Government-funded programmes and services for vulnerable - Unicef

Department of Social Development
who are in urgent need of care and protection out of the protection system, and children
and caregivers in need of financial support away from the FCG. 39
This has placed the foster care system in crisis. The growth in the number of orphans in
South Africa over the past few years, a trend which is likely to continue, is indicative of the
growing scale of demand that we are likely to see. In 2008, there were approximately 3.95
million orphans in South Africa, a million more than in 2002 (Meintjies & Hall 2010: 102).
There is an urgent need for the development of an alternative source of financial and
other necessary support for orphaned and abandoned children living with their relatives,
other than the formal foster/child protection system that is currently available. There is a
need for a system that does not rely so extensively and indiscriminately on onerous use of
social workers and the children’s courts.
The DoSD has recognised this need and has initiated early steps towards developing a
social assistance programme for caregivers, with the objective of caregivers’ benefits by
2010/11 (DoSD 2009d).
Reach of the CDG and the disability grant
The reach of the CDG and the disability grant is limited – it excludes support for children
with moderate disabilities and with chronic illnesses.
Eligibility criteria for the CDG (and the disability grant) are narrow, resulting in the exclusion
of many vulnerable children and adults with a disability or a chronic illness from benefiting
from the grants. For example, the CDG has only been available for children with a disability
so severe that they require permanent home care. This has meant the exclusion of children
with moderate and mild disabilities such as hearing and visual impairments. There is a further
requirement, in addition to the need for 24-hour care, that the condition must be permanent.
Therefore a child who is HIV positive and not in the terminal stages of the disease will not
qualify for the CDG, regardless of the fact that their additional nutritional and healthcare
needs require additional resources. The researcher was advised by SASSA’s General Manager
of Operations in the Grant Administration Branch, Dianne Dunkerley, that changes are being
considered so as to provide a CDG for temporary conditions.
In the case of the disability grant for adults, the impact that the illness or disability has on
the person is the criterion for determining eligibility. If the condition affects the applicant’s
ability to work, then a disability grant will be considered. This may be a permanent or
a temporary grant. This means that an adult caregiver who has AIDS may qualify for the
disability grant if it affects their ability to work. If, however, the caregiver’s health improves
as a result of antiretroviral therapy (ART), then the disability grant will cease. 40
The Social Assistance Amendment Bill of 2010 41 offers some relief by expanding the scope
of the CDG and the disability grant to children and adults with not only severe but also
moderate disabilities, which either require permanent care or services, or which impair
their ability to obtain gainful employment or to obtain the means necessary to provide for
their own maintenance. 42
39 National Welfare, Social Service and Development Forum, 2008
40 Personal communication with Dianne Dunkerley, General Manager, Operations, Grants Administration Branch, SASSA
41 Government Gazette No. 32986, 1 March 2010
42 Article 12 and the definition section
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