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This paper discusses the role of social workers and community volunteers in providing services to foster care children living with HIV in South Africa. A literature review was undertaken of 14 qualitative studies conducted in South Africa from 2012-2022. The review showed the prominent role played by social workers in foster care, despite factors which hindered service such as high caseloads, lack of knowledge on HIV and prioritisation of quantity over quality. Hence, several challenges were faced by foster carers.
The studies also revealed that community volunteers were providing services…
These presentations from Hope and Homes for Children, Miracle Foundation and Railway Children were delivered during the August 20, 2021, workshop of the Care Measurement Task Force of the Transforming Children's Care Global Collaborative Platform. The focus of the workshop was child and family outcome measurement.
Abstract
Heavy workloads and the crisis in South African foster care compel many social workers to focus on the physical needs of foster children and neglect their psychosocial needs. This qualitative study employed individual interviews to explore the emotional experiences of 15 adolescents placed in foster care. While they were aware of the reasons for being fostered, their situation evoked feelings of sadness, stigmatisation and exclusion. Feelings towards their biological parents included emotional blunting, resentment towards fathers who did not care, and love for parents despite…
Abstract
Research on young people transitioning out of care due to reaching the age of majority (referred to as care-leaving or aging out of care) is still emerging in South Africa. To date, almost all research on leaving care has focused on the transition out of residential care, with little attention to the transition out of foster care, including cluster foster care (roughly equivalent to group homes in other countries). This paper aims to describe the experiences of youth preparing to age out of cluster foster care in South Africa. Individual interviews were conducted with nine youth…
Abstract
Children leaving foster care are ill-prepared for life after foster care. They are left to face numerous challenges, such as unemployment, homelessness and lack of interpersonal relationships, which impact their young adult life. The transition into adulthood is a frightening process for any young person, but is most frightening for the child aging out of alternative care, such as foster care, especially if both of their parents are deceased. The South African legislation does make provision for independent living preparation for children aging out of foster care, however there…
Abstract
Music therapy is a valuable tool for working with vulnerable children who have experienced trauma and neglect, working intimately to draw out their playfulness and resilience, and create an experience of a safe and trusting relationship. In South Africa, with its overburdened social welfare systems and under-resourced communities who remain affected by poverty and unemployment, there is limited access to medical and psychological services. The South African foster care system aims to provide safety and security for vulnerable and at-risk children and youth, but it is often…
Abstract
Heavy workloads and the crisis in South African foster care compel many social workers to focus on the physical needs of foster children and neglect their psychosocial needs. This qualitative study employed individual interviews to explore the emotional experiences of 15 adolescents placed in foster care. While they were aware of the reasons for being fostered, their situation evoked feelings of sadness, stigmatisation and exclusion. Feelings towards their biological parents included emotional blunting, resentment towards fathers who did not care, and love for…
Abstract
This paper analyses the experiences of adolescents in foster care placement with specific reference to participatory decision making in an indigenous African cultural context in South Africa. The emphasis is on the voices of foster adolescents in an indigenous African cultural context and their experiences of inequality when communicating and expressing opinions. The theoretical framework adopted was Interactional Communication Theory in which individuals interact through the use of symbols to co-create and interpret meaning. This theory incorporates some elements of systems…
Abstract
Cash transfer programs hold significant potential to mitigate the economic burdens resulting from the HIV epidemic and enhance the wellbeing of affected children. South Africa offers two cash transfers designed specifically to benefit children: the Child Support Grant, for low income families with children, and the Foster Child Grant, for children living outside of parental care. Given the high proportion of HIV-affected children who qualify for these grants, increasing grant access among eligible families is a natural objective for many programs targeting orphans and vulnerable…
Two cash transfer programs for vulnerable children in South Africa are investigated in this report from Family for Every Child. The Child Support Grant (CSG) is a monthly cash transfer program for children living in poor households in South Africa and the Foster Child Grant (FCG) is a more substantial monthly cash transfer provided to carers of children in formal foster care. This report presents research on the impact of these programs on children’s care. The report also examines implementation issues of these programs and offers proposals for improving support to children. The report is…