CAPE TOWN CHILD WELFARE SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT 2012
Cape Town Child Welfare Society Vision and Mission
Vision Ensuring the Care and Protection of Children
Mission We promote the well being of all children, predominantly those in poor socioeconomic communities by: Protecting Enhancing Empowering Networking Contributing Building Advocating
1
those in crisis and at risk the capacity of families and communities to protect and develop their children children to claim their rights and accept their responsibilities with other service providers for the benefit of the children to the development of National and International policies and legislation regarding children the capacity of other organisations to care for children for the rights of children
| Annual Report 2012
INDEX
Messages Chairperson’s Message Chief Executive’s Overview Direct Service Managers’ Overview
3 5 7
Board, Management and Staff Board and Management Staff
11 12
Direct Services Review Areas of Operation Direct Services Review
14 14
Financials Financial Review Income and Expenditure
29 30
Donors and Friends Donors and Friends
32
Contact Details Contact Details
34 Cape Town Child Welfare Society
2
Message by Chairperson
The World Economic Forum Global Competiveness Report
3
When the 2008 financial crisis hit, we anticipated an immediate and significant negative effect, and, we like many other NGO’s managed to weather the storm by scaling back on our work and dipping into reserves which had been built up over many, many years. We also curtailed expansion plans and instead focussed our efforts on strengthening our Core Business ie –Child Protection. What has remained unchanged is that funding from both local and international donors has decreased substantially. We just have to look around and see how many NGO’s have been forced to close their doors, hence the realisation that we cannot proceed “ with business as usual” so to speak.
Nazrina Teladia
Message by the Chair
for 2011 – 2012 confirms that, 18 years after the transition to democracy, South Africa is in the midst of the best and worst of times. Our country scores well ahead of its peers on its institutions, financial and market development, business sophistication and innovation, but is close to the bottom of the rankings in terms of life expectancy, education quality and the impact of crime and violence. This is why the services as rendered by Cape Town Child Welfare Society (CTCWS) has become vital in terms of ensuring the care and protection of our children. Unfortunately this is happening against the backdrop of enormous financial and societal challenges.
| Annual Report 2012
Developmental problems are systemic and no one organisation holds all the resources, be it intellectual, financial or skills-based to address the issues of care and protection of children. Broader societal issues cannot be addressed by single entities, or by well – conceived projects run by partnerships. CTCWS therefore continues to collaborate with like – minded networks and communities of practise. In this way we have transcended individual projects and focussed on more complex problems that required the pooling of ideas, assets and skills to promote and address the broader issues of Child Protection work.
How we further our vision, mission and values to the ultimate benefit of our beneficiaries is at the heart of on-going difficult conversations at staff, management, leadership, donor, government and Board level. Careful consideration and planning is key to CTCWS’s organisational philosophy, brand identity, reputation, governance structures and operating efficiencies. In assessing our sustainability we: Are relevant in and accountable to the community we serve. The sustainability of our projects has required recruiting resources, building competencies and skills, and creating accountable structures in communities. Insodoing, communities feel the ownership required to create the change from within. Have in addition to local and international donors and sponsors, looked at our own income – generating projects and / or endowment trusts and ensured transparent financial reporting and effective financial controls. We understand that we are in the business of development rather than a charity in need of help. Adhere to all applicable legislation and societal norms. Therefore, what we firmly have in place are structures, financial controls, human resources and governance which enables CTCWS to continue its operations into the future, regardless of who is at the helm. THANK YOU to ALL our connectors in media, in business, in government, in the international arena, in civil society sectors and in the communities we serve. My heartfelt gratitude goes to the staff, the Chief Executive and his management team and my colleagues who serve on the Board for tirelessly giving of themselves to attend meetings, planning sessions, working in the field, and who continue to unwaveringly overcome the constant challenges experienced by our sector. For me, these stalwarts are captured in the words of Ben Orki’s Poem, Mental Flight: Or might we choose to make this time a waking-up event, a moment of world empowerment? To pledge in private, to be more aware, more playful, more tolerant and more fair, more responsible, more wild, more loving, awake to our unsuspected powers, more amazing. We will continue to stand ready to make a reality in every child’s life when they call out to us, just like 12 year old Mapula from Limpopo did: “ All I need is to go to school where teachers are fun and supportive, to play with loving friends and come home to a safe place and a happy mum, I will then become anything I like in life!”
NTeladia Nazrina Teladia Chairperson Cape Town Child Welfare Society
4
Chief Executive’s Report
The 2011/2012 financial year has been an exciting yet exhausting one for Cape Town Child Welfare Society. Rising costs, increasing demands related to implementation of the new Children’s Act and scarcity of the Donor Rand have placed strain on our Society. Our Management Team, guided by our Board, led the Organisation through these turbulent waters, making strategic changes necessary for peak performance and sustainability.
5
Intake Unit-This unit is the first point of contact for child protection services and usually receives new case referrals from the South African Police Service, Schools, community or family members of victims or anonymous callers, etc. This unit also undertakes the emergency removal of children from harm, in terms of section 36 of the new Children’s Act 38 of 2005. Investigations Unit-Child Protection cases that require further investigation are referred to this team, who usually have to remove children through a Children’s Court Inquiry and placed them in alternate care such as foster care, in order to protect them.
Niresh Ramklass
Chief Executive’s Report
We focussed all our resources on developing and implementing specialised child protection services. We merged international best practice child protection models with our local practice experience and emerged with a viable structure for child protection services consisting of the following units in our Cape Town Metro South areas:
| Annual Report 2012
Intervention Unit-This Unit works with families referred to us for intervention, in which children were not removed. They undertake family preservation services, monitoring of cases where children have been returned to their parents care by the Children’s Court, contact and care plans for children, and investigate foster care grant applications. Alternative Care Unit undertakes foster care supervision, family re-unification and adoption services.
