Government-funded programmes and services for vulnerable - Unicef

Government-funded programmes and services for vulnerable children in SA
(b) Developing appropriate parenting skills and the capacity of parents and caregivers
to safeguard the well-being and best interests of their children, including
those with disabilities and chronic illnesses
(c) Promoting appropriate interpersonal relationships within the family
(d) Providing psychological, rehabilitation and therapeutic programmes for children
(e) Preventing neglect, exploitation, abuse or inadequate supervision of children and
preventing other failures in the family environment
(f) Preventing the recurrence of problems in the family environment
(g) Diverting children away from the child and youth care system and the criminal
justice system
Statutory intervention/residential/alternative care
These services are aimed at supporting a child who has already become involved in
court-based protection proceedings and/or who needs to be removed from their home
environment and placed in alternative care or a residential facility.
Reconstruction and aftercare services
Statutory intervention should ideally be followed by these services so as to enable the
client to return to their family or community.
The current policies and laws envisage these interventions being provided and/or
facilitated through the following programmes:
● ECD programmes and services: 27
■ the Expanded Public Works ECD programme;
■ the National Integrated Plan for ECD;
■ registration of ECD centres;
■ ECD per learner subsidy;
■ partial care facilities;
■ non-centre-based ECD programmes.
● Prevention and early intervention programmes: 28
■ family assistance and empowerment to obtain the basic necessities of life;
■ provision of information to enable families to access services;
■ support for families with a chronically or terminally ill member of the family;
■ ECD;
■ promotion of the well-being of children and the realisation of their full potential.
● Statutory services for children in need of care and protection from abuse, neglect,
maltreatment, exploitative labour, or because they have been orphaned or
abandoned: 29
■ prevention services;
■ early intervention services;
■ reporting of suspected cases of abuse, neglect and/or abandonment;
■ intervention and removal of children in appropriate cases;
■ investigations and assessments in cases of suspected abuse, neglect or
abandonment of children;
■ placement and integration of children in alternative care;
27 Early childhood development is identified as an independent social welfare development programme and is dealt
with in Chapter 6 of the Children’s Act. It is, however, also one of the DoSD’s core prevention and early intervention
strategies and is therefore identified under the ‘prevention and early intervention’ heading and chapter as well.
28 The Children’s Act articulates these prevention and early intervention programmes in section 144(2).
29 These services are provided for in Chapters 7, 9, 11, 15 and sections 104–142 of the Children’s Act.
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