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Developmental Social Welfare: transforming social services in SA

Developmental Social Welfare: transforming social services in SA. Lucy Jamieson. Children’s Rights. Rights in South Africa. Socio-economic rights in the Constitution: Everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to health or wellbeing

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Developmental Social Welfare: transforming social services in SA

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  1. Developmental Social Welfare: transforming social services in SA Lucy Jamieson

  2. Children’s Rights

  3. Rights in South Africa Socio-economic rights in the Constitution: Everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to health or wellbeing Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing Everyone has the right to have access to health care services, including reproductive health care; Sufficient food and water; and Social security and social assistance. Everyone has the right to an education Everyone has the right to equality/ non-discrimination Everyone has inherent human dignity Freedom from violence

  4. Policies that shape the model of social services Major policies shaping South African model: • White Paper for Social Welfare 1997 • Policy for Financial Awards to Services Providers 2004, affects subsidies to NGOs and salaries (currently under review – NWF seminars and submissions) • Service Delivery Model for Developmental Social Services 2006

  5. Social Services in a Developmental Welfare Model

  6. Funding gap

  7. Conceptualising Developmental Welfare in South Africa • Rights based approach • Constitution and international law • Emphasis on support to families and prevention • Economic development and Social Development • Fight poverty and dependency • Democracy and Participation • Community Involvement • Including children in decision-making • Social Development Partnerships • Government, NGO, informal and commercial sector roles • No Macro and Micro Divide • Strengthening Community Based Structures

  8. Conceptualising Developmental Welfare in South Africa • Inter-sectoral and multi-disciplinary • Joined up government through interdepartmental planning and service delivery • Multi-disciplinary teams • Transformation criteria for access to funding • implement programmes aimed at early intervention and prevention; • provide services irrespective of race, gender and service beneficiaries’ ability to pay; • keep service beneficiaries in their homes and communities; and • redirect services to previously marginalized communities and prioritize service delivery to the most vulnerable

  9. New legislation based on DSW • Children’s Act no.38 of 2005 • Children’s Amendment Act no. 41 of 2007 • Sexual Offences Act no. 32 of 2007 • Child Justice Bill B 49B of 2002 • Older Persons Act No. 13 of 2006

  10. Legislation demands range of social service practitioners Children’s Act 2005 and 2007 recognises the full range of social service practitioners. “social service professionals” probation officer, development worker, child and youth care worker, youth worker, social auxiliary worker and social security worker “Social workers” are listed separately Other practitioners mentioned in the legislation: • Early childhood development practitioners (unregulated) • Managers, administrators, cooks, drivers, gardeners, volunteers (unregulated) • Police, magistrates, clerks, lawyers, family advocates (Law Society) • Psychologists (HPC)

  11. Human resources gap Categories of workers available vs needed: Social workers and auxiliaries - 12,000 registered approx 7000 available for implementation of the Children’s Act - Between 16 000 and 66 000 needed Child and youth care workers and auxiliaries - approx 7000 available - need not known = at least as many if not more than the numbers of social workers needed ECD practitioners - approx 55 000 available - need not know = at least 105 000 needed

  12. Challenges to implementation of the new legislation • Only those who are registered under the Social Service Professions Act of 1978 may perform functions under the Children’s Act • Currently the only practitioners that can register: social workers and auxiliaries • PB does exist for child and youth care workers but there has been little progress in recognising child and youth care worker as a profession and providing for the registration of child and youth care workers • The Council is the profession that is allowed to register i.e. social workers. • Scarcity of all the social service practitioners needed • Gap between government and NPO salaries

  13. Key Questions • What services are needed to give life to the Developmental Social Welfare model? • What role does your profession/occupational group play? (What is the unique role?) • What other professions do you work with? • What challenges do you face as profession?

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