Government-funded programmes and services for vulnerable - Unicef

Government-funded programmes and services for vulnerable children in SA
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Intervention
and removal
of a child at
risk xlvii
A child in need of care
and protection who needs
immediate emergency
protection may be
removed to temporary
safe care, with/without
a court order, before an
investigation is conducted
by a designated social
worker or a police
officer. xlviii
Targeted beneficiaries
A child in need of
care and protection
who needs immediate
emergency protection
which can be secured
through removal of the
child from his or her
home environment
A designated social
worker (i.e. a
government employee
or employee of a
designated child
protection organisation)
Police officer
Temporary safe care is
defined by section 1 of
the Act as: ‘An approved
child and youth care
centre, shelter or private
home, or any other place
where the child can
safely be accommodated
pending a decision
or order by a court
concerning the placement
of the child.’
Investigations
and
assessments
in cases of
suspected
abuse,
neglect or
abandonment
to determine
if the child
is in need
of care and
protection xlix
The DoSD or the
designated child
protection organisation
to whom the suspected
abuse/abandonment
has been reported, must
appoint a person that
is suitable to investigate
cases of child abuse or
neglect.
The investigator must
investigate whether
the child is in need of
care and protection
as defined by the Act.
Upon completion of
the investigation, he
or she must report to
the Children’s Court
on whether the child
is in need of care and
protection.
Targeted beneficiaries
Abused and/or neglected
children
Children in need of care
and protection
A person is suitable to
investigate these cases
if:
they are a registered
social worker
employed by
the national or a
provincial DoSD; or
a registered social
worker employed
by a designated
child protection
organisation.
In both cases, the
social worker must
have sufficient
experience in the field
of child protection.
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