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

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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. 103
CHAPTER SIX THE WAY FORWARD: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1 Conclusion Shelter managers and staff expressed that there is need to enlarge intervention programs in order to deal with the pull and push factors simultaneously. They were aware that the factors are complex, multiple and interlinked. In this regard they saw the need to collaborate with government and other organisations whose programs deal with social and economic development of communities. Such collaboration necessitates a creation of a coordinating mechanism to ensure that all shelters participate and benefit from such efforts for the success of intervention strategies. A starting point would be for the two houses of South African parliament to act on the Children's Draft Bill and thereafter for the president to quickly assent it into law. The Children's Draft Bill 2002 envisages the following points that relate to the phenomenon of children living and/or working on the streets: (i) Preventing children from leaving their home environment to live and work on the streets; (11) Providing children living and/or working on the streets with access to basic nutrition, basic health care services and shelter, including drop-in centres and halfway homes; (iii) Providing outreach programs for and counselling to children living and/or working on the streets, rehabilitating them and reunifying them with their families; (iv) Integrating children living and/or working on the streets into the education system or into a system that includes both education and other services to meet their needs (http://www.communitylawcentre.org.za: 3/5/2003; http://www.pmg.org.za: 3/5/2003). The Draft Bill further states that in South Africa all metropolitan and local municipalities have the responsibilities of monitoring and supporting children in special difficult circumstances. The Draft Bill in this regard recognises the role that shelters play in intervening in the lives of children living and/or working on the streets and their strategies and programs to reintegrate the children into their families and communities. (http://www.communitylawcentre.org.za: 3/5/2003). The development, implementation, and sustainability of shelter programs of intervention and re-integration remain the prerogative of individual shelters. The shelters do this according to their own 104
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A Study of Shelters for Street Chil
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I extend my sincer
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TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 0 NE 1 IN
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LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Showing the
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children's homes. In 1996 the Europ
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specifically in its policies (http:
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Hosken, (2004) in an article titled
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1.5 The Purpose and Objective of th
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names of the shelters have been ren
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1.8.2 Organizationalll1eory Shelter
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Chapter Four: Data analysis. The ch
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communities posing enormous challen
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To perceive human social reality as
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Shelter's intervention/reintegratio
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2.4 Definitions The focus of the re
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enforcement officers, outreach work
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3.1 Introduction CHAPTER THREE RESE
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given to the demands of shelter pro
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views and perceptions over the topi
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3.4 The Researcher in Qualitative I
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which means children there, are sta
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paid to the recording devices. The
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esearchers need to agree or disagre
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• Staff morale was high when moti
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3.11 Ethical Considerations Babbie
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4.1 Introduction CHAPTER FOUR OATA
Page 61 and 62: 4.2. Shelters Services and Programs
Page 63 and 64: children with their families where
Page 65 and 66: y the shelter's philosophy, goals,
Page 67 and 68: 4.2.5 Shelter Routine and Regulatio
Page 69 and 70: 4.2.6 Policy on Visitors The four s
Page 71 and 72: children played; this was done depe
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Page 75 and 76: 4.3.1 Structure and physical locati
Page 77 and 78: Apart from management of shelters,
Page 79 and 80: Regarding transparency, accountabil
Page 81 and 82: Staff expressed that children shoul
Page 83 and 84: was immediately reassuring to child
Page 85 and 86: will to choose whether to or not li
Page 87 and 88: Sangoma (traditional doctor) and I
Page 89 and 90: Look at this shelter look at the do
Page 91 and 92: preferable. Participants continued
Page 93 and 94: It is okay when one is going with a
Page 95 and 96: 5.1 Introduction CHAPTER FIVE DISCU
Page 100 and 101: The challenges of children living a
Page 102 and 103: differed greatly from the feelings
Page 104 and 105: een on the streets for a very long
Page 106 and 107: from the overseas. Some of the loca
Page 108 and 109: programs to communities and familie
Page 110 and 111: explained, was their priority. It i
Page 114 and 115: perspectives, understanding, and ca
Page 116 and 117: understand such discourses. Through
Page 118 and 119: 6.1.3 Conclusions Regarding Researc
Page 120 and 121: and appreciation that the children
Page 122 and 123: Shelters could endeavour to reinfor
Page 124 and 125: The effort is to move the children
Page 126 and 127: macroeconomic factors, the local mi
Page 128 and 129: REFERENCES Acker, A. (1986). Childr
Page 130 and 131: Brown, D. C. (1996). 'Why ask why:
Page 132 and 133: Gronbjen, K. A. (1992). Nonprofit H
Page 134 and 135: Mills C. W. (1971). The Sociologica
Page 136 and 137: Swart, J. (1987). 'Street Children:
Page 138 and 139: Street children in http://allafrica
Page 140 and 141: 3.1.5. Does the shelter have any re
Page 142 and 143: 4. Social and Recreation 4.1. How a
Page 144 and 145: Follow-up questions What are the sh
Page 146 and 147: APPENDIX 3 FOCUS GROUPS CHILDREN Pl
Page 148: 6. Shelter routine and Discipline:
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