A Study of Shelters for Street Children from an Organizational ...

streets, consequently, shelters intervened to first address the challenges posed by
children on the streets and in the process reunite them with their families or
communities. Reintegration programs raised concerns of factors that affect families and
communities where children come from.
5.9 Conclusion
Interpreting and discussing research findings focused on shelter organizations as
human service organizations. Shelters employed different organizational structures
placing their emphasis on the delivery of services and implementation of programs of
intervention and reintegration. The views and experiences of shelters' managers, staff
and residents were other components of the discussion. Shelters were faced with
dilemmas of accessing sufficient funds derived from government regulations and
registration of shelter within the existing Child Care Act. Other difficulties and
challenges included the discipline of children and the maintenance of order in the
shelters, derived from children's world of experiences acquired from the streets. Staff
as service providers and children as service recipients experienced the shelters
differently and had different concerns. However, the importance of shelters as
organization that provided care to children in need and the role they play in intervention
and reintegration programs ensured that some children no longer lived and/or worked
on the streets. The provision of services to children cannot be over-emphasised and in
our view, shelters need help to enable them build the necessary capacity to ensure
quality service delivery and further develop, implement and sustain intervention and
reintegration programs. These programs should include preventative and follow-up
strategies before children come into the streets and after they are re-united with their
families and communities of origin.
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