The new structure required major staff and office changes including maintaining ‘intake and social work contact points’ at area level instead of fully functional site offices and centralisation of staff at the Athlone Head office. The new structure was implemented in September 2011. Our intake contact points for the Metro South area are in Manenberg, Hanover Park, Philippi East, Hout Bay, Lotus River, Athlone. We still continue to have site offices in Khayelitsha and Du Noon for the financial year under review. Our assessment of the new structure in the Metro South area over the six month period (Sept 2011-March 2012) was that it has resulted in much more focussed and specialised service delivery, increased quality of service delivery, greater management and professional support to social work staff, and shorter turn- around times for clients. Our financial hardships were lessened significantly during the financial year by the gracious Testamentary Bequest awarded to our Society by the William Oscar Heyne Charitable Trust, the steadfast support of our longstanding donors, and the exciting pool of new donors that have joined our cause. We are eternally grateful to all of them for their benevolence.
NRamklass Niresh Ramklass Chief Executive
Cape Town Child Welfare Society
6
Overview of Direct Services
The 2011/2012 financial year marked the realisation of how difficult the field of child protection has become with any community member being able to access the children’s court directly, extreme efforts that need to be made to trace parents, especially fathers, most parents having legal representation and finding placements for special needs children in need of care and protection almost impossible.
7
The change to specialised services at the beginning of September 2011 was therefore inevitable and a positive evolvement as it was just not possible for staff to give adequate attention to ALL families and children needing our services taking into account that social workers had caseloads between 120 and over 200 having to do intake, statutory investigations, intervention, foster care supervision as well as preventative services. The change to specialization has a tremendous positive influence on service delivery and made case management more manageable for workers, although we continue to have challenges around the influx of cases and the number of cases per worker.
Ina Vermeulen
Overview of Direct Services
It therefore takes a special kind of social worker with compassion and determination to remain in a child protection organisation as it can be demotivating at times. We therefore want to salute the workers for their tremendous staying power through a very challenging year.
The prevention services rendered by the community development workers have proven to be important as it released social workers to give attention to child protection while community development workers continued to create awareness in the communities and ensured the delivery of parenting skills training and skills development to children. The investigation social workers in Metro South as well as Du Noon managed to finalise 200 children’s court inquiries – on average 16 cases per month – during the period as well as finalise, close or transfer several pre statutory investigations. Cases however could have been finalised quicker but unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control, cases were at times postponed on several occasions before they could be finalised.
| Annual Report 2012
The intervention social workers in Metro South and Du Noon also managed to finalise 70 children’s court inquiries in respect of foster care grant applications and orphans, although it has been a challenge for the workers to finalise foster care applications due to requirements at court to find these children in need of care and protection. In addition the Investigation and Intervention workers also had to render family preservation services, mediation services in respect of contact and care orders as well as conduct pre statutory investigations in respect of more than 2000 cases. A special mention also has to be made of the afterhours child protection staff and volunteers, which remains a vital service in terms of ensuring that children are protected 24/7. The staff members involved perform duties after they have finished a day’s work, often go out to communities after dark to ensure the care and protection of children.
SVermeulen Ina Vermeulen Senior Direct Service Manager
Cape Town Child Welfare Society
8
April 2011 to Aug 2011 was characterized by an ongoing increase in the referrals of child abuse and neglect cases caused by the further exacerbation of substance abuse, poverty; gangster violence and related crime and behaviour problems within the communities serviced by CTCWS.
With no relief in sight in the form of the appointment of additional social workers due to the govt subsidy remaining unchanged and a decrease in additional funding due to the economic recession, this organization faced an untenable situation with staff burnout and resignations becoming the norm. In September 2011 the organization therefore took a decision to centralize its community based specialized units into a Specialized Metro South Unit, in an attempt to reduce operational costs; provide social workers with greater support and improve service delivery standards. This resulted in the formation of an Intake; Investigation; 2x Intervention and 2xAlternative Care units rendering specialized child protection services within Lotus River; Ottery ; Phillipi East; Langa; Houtbay; Manenberg; Hanover Park and Athlone areas.
Penny Whitaker
Overview of Direct Services
Social workers continued to face extremely pressurized working conditions with caseloads in excess of 100 per worker; Sect 159 foster care review backlogs within a context of uncompromising deadlines and increased administrative expectations from the Dept of Social Development and the Children’s Courts.
9
The Intake Unit therefore has been responsible for the provision of risk assessments and crisis intervention services iro all new referrals of children 0 -18 identified as being at risk in these areas. The social workers within this unit although based at Head Office, commute to site offices within these areas on scheduled intake days. I wish to acknowledge the first line managers and the social workers within this team are hereby acknowledged for the courage and positive team spirit they have demonstrated when responding to crisis situations, which frequently involved more than one a day; extended beyond office hours and sometimes involved unsafe circumstances.
| Annual Report 2012
The FLMs and staff of the two Alternative Care Units deserve special recognition for being in the unenviable position of having to contend with the full spectrum of the New Children’s Act, not only are they constantly chasing Sect 159 foster care review deadlines, but they are also having to conduct investigations and children court inquiries iro children identified to be at risk with birth parents who already have children removed and placed into foster care.
