Social Work / Maatskaplike Werk (E-Journal)
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Editorial
Get PDFIn this issue the articles fall into two fields: social work services in occupational settings and social work pertaining to vulnerable children. Four articles discuss how special needs of employees or clients can be addressed in their work environment: one offers client satisfaction scales for an occupational setting, two suggest how employee assistance programmes can deal with critical incident stress management and the needs of farm workers alternatively, while the fourth provides an overview of literature on how to deal with the problem of substance abuse and substance dependence in the workplace
BIBLIOTHERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES FOR USE BY SOCIAL WORKERS AND CAREGIVERS
Get PDFAll children need to grow up with a sense of belonging and security in order to maintain healthy relationships later in life (Erikson, 1969:239; McWhirten, 2007:189; Toerien, 2001:31). Belonging is a basic human need that has to be met before certain other needs, such as self-actualisation and self-esteem, can be fulfilled (Erikson, 1969:238; Maslow, 1970:43; Max-Neef, 1991:33). A lack of a sense of belonging leads to feelings of rejection, loneliness and an inability to engage in future relationships (Ding & Littleton, 2005:i). Children who do not experience this sense of belonging can easily become involved in gangster activities, promiscuity or substance dependence in order to secure a false sense of belonging (Brendtro, Brokenleg & Van Bockern, 2002:9). Ideally, this need for belonging should be fulfilled within the primary family situation. However, the reality is that many children in South Africa do not live in what is generally regarded as the primary family, namely a family with two parents (Holborn & Eddy, 2011:1), but come from fractured families. Children from fractured families in disadvantaged communities have more complex needs to be met in order to feel secure (Ding & Littleton, 2005:iii; Holborn & Eddy, 2011:7; Minuchin, Colapinto & Minuchin, 2007:10; Toerien, 2001:31; Yuen, 2005:7)
CHILD RIGHTS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: A CALL FOR A RIGHTS-BASED GLOBAL RESEARCH AGENDA
Get PDFDespite many achievements regarding child rights over the last 20 years, including improvements in many indicators such as the significant reduction in infant and child mortality; the more positive way of thinking about and listening to children; and increased response to those who abuse children, the rights of children are still insufficiently protected. Millions of children across the world suffer from the effects of extreme forms of poverty and their associated evils, such as malnourishment, stunted growth, nutritional-deficiency diseases and illiteracy. Recent figures from the International Labour Organisation (2010) show that, globally one in every six children work, 126 million children work in hazardous conditions, and the highest proportion of child labourers is in sub-Saharan Africa, where 26% of children (49 million) are involved in work. These figures provide only a glimpse of the challenges and obstacles that a child faces around the worl
ECONOMIC EXPERIENCES OF SINGLE MOTHERS IN BHAMBAYI, KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA
Get PDFWomen living in low-income communities often initiate livelihood activities as a means to support themselves and their families. Even though these small-scale livelihood activities supplement the household income, they are insufficient to lift single mothers out of poverty. This study explores the economic experiences of 25 single mothers who embarked on individual livelihood activities. Using feminist theory, the paper presents their biographical profile and discusses two key themes, namely institutional barriers leading to economic insecurities, and the strengths and limitations of social networks. The paper concludes with some considerations for harnessing the valuable contributions made by single mothers
RECOUNTING STORIES IN SOUTH AFRICAN CHILD WELFARE
Get PDFIn order to proactively bring about change, it is critical in a post-apartheid context for South African social workers to appreciate how colonial and apartheid forces have shaped the inherited welfare priorities, structures, legislation, policies and practices. It is as necessary also to identify stories of resistance as these offer hope and alternative possibilities. Authors such as McKendrick (2001), Patel (2005) and Loffell (2000) have tracked many aspects of South African welfare history. In its submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission – a body set up to formally acknowledge past injustices with the goal of bringing about political reconciliation – the welfare sector set out how it had contributed to historical discrimination and wrongs (Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 1999). While these narratives provide the framework for the development of child welfare in South Africa, relatively little is known about its particular history, especially its earliest roots. Beukes and Gannon (1999) and Allsopp (2005) have attempted to explore the origins of that profession in the child and youth work field. Badroodien (2001) examined the extensive impact of one institution, the Ottery School of Industry, on “coloured” youths and their families. Scordillis and Becker (2005) recount briefly the history of adoption practice in South Africa. Some of the child welfare societies have been able to provide sketches of their agency history. In this article the author attempts to add to the child welfare record, gathering the existing strands of literature and inserting the stories that emerged in her doctoral research (Schmid, 2008
FACTORS ENABLING AND HAMPERING SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICES RENDERED TO STREET CHILDREN IN PRETORIA: PERSPECTIVES OF SERVICE PROVIDERS
Get PDFA qualitative study was conducted to develop an understanding of the social welfare services being rendered to street children in Pretoria and to ascertain what factors facilitate or hamper the rendering of these services. The research shows clearly that the funding required for ensuring the sustainability of the organisations is insufficient, and that the human resources are unstable. The article provides a critical analysis of some of the key social welfare service challenges that need to be addressed to ensure the effective and sustainable delivery of social welfare services
SOCIAL WORK SUPERVISION POLICIES AND FRAMEWORKS: PLAYING NOTES OR MAKING MUSIC?
