Development, on Second Tabling of the Children's Amendment Bill, at National
Assembly, Cape Town
6 November 2007
Madam speaker
Honourable Minister, Zola Skweyiya
Honourable members,
MECs for Social Development here present
Distinguished guests
Representatives of civil society in the public gallery
Ladies and gentlemen:
It's an honour today for me to address the National Assembly on this
historical Second Reading Debate of the Children's Amendment Bill.
Let me commend all the role players, particularly the Portfolio Committee on
Social Development, The Select Committee on Social Services, The Children's Act
Steering Committee and the Children's Directorate in the Department of Social
Development, who have left no stone unturned in finding the dispensation for
South Africa's children that the Constitution and other international
instruments on children's rights demand.
The particular focus of my address will be on some of the critical aspects
that are central to the child protection system. As mentioned by the honourable
Minister Zola Skweyiya, the Children's Amended Bill is a Section 76 Bill that
has particular focus on implementation and service provision to our children,
youth and families.
My focus will be on prevention and early intervention services, which is
Chapter 8 in this Bill, but I want to emphasise, in the process, the important
role of parents, as care givers to children and that they are the 'social glue'
that holds the family unit together. There is absolutely no intention of this
legislation to undermine the important role that parents play to curb the need
for children to be placed in alternative centres of care.
Madam speaker, this is the first time in the history of this country that
legislation makes special provision for prevention and early intervention
services, especially to children, youth and their families.
If one considers the extent of the abuse, neglect and exploitation of
children in this country; the high incidences of alcohol and substance abuse
amongst both adults and children; the increasing number of young people who are
committing crimes and in some instances serious crime such as rape and murder
and the phenomenon of children living and working on the streets that have
become a common sight, it becomes clear that we have neglected the family as
the fundamental unit of society.
The family is not only integral to the general well-being of individuals in
relation to their psychosocial, emotional, physical, spiritual and economic
needs, but it is also a cradle from which the values and norms of a society are
transmitted and preserved. It is in the family environment that children are
born, nurtured, supported and provided with opportunities for growth and
development into competent and productive adults. Therefore, the family is the
basic institution in society for the survival, protection and development of
children.
The Bill is proactive as it seeks to promote and strengthen the family to
fulfil its responsibilities to prevent the influx of children into the formal
statutory care system.
Prevention and early intervention services in the Bill include services that
are 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. Such services mainly target families where there are children who
have been identified as being vulnerable to or at risk of harm and it become
necessary for removal into alternative care.
The Bill provides programmes for:
* preserving a child's family structure
* developing appropriate parenting skills and the capacity of parents and
care-givers to safeguard the well-being and best interests of their children,
including the promotion of positive, non-violent forms of discipline
* developing appropriate parenting skills and the capacity of parents and
care-givers to safeguard the well-being and best interests of children with
disabilities and chronic illnesses
* promoting appropriate interpersonal relationships within the family
* providing psychological, rehabilitation and therapeutic programmes for
children
* preventing the neglect, exploitation, abuse or inadequate supervision of
children and preventing other failures in the family environment to meet
children's needs
* preventing the recurrence of problems in the family environment that may
harm children or adversely affect their development
* diverting children away from the child and youth care system and the
criminal justice system and;
* avoiding the removal of a child from the family environment
* empowering families to obtain the basic necessities for themselves
* providing families with information to enable them to access services
* supporting and assisting families with a chronically ill or terminally ill
family member
* early childhood development; and
* promoting the well-being of children and the realisation of their full
potential.
In order to ensure the implementation of such programmes, the Bill provides
for the development of a strategy at national and provincial levels as well as
provincial profile of such services, norms and standards, for the provision of
prevention and early intervention services.
An obligation is placed on the MEC of a province to ensure that funds
allocated for early intervention and prevention services are fully utilised for
this purpose. We need to strengthen partnerships between government and
non-governmental organisations, especially community-based organisations and
faith-based organisations that have been providing prevention and early
intervention services without state support. This will facilitate the
implementation of this specific chapter of the Bill, as well as others.
Although emphasis of the Children's Bill is on prevention and early
intervention services, there would still be a number of children who will
require alternative care such as temporary safe care, foster care and child and
youth care centres.
Provision made for therapeutic programmes in alternative care especially in
child and youth care centres, is a significant move for ensuring that each
child has a programme designed for him while in alternative care this will
benefit children with behaviour problems including those that are addicted to
alcohol abuse and drugs, children in conflict with the law and those that have
been harmed emotionally by abuse, neglect or trauma.
In conclusion, madam speaker, this Bill makes it obligatory for
professionals and other service providers working with children to report
children who have been abused, neglected or exploited or those who for other
reasons need care and protection. It allows community persons who have
reasonable grounds to believe that a child needs protection and care to
similarly report such observations.
I appeal to everyone in this country to make use of this mechanism in the
new legislation to report abuse, neglect and abandonment of children to
relevant persons, who include: South African Police Services, Social Workers,
Social Service Professionals in government or Child Protection
Organisations.
I believe that if the entire nation is alert and reports perpetrators of
crime against our children, we will win the battle against violence and
exploitation of our children.
I support this Children's Amendment Bill for its holistic approach and
comprehensiveness towards realising the constitutional rights as well as
international rights of our children to development, protection and care.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Social Development
6 November 2007