These units do not have the benefit of being able to transfer cases to other units as is the case iro their counterparts. They therefore face ever increasing caseloads as the investigation and intervention units transfer foster grant application and children court inquiry cases which have been finalized. In addition one of these units has the further responsibility of rendering adoption services which although acknowledged for its adherence to sound practice guidelines increases the workload of this unit even further. The Khayelitsha Unit which falls within the Metro East Region has retained its community based specialized structure due to logistics and the specific needs of this community. This unit deserves commendation for conscientiously trying to address their foster grant application backlog despite challenges experienced with the Khayelitsha court due to insufficient staffing. In line with the aforementioned streamlining of services a decision was also taken to assist the ECD facilities who have been with CTCWS for more than 15 years, attain independent status. This involved a careful process of consultation with the staff and governing bodies of these facilities along with capacity building training on good governance practices. An application for the NPO registration of these ECD facilities was also submitted to DSD. While 2011/ 2012 could be described as one of our more challenging years, it has once again shown that CTCWS’s vision ie ensuring the care and protection of children is a sentiment which is close to the hearts of all employees and hence their perseverance against all odds.
PWhitaker Penny Whitaker Senior Direct Service Manager Cape Town Child Welfare Society
10
Cape Town Child Welfare Society Management Board members 2011/2012
Top L to R: Bottom L to R:
Mrs N Teladia (Chair) Dr J Kallis Dr P Abrahamse Mrs S Follentine Mrs N Mintin Mr T Nkone (Vice Chair) Dr K Cloete Mrs C Fraser Dr P Mbeje Mrs C Henda
From Top Left: Niresh Ramklass, Ina Vermeulen, Clifford Roman, Penny Whitaker, Georgina Moodley, Ray Jattiem, Desiree Uys, Esmerelda Ramklass, Eldorette Farao, Nomonde Kulati, Pinky Ciya, Najwa Taliep, Mona Wentzel, Naseba Manuel-Davids, Yolanda Fransman
11
| Annual Report 2012
Cape Town Child Welfare Society Staff members
From Top Left: Metro South Intake Team, Metro South Investigation Team, Metro South Intervention Team, Metro South Intervention Team, Metro South Alternative Care Team, Metro South Alternative Care Team, , Khayelitsha Team, Du Noon team, Metro South Prevention team, Finance Team, Admin & Maintenance Team, Jenny Wrankmore (Admin) and Roshni Roopnarain (Payroll)
Cape Town Child Welfare Society
12
Children’s Rights and Responsibilities
Children have the right to make mistakes and the responsibility to learn from the mistakes.
Children’s Rights and Responsibilities
Children have the right to be well fed and the
13
| Annual Report 2012
responsibility not to waste food.
Children have the right to be taken seriously and the responsibility to listen to others.
Children have the right to quality medical care and the responsibility to take care of themselves.
Children have the right to a good education and the responsibility to study and respect their teachers.
Children have the right to be loved and protected and the responsibility to show others love.
Children have the right to get special care for their needs and the responsibility to be the best people they can be.
Children have the right to be proud of their heritage and beliefs and the responsibility to respect the origins and beliefs of others.
Direct Services Review Areas of Operation
Direct Services Review
*Athlone, Belgravia, Belthorn, Bokmakierie, Bridgetown, Crawford, Crossroads, Doornhoogte, Gatesville, Gleemore, Greenhaven, Hazendal, Heideveld, Kewtown, Lansdowne, Langa, Mountview, Rompvlei, Nerissa Estate, Parktown, Penlyn Estate, Penati Estate, Rondebosch East, Rylands, Silvertown, Sunlands, Surrey Estate, Sybrand Park, Vanguard Estate, Welcome Estate, Yorkshire Estate, Wetton, Kenwyn, Joe Slovo, Millers Camp, Waterfront, Pooke se Bos, Vygieskraal, Hanover Park, Newfields, Hout Bay Harbour Area, Imizamo Yetu, Klipfontein Mission, Thabo Mbeki, Bekela, Acasia Park, Never Never, Sweethome Farm, Pola Park, Marcus Garvey, Better Life, Grave Yard, Browns Farm, Block 6, Moon wood, Siyathalala, Siyazela, Hazeldene, Victoria Mzenge, Lower Crossroads, Joburg, Bukuzenzele, Mpinga Square, Vietnam, Philippi Horticulture, Ottery, Eagle Park, Peacock Close, Pelican Heights, Lotus River, Schaapkraal, Phumlani Village, Khayelitsha Site C, Section A-J, Tembani, Bongweni, Kwezi Park, Tambo Village, Sherwood Park, Primrose Park, Manenberg, Tambo Square, Joe Slovo, Milnerton, Du Noon, Site 5
Cape Town Child Welfare Society
14
Intake Services
Intake services are rendered by 7 social workers in the Metro South Region (Philippi East, Manenberg, Heideveld, Athlone, Hanover Park, Lotus River, Ottery, Philippi Farms, Pelican Park, Phumlani Village and Hout Bay), 2 social workers in Khayelitsha (Metro East) and 2 social workers in Metro North (Du Noon, Joe Slovo, Kwa 5 and Langa). The organisation received a total of 3101 new cases during the period with a total of 5666 children being reached (graph 1). Neglect remains the highest number of cases in respect of child maltreatment reported totalling 516 cases and 1078 children. Analysis shows that this is closely linked to substance abuse, especially within the Cape Flats areas. The cases indicated under “Other� in the graph include foster care applications, behaviour problems, applications for birth certificates and child support grants and applications for contact and care. Graph 1: Number of children assisted 1078, 19% 3379, 60%
315, 5% 270, 5%
Neglect Physical Abuse Sexual Abuse
324, 6% 299, 5%
Orphan hood Abandonment Other
Most referrals in respect of neglect (73) were received from the Manenberg area, physical abuse from Athlone (24) and sexual abuse received from Manenberg, Athlone and Hout Bay equally (11). Referrals in respect of orphan hood was still the highest in Khayelitsha and Philippi East (86 and 96 respectively) with most referrals in respect of abandonment being received from Khayelitsha (60).
