CHILDREN'S RIGHTS- Resource -University of Cape Town- 2007/2008 Edited by P.Proudlock, M Dutschke, L. Jameson, J Monson and C. Smith

The Children's Act- Act no 38 of 2005, and the Children's Amendment Bill (B19F-2006) will replace the previous Child Care Act. The act provides a strong legislative foundation for a developmental approach to childcare and protection. Widespread poverty, a culture of violence, high rates of unemployment, HIV/Aids, have resulted in a vastly increased number of vulnerable children and families in dire need of services.

Focus areas of the new act:

1. Focus on strengthening the family

There is a shift from parents having power over children to parents having responsibilities and rights.
Children's courts now have more powers to promote the strengthening of families and the best interest of the child.

2. Age of consent:

Processes for giving consent to medical treatment, surgical operations, access to contraception, HIV testing and disclosure of results had an age of consent of 14 years, but is now 12 years.

3. Social Services available for children:

  • Partial Care (crèches)
  • Early Childhood Development
  • Prevention and early intervention services for vulnerable children.
  • Protection services for children who have suffered abuse, neglect or exploitation. This includes a system to report, refer and support children.
  • A support program for children living in Child Headed households.
  • Foster Care, Adoption and child and youth care centers for children in need of state care.
  • Drop in Centres for vulnerable children to access basic services.

    The Sexual Offences Act- protects children against sexual abuse.

    Child Justice Bill:

    protects children in conflict with the law.
    Children should only be detained as a measure of last resort, for the shortest appropriate period of time, and they must be held separately from adults and in conditions that take account of their age.
    The minimum age at which a child is considered to have criminal capacity is 10 years (previously 7 years), children under 10 cannot be arrested or prosecuted.
    Between 10 and 14 - the prosecutor must prove that the child knows the difference between right and wrong, above 14 the child have full criminal capacity.
    Diversity: aim to help the child make amends for the crime, and to heal the crime and the victim or the community affected by the crime.

    Children and Social Services:

    Nationally 12.3 million children live in households with less than R 1200 per month.
    5.4 million People in SA were infected with HIV.
    In 2006 alone, 300 000 children became maternal orphans.

    Challenges experienced within the Social Service Departments:
  • Shortage of Social workers (SA currently have 5000 social workers, and positions for 16 504 is needed in order to ensure basic service delivery).
  • Inappropriate use of the child protection system. Child support grants are available to children under 14 years for a maximum of 6 children per caregiver or parent. Foster care grants are also available and this process at times provides income support to poor families.
  • Marginalization of prevention and early intervention services within the context of limited resources, however, choices have to be made on the ground, as to what gets done and what can wait. Prevention is seen as less critical, and there is a failure to deliver the full spectrum of services.
  • Inadequate funding for NGO's. These organizations are performing a state function, yet very few have proper service level agreements with government and many struggles to access subsidies.
  • Poor inter-department collaboration exists.

    Different types of grants for children:

  • Child support grant- R200 per child per month under 14 years.
  • Foster grant- R 620 per child per month.
  • Care Dependency grant R 870 per child, children with severe disabilities, HIV and chronic illnesses, which need 24 hour special care at home. ( only available to children in the final stages of their illnesses and does therefore not provide for healthy living or nutrition beforehand.)

    CHILDREN'S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO SOCIAL SERVICES:

    According to section 28 of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, every child is guaranteed the right to social services. Every child has the right to
  • Basic nutrition
  • Shelter
  • Basic health care services
  • Social services- education
  • Social services- health
  • Social services-housing
  • Social services- security
  • Social welfare.



    Children have the right to parental or family care in the first place. Only when that is lacking does the right to appropriate alternative care provided by the State, kicks in.
    The state has the duty to provide care and protection to children, who live with parents who are too poor to care for them.

    LEVELS OF INTERVENTION FOR CHILDREN

    1. Prevention 2. Early Intervention 3. Statutory Care 4. Reconstruction and aftercare.

    Services are classified according to groups of people :

  • Children
  • Families
  • People in trouble with the law
  • Youth
  • People involved in substance abuse
  • Women
  • Older persons
  • Persons with disabilities
  • People affected with HIV/Aids

    The new Children's Act is up to date with the Constitution where every child has the right to family care, parental care, or appropriate alternative care, the right to be protected from abuse, neglect, maltreatment and degradation, the right to social services, and the right to have their best interest given paramount importance in all matters concerning them. Children also have the right to equality and non-discrimination, education and social security.

    Government bears the primary responsibility for providing and funding schools and grants. The Children's act shifts the country from a charity model to an approach that recognizes that children have a constitutional right to social services. A good partnership between government and NPO's , with Government playing the lead role and NPO's being paid full cost by Government for services rendered on behalf of the state. NPO's only qualify for funding if they are registered. The act provides that applications for registration by NPO's for the various services must be considered within 6 months of the application being submitted. Struggling NPO's must receive state assistance to meet the norms and standards.
    Section 144 of the Act outlines the types of prevention and early intervention that government will provide funding for:
  • Preserving a child's family structure.
  • Developing appropriate parenting skills
  • Developing the capacity of parents to safeguard the wellbeing and best interest of children with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
  • Diverting children in trouble with the law from the criminal justice system into restorative justice programmes.
  • Helping children and families to access other government services (health care, grants, school fee exemptions, water and electricity).
  • Providing psychological, rehabilitative and therapeutic services for children who have suffered abuse, abandonment or grief.

    Non-violent forms of discipline is promoted in the act. Child headed households are defined as children whose parents have died or abandoned them, and who are living alone, or children whose parents are present but are too ill to care for them.

    People needed to provide Social Services:

    Social workers
    Social Auxiliary workers
    Probation officers and assistant Probation officers
    Child and Youth care workers and auxiliary Child and Youth Care workers
    Early Childhood Development workers
    Social Security personnel
    Practitioners from other sectors (nurses, therapists)
    Court personnel, police and other personnel from the Justice system
    Managers
    Volunteers.

    NUMBERS: MPUMALANGA 2006



    Causes of death among children younger than 15:
    1. Intestinal infectious diseases
    2. Influenza and Pneumonia
    3. Unspecified unnatural causes
    4. HIV disease
    5. Ill defined causes of mortality
    6. Respiratory disorders
    7. Perinatal disorders
    8. Digestive system disorders
    9. Infections
    10. Malnutrution
    11. Gestation disorders
    12. Inflammatory diseases in the Central Nervous System
    13. Tuberculosis
    14. Immune disorders


    Compiled by Annesta Hofer- 2008