Government-funded programmes and services for vulnerable - Unicef

Department of Social Development
Contributory schemes include the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Workmen’s
Compensation Fund, which fall within the mandate of the Department of Labour (see
Chapter 6).
Non-contributory social assistance services that are provided for vulnerable children and
their families include the following:
● CSG;
● foster child grant (FCG);
● care dependency grant (CDG);
● social relief of distress benefit;
● the older person’s grant;
● disability grant;
● grant-in-aid.
Developmental social welfare services
The DoSD identifies as one of its core functions the provision of developmental social
welfare services that help reduce poverty, vulnerability and the impact of HIV/AIDS.
‘Developmental social welfare covers a range of services and programmes that are
directed at enhancing the capacities of people to address the causes and consequences of
poverty and vulnerability’ (DoSD 2006b: 6).
It provides these services through sustainable development programmes in partnership
with implementing agents such as state-funded institutions, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations and faith-based organisations. The
services provided within the sphere of social services are classified into various levels of
intervention by the Service Delivery Model and the Children’s Act.
Prevention services
This is regarded as the most important aspect of developmental social service delivery.
These services are aimed at strengthening and building the capacity and self-reliance of
the client.
The Children’s Act dedicates an entire chapter (Chapter 8) to prevention and early
intervention services. Prevention services are, in terms of this Act, to be ‘provided to
families with children in order to strengthen and build their capacity and self-reliance to
address problems that may or are bound to occur in the family environment which, if not
attended to, may lead to statutory intervention’ (section 143(1)).
Early intervention services
Services at this level are aimed at assisting people identified as being at risk before their
circumstances deteriorate to the extent that they need statutory services, more intensive
intervention or placement in alternative care.
Early intervention programmes are to be ‘provided to families where there are children
identified as being vulnerable to or at risk of harm or removal into alternative care’
(section 143(2)).
The Act identifies prevention and early intervention services as fulfilling the following
purposes (section 143(1)):
(a) Preserving a child’s family structure
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