15
| Annual Report 2012
During the period 771 cases were closed and 612 cases were transferred to interventions and investigations. Of the 612 cases transferred 132 children (100 cases) had to be removed in terms of Form 36 as they were found to be in immediate danger and these cases were transferred to investigation social workers to finalise the children’s court inquiries. See Graph 2 for breakdown of removals according to areas. Graph 2: Children removed according to areas 9, 7%
12, 9% 17, 13%
5, 4%
4, 3%
28, 21%
25, 19% 18, 14%
10, 7%
4, 3%
Khayelitsha *LOPP areas Houtbay Hanover Park Heideveld Athlone Areas Manenberg Philippi East Langa Du Noon/Joe Slovo
Achievements: Vacant posts have been filled promptly due the crisis orientated nature of services at intake level. Social workers work well together in terms of ensuring the safety of children. The workers have a sound understanding of intake procedures and are able to facilitate risk assessments in respect of children which include assessing parents’ ability to care in a manner that upholds family preservation principles. The workers are able to appropriately intervene in terms of emergency removals Dedicated efforts by the Metro South intake team has ensured that ALL site offices are always manned without fail. The workers have the ability to managing more than one crisis/emergency simultaneously Challenges: Addressing logistical challenges with regards to ensuring that all crises/emergencies reported are responded to within 24hrs when human capacity within the unit is low Not all intake workers have drivers licenses, resulting in follow up responses at times being somewhat delayed There has been a noted increase in the number of abuse cases transferred to the organization. The team members have experienced these cases as emotionally draining and have required trauma debriefing. High caseloads across the organization has resulted in clients reporting concerns in terms of follow up once intake services have been completed and transferred.
Cape Town Child Welfare Society
16
Investigation Services
Investigation services focus on the in depth investigations in respect of allegations of neglect, abuse, abandonment and other social problems impacting on the care of children in order to decide if children’s court proceedings are needed and making a recommendation to the court once a case has been opened. The services are rendered by 6 social workers in the Metro South Region (Philippi East, Manenberg, Heideveld, Athlone, Hanover Park, Lotus River, Ottery, Philippi Farms, Pelican Park, Phumlani Village and Hout Bay), 2 social workers in Khayelitsha (Metro East) and 1 social worker in Metro North (Du Noon, Joe Slovo, Kwa 5 and Langa). It has been a very busy year for the social workers dealing with 15 court cases on average at a time as well as the pre statutory investigations that needed to be conducted. They however need to be commended for managing to complete 1649 out of 1851 investigations that required completion. During the period under review 1014 Cases were brought over from the previous period and 837 new cases for investigation were received either from intake, court or other organisations. Investigations therefore were conducted in respect of 2706 children (graph 3). 207 Cases were closed after investigation, 117 cases transferred externally for further services, 1079 cases transferred to Intervention for family preservation services and 246 cases were transferred to alternative care for foster care supervision services and/or family reunification services. Graph 3: Number of Children's care investigated Neglect
825, 30%
924, 34%
Physical Abuse Sexual Abuse 354, 13%
Orphan hood Abandonment 233, 9%
215, 8%
Other
155, 6%
During the period 265 children’s court inquiries were opened by the social workers and in addition 100 inquiries were received as opened by the intake workers. Most inquiries were opened in respect of referrals received from the Athlone Area (74). See Graph 4. 264 Inquiries were finalised and the children were either placed in foster care, Child and Youth Care Centres or returned to the parents.
17
| Annual Report 2012
Graph 4: Children's Court Inquiries opened 38, 10%
64, 18%
18, 5%
2, 1% 42, 12% 12, 3%
8, 2% 67, 18% 40, 11%
74, 20%
*LOPP areas Houtbay Hanover Park Heideveld Athlone Manenberg Philippi East Langa Du Noon Khayelitsha
Achievements: Full staff complement for most of the period. Due to restructuring in September 2011 more manageable case loads although still relatively high. The assistance of Home of Hope in allowing the organisation to place special needs children in their group foster homes as we were unable to secure any other placements. The commitment of the staff and the support they provide to each other is commendable The adjustment of the workers to the demands of the new Children’s Act
Challenges: Placement of children with special needs remains a problem with a lack of resources available for children with mental and physical disabilities or severe behaviour problems. Alternative caregivers for temporary safe care is also limited and quite a few are not yet registered with DSD leaving very few placement options available. Cases are postponed at court due to reasons beyond our control. Postponements are for up to 4 months. Therefore a bottleneck is developing with the organisation not being able to process as many court inquiries as are received or opened. It is also found that in cases where family members open the matter at court the children are often not really in need of care and protection but that the matter was maliciously opened. Often these preliminary inquiries do not amount to much and closure of the court case is recommended or the matter is converted into a mediation case. Some cases are contested and develop into full trials lasting several days at a time. Clients are definitely more aware of their rights and often have legal representation at court. Cape Town Child Welfare Society
18
Intervention Services
Intervention services focus on foster care applications, placement of orphans in alternative care where indicated, mediation in respect of contact and care orders, family preservation services and monitoring and support to families where the court returned children to parents under supervision of a social worker. The services are rendered by 9 social workers in the Metro South Region (Philippi East, Manenberg, Heideveld, Athlone, Hanover Park, Lotus River, Ottery, Philippi Farms, Pelican Park, Phumlani Village and Hout Bay), 2 social workers in Khayelitsha (Metro East) and 2 social workers in Metro North (Du Noon, Joe Slovo, Kwa 5 and Langa). The communities served are on both sides of the spectrum being both affluent and underprivileged and facing a variety of shared social ills. It has therefore been found that substance abuse, child abuse and neglect as well as children displaying uncontrollable behaviour is prevalent across all the communities. It is evident from the caseload that neglect is still the most concerning social problems in our areas especially in the Cape Flats areas whereas Langa, Philippi East and Khayelitsha has more orphans as a result of the death of parents and fewer incidences abuse and neglect. In Hanover Park, Heideveld, Lotus River/Ottery and Houtbay the problem of children with behaviour problems is a growing concern. It appears to be related to the poor socioeconomic circumstances they live in as well as exposure to dysfunction within the communities they live, ie a high incidence of drug use, gangsterism and poverty.