Get PDFINTRODUCTIONKadushin (1992:230-231) drew a parallel between the supervision of social workers and making music: is supervision just a random sounding of notes, serving to mask incompetence, or is it tuneful music, conducive to social workers’ best efforts? This analogy may be considered to reflect the emergence of new public management measures as an operationalisation of neoliberal ideas, with consequent changes in conditions of service delivery, control and accountability of social workers. These management mechanisms for bureaucratic standardisation in social work have resulted in, for example, the introduction of supervision policies and frameworks in various countries, such as those of the Australian Association of Social Workers (2010), British Association of Social Workers (2011), Aortearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (2012), and the supervision framework for the social work profession in South Africa (DSD & SACSSP, 2012), to name a few
LESSONS FROM THE EVALUATION OF A PUBLIC OUT-PATIENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT PROGRAMME IN THE WESTERN CAPE
Get PDFSubstance abuse is widely regarded as a major health and social problem in South Africa, and particularly in the Western Cape (Corrigall, Ward, Stinson, Struthers, Frantz, Lund, Flisher & Joska, 2007; Myers, Fakier & Louw, 2009). The complex nature of patterns of substance abuse, as well as the particular problems associated with this abuse, has implications for the development and implementation of treatment interventions. The most common primary drug of abuse in the Western Cape amongst patients admitted to treatment programmes is methamphetamine (known locally as “tik”) (Dada, Plüddemann, Parry, Vawda & Fourie, 2012). The previous decade saw a dramatic rise in methamphetamine (hereafter indicated as MA) use, particularly among youths, with over half the patients in treatment for MA abuse being younger than 25 years (Plüddemann, Parry, Dada, Bhana, Bachoo & Fourie, 2010). MA is also often used in combination with other drugs, and this prevalence of poly-substance abuse needs to be taken into account in the planning of services (Harker, Kader, Myers, Falkier, Parry, Flisher, Peltzer, Ramlagan & Davids, 2008)
FACILITATING INTEGRATED SERVICE DELIVERY VIA NETWORKING FORUMS: LESSONS FROM A CASE STUDY
Get PDFAt the dawn of democracy in South Africa in 1994 the government inherited a welfare system that was fragmented because of apartheid institutional arrangements. Collaboration between different government departments and organisations within civil society was almost non-existent. A silo culture was prevalent as a result of haphazard service delivery efforts, which led to ineffective and inefficient service delivery. Given the disjointed nature of service delivery within social welfare as well as other sectors of the economy, urgent measures were needed to ensure that the population benefits from well-coordinated and holistic service delivery efforts (White Paper for Social Welfare, 1997). It is in this context that the notion of integrated service delivery (ISD) became a national buzzword. There was political pressure for government departments as well as organisations within civil society to ensure that integration of services was promoted at all costs. As a part response to this call, the Department of Social Development (DSD) introduced the idea of networking forums. Several government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) participate in these networking forums. Monthly meetings are held where stakeholders from different NGOs and government departments discuss and formulate coordinated responses to service delivery within particular geographical areas of operation. Thus, through these monthly meetings a platform for networking between NGOs, the DSD and other government departments is created which allows sharing of information and initiation of coordinated efforts in serving the communities within their demarcated radius of operation. This article examines how these networking forums pioneered by the DSD have been instrumental in enhancing integrated service delivery
THE ROLE OF STOKVELS IN IMPROVING PEOPLE’S LIVES: THE CASE IN ORANGE FARM, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Get PDFStokvels are self-help initiatives designed to respond to the problems of poverty and income insecurity in communities. Stokvels are thus a form of informal social security. Based on a study of members of stokvels in the Orange Farm community in Johannesburg, South Africa, the article examines the role of stokvels in improving the lives of their members. The results of the study showed that stokvels enable members to meet their basic needs. Stokvels also provide opportunities for members to save and invest and ultimately to accumulate assets. The results also show that stokvels promote the empowerment of women.