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Briefing on the proposed amendment to section 186 (1) Portfolio Committee on Social Development

Briefing on the proposed amendment to section 186 (1) Portfolio Committee on Social Development 20 April 2016. 1. PURPOSE. To brief the Portfolio Committee on the proposed amendments to Section 186 (1) and to provide guidance on the issue may be handled. 2. INTRODUCTION.

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Briefing on the proposed amendment to section 186 (1) Portfolio Committee on Social Development

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  1. Briefing on the proposed amendment to section 186 (1) Portfolio Committee on Social Development 20 April 2016

  2. 1. PURPOSE • To brief the Portfolio Committee on the proposed amendments to Section 186 (1) and to provide guidance on the issue may be handled.

  3. 2. INTRODUCTION • During the Public Hearings a similar call to reconsider the proposed amendment to section 186(1) was made, which gave the department an opportunity to reflect on the amendment. • The department then realised the unintended consequences of the proposed amendment, which prompted the department to support the proposal to drop the amendment from the current Bill. • In our view it was an oversight not to uplift this when the A-list was prepared.

  4. 3. THE DEPARTMENTS REASONS FOR SUPPORTING THE PROPOSAL TO OMIT THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT 1. The current section 186 heading is ‘duration of foster care placement’. This section is in the foster care Chapter which regulates foster care. The proposed amendment is as follows; ‘‘(1) A children’s court may, despite the provisions of section 159(1)(a)regarding the duration of a court order, after a child has been in [foster] the care [with] of a person other than a family member for more than two years and after having considered the need for creating stability in the child’s life, order that—’’. (a) no further social worker supervision is required for that placement;

  5. 4. THE DEPARTMENTS REASONS FOR SUPPORTING THE PROPOSAL TO OMIT THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT… (b) further social worker reports are required in respect of that placement; and (c) the foster care placement subsists until the child turns 18 years, unless otherwise directed. 2. Removing the word ‘foster care’ will pose a challenges because the child will not be required to be placed in foster care first, where there are protective measures such as supervision and monitoring of the placement.

  6. 5. THE DEPARTMENTS REASONS FOR SUPPORTING THE PROPOSAL TO OMIT THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT… 3. During initial 2-year foster care placement period, the suitability of the placement will be monitored and the level of stability will be assessed. After this period, the social worker may then recommend to court for the placement to be extended for more than two years. 4.This initial foster care placement is imperative in this case, because it is a non-related placement with a non-family member. 5.Furthermore, the proposed amendment is not aligned to the heading and the provisions in 186 (1) (a) (b) and (c) especially (c), which refers to ‘the foster care placement’ not plain ‘care’ as well as the chapter.

  7. 6. THE DEPARTMENTS REASONS FOR SUPPORTING THE PROPOSAL TO OMIT THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT… 6. As indicated previously, the Minister has set up a Ministerial Committee, which is reviewing the foster care system as a whole. It may therefore be prudent to deal with all foster care issues after the Committee has concluded its work and having the benefit and wisdom of its recommendations.

  8. 7. Exploiting the current provisions of the Act to overcome the challenges of backlogs in the Court System… • The Act defines a family member as follows: “’family member”, in relation to a child means- (a) a parent of a child; (b) any other person who has parental responsibilities and rights in respect of the child; or (c) any other person with whom the child has developed a significant relationship, based on psychological or emotional attachment, which resembles a family relationship.

  9. 8. Exploiting the current provisions of the Act to overcome the challenges of backlogs in the Court System… • In our view the same result we were trying to achieve by the proposed amendment can be achieved by applying and correctly interpreting the definition of “family member” • The backlog can be addressed to a certain extent if most cases where a child has been staying with the prospective parent(s) are dealt with as family placement in terms of section 186(2) by applying the wide definition of “family member”.

  10. 9.RECOMMENDATIONS • It is recommended thatthe Portfolio Committee takes note of the departments views on the concerns raised about the proposed amendment to section 186 (1).

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