Addressing Parental Rights and Responsibilities has become a key focus area with families as more parents are approaching the organisation for advice on legal matters regarding contact and care. An interesting trend with regards to the Children’s Act are the orders to investigate received as this ends up in most cases being a parent or grandparent who wants contact and regular access to their children or grandchildren and not children being at risk necessarily. During the period under review 1268 Cases were brought over from the previous period and 1057 new cases for intervention were received either from intake, court or investigation.
19
| Annual Report 2012
276 Cases were closed, 44 cases transferred to Investigation and 19 cases were transferred to alternative care for foster care supervision services and/or family reunification services. Graph 5: Number of Children benefitting from intervention 1098, 27%
1660, 42%
Neglect Physical Abuse Sexual Abuse
366, 9%
544, 14% 185, 5% 131, 3%
Orphan hood Abandonment Other
During the period 99 children’s court inquiries were opened by the social workers of which 70 were finalised. Graph 6: Children's Court Inquiries opened according to area 7, 7% 0, 0% 0, 0% 8, 8%
7, 7%
32, 32% 33, 34% 6, 6%
5, 5%
1, 1%
LOPP areas Houtbay Hanover Park Heideveld ATHLONE areas Manenberg Philippi East Langa Du Noon Khayelitsha
Achievements: Staff complement has been stable and services were therefore not impacted by vacancies. In September 2011 the organisation restructured and as a result of specialization children have received the necessary intervention which due to high caseloads could not be rendered previously. The intervention team in Metro South are focused in respect of their purpose to ensure the care and protection of children and working together, sharing resources and peer consultation has enabled them to achieve positive results.
Challenges: Parents and grandparents who are in disagreement over care and contact of children Finding placement for children who display behaviour problems and who abuse substances due to the absence of facilities or placement options. High caseloads due to older cases that could not be finalised under the old structure as well as an increase in new cases Increase in difficult cases as a result of family and community dysfunction e.g. high drug use, gangsterism and poverty resulting in extreme cases of abuse, neglect and behaviour problems as well as parents not taking parental responsibility for the care of their children. Cape Town Child Welfare Society
20
Foster Care Supervision Services
Foster Care services focus on foster care supervision and family reunification services in respect of children in foster care as well as in Child and Youth Care Centres. The services are rendered by 11 social workers in 2 Alternative Care Teams in the Metro South Region (Philippi East, Manenberg, Heideveld, Athlone, Hanover Park, Lotus River, Ottery, Philippi Farms, Pelican Park, Phumlani Village and Hout Bay), 2 social workers in Khayelitsha (Metro East) and 2 social workers in Metro North (Du Noon, Joe Slovo, Kwa 5 and Langa). Services are rendered through the implementation of individual case management as well as facilitating groups with Foster Parents, Birth Parents and Foster Children. The Alternative Care workers hold an enormous statutory responsibility to ensure that placements of children in alternative care remain safe and that appropriate care is provided hence the emphasis on renewing Foster Care Orders through the Department of Social Development
or the Magistrate Court. The Alternative Care Workers also intervene statutorily when siblings born to birth parents in respect of existing alternative care cases have been identified as being at risk thus necessitating the opening of new Children’s Court inquiries. Graph 7: Foster Care supervision Cases per area as on 31.03.2012 347, 23%
184, 12%
144, 9%
232, 15%
78, 5%
113, 7%
182, 12% 147, 10%
114, 7%
LOPP Areas Houtbay Hanover Park Athlone Manenberg Philippi East Langa Khayelitsha Du Noon/Joe Slovo
The overall caseload calculates to 1502 foster care supervision cases and 175 family reunification cases in respect of children placed in Child and Youth Care Centres or in foster care outside of the organisation’s areas of operation, therefore totalling 2550 children.
