that a healthy family contributes to how a child functions

The Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez, stated that there is a dire need to address child protection services at a systematic level and strongly focusing on families as a priority area. The minister declares that the well-being of a family is critical to how the children will function, which in turn also contributes to the functioning of society.

“In order to safeguard the future of this country, we must focus on integrated prevention and early intervention programmes for our children, that include both the boy and the girl child. Our government remains committed to investing in prevention and early intervention programmes. By making people more socially mobile, we are able to increase productivity, with the knock-on effect of reducing reliance on social welfare”.

Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez

The department’s budget focuses on family programs

The Department of Social Development has received R753.835 million, and the total 2019/20 Social Development budget is allocated to Children and Families Programmes. This budget allocation is largely dedicated to Families and Early Childhood Development Services; Child Protection Services; Child and Youth Care Centres.

Social Development plans to adopt new strategies on child protection services and radically change the current functioning state; as the aim of Children and Families Programme’s is to help build families that function well, which will contribute to communities that care for children, while protecting and developing children appropriately.

“In South Africa, child protection policy is inclusive and provides a legislative framework for promoting the well-being of families with children, especially poor and vulnerable children in need of care and protection. However, we need to ensure that resource allocation, programme landscape and practice in child protection, shift from predominantly reactive approaches to preventive approaches.”

Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez

Nationally Social Development is struggling with an intense backlog of foster care court orders

Recently, the Portfolio Committee on Social Development recently admitted that it is anxious about the department’s capability to meet deadlines set by Gauteng’s High Court on foster care court orders.

Gauteng High Court has previously given the department three deadline extensions regarding this matter, which included interim interventions to better manage backlogs on foster care orders.

The portfolio committee also demanded that social development present a detailed turnaround plan, that shows how court orders will be cleared by 28 November 2019, the turnaround plan detailing how court orders will be processed is yet to surface.