21
| Annual Report 2012
Graph 8: Family Reunification services per area as on 31.03.2012 9, 6%
2, 1%
29, 18%
31, 20%
37, 23%
16, 10%
15, 9%
11, 7% 9, 6%
LOPP Areas Houtbay Hanover Park Athlone Manenberg Philippi East Langa Khayelitsha Du Noon/Joe Slovo
During the period the following statutory reports were submitted:
900 Section 159 reports submitted to the Department of Social development 57 Section 159 reports submitted to the Court 8 Section 168 Leave of Absence Applications 6 Section 170 Absconder’s Inquiries 49 Section 171 transfer reports submitted 98 Section 175 Discharge reports submitted 49 Section 176 applications for children older than 18 to remain in alternative care
Achievements: The facilitation of Foster Parent, Birth Parent and Foster Children’s groups in our ongoing efforts to educate and support all parties concerned. Although the attendance has fluctuated, those who have been attending meetings have found the meetings to be supportive, informative and beneficial. Those foster parents who attended monthly meetings have also been found to be more co-operative with social workers than their counterparts who do not attend. Social work vacancies were filled in order to strengthen ongoing efforts to overturn the Section 159 backlog which has begun to show some positive signs of being addressed. Challenges: The absence of therapeutic resources to refer clients to for in depth counselling Apathy on the part of some clients. Families relocating to other provinces without informing the organisation of their new address. This has resulted in considerable time being spent trying to locate children placed in alternative care. Work in the Phillipi East area due to vacancies and a lack of co-operation on the part of clients. High turn-over of staff and related staff vacancies which has aggravated the backlog situation; managing foster placement breakdowns, meeting Section 159 review deadlines; addressing the Section 159 backlog cases as well as the statutory intervention in respect of children identified as being at risk with birth parents who already have children in foster care. The statutory requirement of locating birth parents for court proceedings and ensuring that birth families attend court hearings as required by the New Children’s Act has resulted in undue delays in the processing of some statutory matters. Cape Town Child Welfare Society
22
Adoption Services
Adoption Service is a specialised service offered to children and families within CTCWS areas of operation. The Adoption team continues to render services of a very high standard which is in accordance with the National Norms and Standards as required in terms of the New Children’s Act. The team consists of two full time social workers who carry out a range of services from Adoption enquiries, counselling of birth parents, counselling, screening and training of prospective adoptive parents, screening of temporary safe care parents, support groups as well as all the statutory obligations up until when the Adoption Order has been granted. Graph 9: Adoption Services Rendered 37
56
238 87
Adoptive Parents Counselled Adoptive Parents Orientated
89
Adoptive Parents Screened Adoptive Parents Trained Adoptions expedited
In terms of the New Children’s Act, a child can only be placed in an adoptive placement when declared adoptable thus temporary safe carers fulfil a vital role in terms of providing temporary placements for babies pending the outcome of their adoptability. The recruitment and supervision of temporary safe carers therefore forms a significant part of the Adoption Service in order to ensure the best outcomes for children. The Adoption Service also has a part time social worker carrying out Post Adoption work which involves the tracing of birth parents and birth relatives, counselling of adoptive parents, birth parents and birth relatives and facilitating family reunifications. The Rainbow Support group which has been running for over 25 years has also seen an increase in its attendance during the period under review. Graph 10: 81
209 Parents attending support groups
189
Biological parents counselled Post Adoption Interviews
23
| Annual Report 2012
The Adoption social workers attend an Adoption Panel every two months in order to obtain valuable support and input from the Adoption Panel members who consist of medical and legal professionals. We wish to express our sincere gratitude for the time and intellectual expertise of the organisation’s own Adoption Panel consisting of Psychological; Psychiatric; Medical and Legal experts who have been providing expert assistance to adoption social workers for over 25 years and who continue to do so with unwavering dedication. The Team also forms part of the Western Cape Adoption Coalition. The aim of the group is to enhance co-operation amongst adoption service providers to ensure that national standards are maintained and that all service providers are informed of all the latest developments and best practice models. The organisation is also a member of the National Adoption Coalition and as a result has established sound working relationships with other accredited adoption agencies both locally and nationally.
The main achievements of the team are the reunification of children with their birth parents or birth relatives in the first instance, however when it has not been possible to return children to the care of the biological parents, it has thus been extremely rewarding to witness successful adoptive placements. The organisation has been very fortunate to receive special funding from Kerry Oelz through which support could be provided to its temporary safe carers and also birth parents who have decided to keep their children. This has been a most welcome relief given the special needs of some of the babies and the length of time they need to remain in temporary safe care before they are deemed adoptable. The main challenge experienced with the Adoption Service has been in the court arena where differing interpretations of the New Children’s Act by the various Presiding Officers has created different as well as increased administrative expectations of workers. The emphasis placed on social workers to trace birth parents and the lengths Presiding officers require social workers to go to in order to find birth parents has resulted in babies spending 6 to 10 months in temporary safe care before they are deemed adoptable. This has raised concerns regarding attachment issues.
Cape Town Child Welfare Society
24
After Hours Child Protection
The After Hours Child Protection Service is equipped to receive calls nationally and responds to all calls. It addresses the needs of all children and families and will respond to reports of child maltreatment and protect children within the jurisdiction of Cape Town Child Welfare Society immediately. Callers who report maltreatment of children outside the Jurisdiction of Cape Town Child Welfare Society will be referred to the appropriate resources in a specific area. The 0800 toll free line is answered by volunteers who will contact 1 of 2 social workers who are on duty on a rotation basis. The social worker will respond and investigate immediately and take statutory action if indicated. This ensures that children can be protected against harm 24 hours a day.
The afterhours child protection service was implemented in 2006 and many children have been helped to date who previously had to wait until the next working day to receive assistance. We want to pay tribute to the volunteers and social workers dedicated to the protection of children and who have been brave enough to intervene in respect of some dangerous situations in the middle of the night. Graph 11: Children assisted 48, 15%
23, 7% 3, 1% 15, 5%
165, 50%
Neglect Physical Abuse Sexual Abuse
71, 21% 5, 1%
Abandonment Orphan hood Other
25
| Annual Report 2012
Prevention Services
In order to render effective Child protection Services it is important to also focus on Prevention services in order to attempt to prevent child maltreatment and the possible removal of children from their families and communities of origin. Prevention services are rendered by 7 Community Development Workers in Metro South (Athlone including Heideveld, Manenberg and Hanover Park, Wynberg including Lotus River, Ottery, Philippi Farms, Pelican Park, Phu mlani Village and Philippi East), 2 community development workers in Khayelitsha(Metro East) and 2 community development workers in Metro North including Langa, Du Noon and Joe Slovo. The services focus on:
Child Abuse Awareness: Workshops and Talks with children and adults to equip children to protect themselves and parents to protect their children against harm Information Dissemination: Door to door campaigns, attendance of jamborees, distribution of pamphlets in order to raise awareness of the services rendered by Cape Town Child Welfare Society and talks around social ill specific to a community Celebration of important of International and National Days: to raise awareness amongst community members Parenting Skills Training: done as part of family preservation services to equip parents to be able to care and protect their children Skills Development of Children: focus on leadership training and training of children as peer counsellors. Holiday programmes: focus on fun and educational activities during the holiday periods. Graph 12: Persons reached through Prevention programmes 565
550
Child Abuse Awareness
1702 6950
Information Dissemination Events
3789 3131
Parenting Skills Training Skills Development of Children Holiday Programmes
Cape Town Child Welfare Society
26
Educare Centres
Cape Town Child Welfare Society has been responsible for the supervision of Liefdespoort; Rooikappie; Haus Haltern and Siyzama crèches as established in 1992(Liefdespoort and Rooikappie ); 1994 and 1997 respectively for 20 years. With the assistance of the organisation these ECD facilities have been registered with the Department of Social Development to accommodate a total of 193 children between the ages of 2-5 years (See Graph) Graph 13: Children at different centres
50
71
Siyazama Liefdespoort
40
Haus Haltern 32
Rooikappie
Each ECD facility has a staff complement consisting of 1xPrincipal; 1/2xteachers; 1xcook and 1x cleaner. It is the responsibility of these staff members to ensure that the ECD facility is compliant with the Department of Social Development’s min standards as it pertains to:
Providing a safe and hygienic learning environment Providing nutritious meals Providing a daily program which facilitates cognitive; social; emotional and physical growth Providing assessment with regards children’s learning needs and strengths Providing basic health care
The staff members deserve special recognition for also facilitating the following: Awareness promotion activities iro child abuse; children’s rights and responsibilities Food fair and Bazaar fundraising Outing to Wynberg swimming baths Mini make-over of ECD facility along with a party for the children as facilitated by Old Mutual Sponsorship for the purchasing of new 27
| Annual Report 2012
mattresses, educational toys; stationary and kitchen utensils by the City of Cape Town Presentation on Child Safety by the SAPD and the Fire Dept Miss Tinkerbell modelling competition Presentation on Road Safety by Hillstar Traffic Department Fashion show Outing to Observatory swimming pool Annual Sports Day Graduation Ceremonies Christmas Parties
In Sept 2011 a decision was also taken to assist these ECD facilities attain independent status. This involved a careful process of consultation with the staff and governing bodies of these facilities along with capacity building training on good governance practices. An application for the NPO registration was submitted to the Department of Social Development. The staff and governing body members are in support of this decision and have provided their co operation with the implementation of this process. A support group consisting of the aforementioned ECD facilities as well as Silvertown crèche has been established to provide ongoing support to the facilities as they embark on their journey as independent entities. The management team of Cape Town Child Welfare Society wishes to take this opportunity to thank the staff and their governing body members for their services to almost 3000 children over the past 20 years and wish them every success in respect of their future endeavours.
Cape Town Child Welfare Society
28
Financial Review
The annual financial statements for the year-ending 31 March
29
The total revenue from operations was R23, 189 801. The main sources of income were from the following categories: Government subsidy Gross current collections from the public Community Chest of the Western Cape Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund Local Authority Grant Project specific funding Membership fees Crèche and counseling fees Administration fees Finance income Other income
The total expenditure for the year was R23 255 505. The expenditure categories are listed below: Staff expenditure. Transport and Office Land & Buildings Domestic expenditure Professional & Special Services Supplementary assistance Other expenses The net fair value gain on investments is R448 690. The Comprehensive Income gain for the year was R263 317.
Clifford Roman
Financial Review
2012 have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards for Small- and Medium-size Entities and will be available at the Annual General Meeting or on request from the Society.
A Tax Clearance Certificate in respect of good standing has been granted by SARS to Child Welfare Society. The computers have been upgraded with Microsoft Office 2010 and the VIP Premier Payroll system has been upgraded from 3.2a to 3.3a. The File Director, a data- based program has been upgraded, used by the Payroll department has been extended and accessed by the Funding and Marketing division and the Chief executive. Restorative work has been done to the offices at our Head Office in Gatesville to accommodate staff that has moved from
| Annual Report 2012
Guguletu, Manenberg, Liefdespoort, Hanover Park and Hout Bay offices. All the computers at Head office are centrally linked to the Server. This allows staff to log onto the server with a unique password and pin code number. Because of this, the Social Workers can access any files which have been authorized to work on. The Dell Server has the capacity to backup data and produce mirrored images on a second hard-drive inclusive of a tape drive back-up facility to run back-ups after hours. Assets Motor vehicles: The acquisition of three Tata Indicars and one Toyota Avanza were new additions to our fleet. With the stubborn economic climate and the resistance of a quick global economic recovery, we have been forced to defer some expenditure and services acquired in the past. The raising of funds remains problematic with the increase in revenue lagging behind the rise in expenditure. This caused a draw down on the investments of the Society to an absolute minimum. The Finance Department produces monthly accounts for the Organization which has eight core departments, four crèches and three affiliates. The Sage ERP Accpac has been upgraded to version 6.1 and the modules used are Peresoft Cashbook, General Ledger, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable. The Sage ERP Accpac Accounting System facilitates drill-down methodologies which reach right to the core of the individual entries in the ledgers. It is a user-friendly system which interfaces with the Softline VIP Payroll system. Therefore comparative year-on-year financial figures can be produced. The staff in the Finance Department has performed brilliantly. They are to be commended for their loyalty, effort and commitment. Goverment subsidy
Income 2011
353 398
Gross collections from public National Lottery Trust
74 979 291 097 160
Community Chest WP
3 351 280
161 825 0 542 800 11 192 099 3 883 806
Nelson Mandela Children's Fund Project specific funding Membership fees
1 719 259
Board Lodging, creche & counselling fees Administration fees Finance Income Other income
Cape Town Child Welfare Society
30
999 090 860 430 723 871
527 776
Expenditure 2011
Staff expenses Transport & office
2 445 602
Land & buildings expenses 13 953 555
4 035 913
Domestic expenses Professional & special services Supplementary assistance Other expenses
275 591 168 023 85 327 186 1 497 620 6 000 137 570
Income 2012
Goverment subsidy Gross collections from public National Lottery Trust
329 980 0
Community Chest WP 10 779 230
Nelson Mandela Children's Fnd Local Authority Grant
9 720 464
Membership fees Board Lodging, crĂŠche & counselling fees Administration fees Finance Income
Other income
477 225
783 767 281 287
1 040 728
Expenditure 2012
1 862 619
4 824 385
31
| Annual Report 2012
13 985 494
Staff expenses Transport & office Land & buildings expenses Domestic expenses Professional & special services Supplementary assistance Other expenses
Donors and friends
Donors and Friends Mr ALF Van Ginkel AC Cluver Mr A van der Berg Mr A MacGregor Mrs A Susman Anonymous Donors B Alcock Mrs B Jacobs Mr C Jeffries Mrs DG Fletcher Mr CPE Hansen Mr D Kuni Mr DJ Cudlipp Dr F Diab Dr J Kallis Dr L Movsowitz Dr P Abrahamse Dr S Bailey Mr E League Mrs E Harris Elan PoloMrs E Elsing Mrs ES van Der Horst Mr FG Fitzgerald Mr FG Underhill Mr GA Goldsmith Dr GS Solanki Mr H Whittal Ms K Oelz Holtzhausen Wallis Brown Mrs JET O'Malley Lady S Graaf Mrs LD Swan Ms L Berold Mrs LS Marinus Mrs M Penberthy Mrs M Clarke Mr & Mrs L Thomas Mr & Mrs Norton Mrs CF Fraser Mrs CN Henda Mrs DP Horrigan Mrs HA Fisher Mrs M Unger Mrs MC Goldschmidt Mrs PE Shub Mrs S Du Toit Mrs S Starke Mrs S Zeh Mrs T Tomes
Mrs W De Villiers Ms L Abramsohn Ms S Follentine Mrs N Mintin Mr N Hemp Mr N Thomson Mrs R Hendricks Mr S Lewis Ms T Hendricks Mrs VA Lumb Ms W De Souza Mr AJ Black Mr S Mabuza Mr & Mrs E Bester Mrs P Symons Dora & William Oscar Heyne Charitable Trust The EJ Lombardi Trust The JC Coetzee Trust Nr 2 The Adriaan Carter Louw Trust The Frank Robb Charitable Trust The AF Scratchley Will Trust The C & E Harding Charitable Trust The JET Lee Will Trust The Anna Groninger Charitable Trust The Edith Wilma Muller Charitable Trust JA Millar (Hotchin) Trust The MJ Moldenhauer Trust The Alison & Bill Charitable Trust The TS Berwitz Will Trust The Mathers Trust The Gray Trust The Mary Stephen Trust The BP Meaker Will Trust Lynette Croudace Trust The Viking Social & Upliftment Trust The William Holmes Family Charitable Trust The Frank & Edna Bradlow Charitable Trust
Cape Town Child Welfare Society
32
Jungle Gym donated
The Douglas Jooste Trust The GH Starck Trust Fund The B & M Goldstein TrustHillary & Dorothy Champion Charitable Trust Community Chest Western Cape The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund Forderverein Khayelitsha e.V The American Charity Fund Kids who Care Project The Nussbaum Foundation Suiderland/Pioneer Fishing Greater Good SA/Greater Capital My School Powercote Mazars DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyer 5One Marketing SA GL Specialized Inks National Screen & Digital Supplies
33
| Annual Report 2012
Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes Time Link Cargo Derbigum Manufacturing WR Grace Africa MS Bohle Conference & Language Services Earthcore Drilling Print-A-Screen Reprotec Graphics TP Taylor & Associates Smart Office Ukutemba Mark’s Auto Service Panasonic Eagle Fire Teledata Cape Town Suburban Clothing Guild Spar Vangate Mall Shell SA Marketing CPY/Ltd Pie Management Chubb Security Fairheads Benefit Services (PTY) Prof C Adams
Mr D Alexander Mrs A Bruce Dr L Carew Mrs D Demas Ms J Fitzmaurice Ms L Fredman Ms I Arntsen Dr H Kaplan Dr L Linley Dr P Roux Dr S Hawkridge Ms C Thompson Ms D Hargovan Mr & Mrs Leslie Mr & Mrs Odendal Mr & Mrs Burger Ms M May Mr & Mrs Noonan Mr & Mrs Mentor Ms M Vaissenan Ms H Seifert Ms S Chapman Mr & Mrs Schloss Mr & Mrs Middlekoop
Contact Details Head Office
Contact details
Lower Klipfontein Road Silvertown Athlone
PO Box 374 Gatesville Athlone 7764 Tel:
+27216383127
Fax:
+27216385277
information@helpkids.org.za www.helpkids.org.za
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO OUR ORGANISATION: Please visit our website and DONATE by clicking on the “DONATE NOW” button Deposit directly into our bank account: Account Name: Cape Town Child Welfare Society Bank Name: First National Bank Branch Code: 200109 Swift Number: FIRNZAFF Account Number: 50190390192 Send a cheque to PO Box 374. Gatesville, Athlone 7764 Please remember to send us details of your donation – we would like to thank you and keep in touch! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR ORGANISATION: Please contact Jenny Wrankmore at 021 6383127 to arrange to be part of the organisation’s regular orientation meeting. Cape Town Child Welfare Society
34
Cape Town Child Welfare Society “Ensuring the Care and Protection of Children”
35
| Annual Report 2012