Social Work / Maatskaplike Werk (E-Journal)
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THE REALITIES OF ORPHANED CHILDREN LIVING IN CHILD-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS
Get PDFThe HIV and AIDS epidemic has drastically changed the world in which children live in (Gruskin & Tarantola in Foster, Levine & Williamson, 2005:135). As a leading cause of adult mortality, the epidemic has led to many children becoming orphans worldwide. This disrupts children’s social roles, rights and obligations because as children become orphaned, there is often a premature shouldering of the burdens of adulthood without the rights, privileges and strengths associated with adult status (Barnett & Whiteside, 2006:223). The burdens of adulthood include taking care of younger siblings, providing psychological support for one another, providing for the economic needs of the family and household management (Department of Social Development, 2008:141; Mkhize, 2006:74-82). Germann (2005:364) and Mkhize (2006:82) assert that these children experience difficulties in performing these adult roles because of their tender age
CONTRADICTIONS OF CONCERN TO BENCHMARKING IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN BACHELOR OF SOCIAL WORK DEGREE
Get PDFAn extensive process in benchmarking the qualification for the South African Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in accordance with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) was undertaken from 2001 to 2003 by a standards-generating body (SGB) for social work (Lombard, Grobbelaar & Pruis, 2003). The BSW was registered with the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in 2003. By 2007 all social work educational institutions were required to implement the BSW. An essential part of the scrutiny is that Social Work departments at the universities as the training institutions offering the BSW play an active role in applying and monitoring its criteria on a continuous basis. The SA Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP) initiated quality-assurance benchmarks for the BSW at the training institutions in 2011. The quality-assurance process is intended to be an interactive one, with the SACSSP dependent on the experience of educators and learners in monitoring criteria. In the light of the fact that the BSW is to be revised in 2012, it is important that a rich dialogue be generated at this stage to guide its formation
STIGMA AND MARGINALISATION: STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE AND THE IMPACT ON MENTAL HEALTH
Get PDFSocial workers traditionally offer emotional, social and financial support to people who are in distress or in crisis. Although the problems presented are usually problems in daily living, these clients often are suffering from a mental disorder such as depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. These problems in daily living, rather than the symptoms of their emotional state or disorder per se, usually causes their distress and their need to seek help (WHO, 2001a). Sadly, their problems are also often exacerbated, or even caused, by the stigma and marginalisation experienced worldwide by those with mental disorders.It is important, therefore, that all social workers understand the complex relationships between marginalisation and mental health and mental disorders. This includes understanding the role of structural violence in relation to mental health. This article will discuss some of these relationships and aims to encourage social workers to be alert for and address these issues in their practic
Editorial
Get PDFIn this issue two articles address the need for sustainability in organisations and in a child welfare workforce, and two look at challenges related to the working conditions of social workers and to continuous professional development. Four articles focus on issues in child and family welfare such as family preservation, parenting skills, needs and circumstances of adolescent orphans in foster care, and adolescent girls who present with suicidal behaviour
CHILD-ON-CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE: RESULTS OF A SURVEY IN JOHANNESBURG
Get PDFChild-on-child sexual abuse in South Africa has been recognised only recently as a significant social problem, reflected in the dearth of research on the topic. There is also a lack of evidence in South Africa on the extent of abuse and issues that relate to youth sex offending (Ehlers & Wood, 2001; Mbambo, 2002). It is difficult to establish the extent of either child-on-child or child-on-adult sex offending in South Africa, because not all of these cases are reported or recorded (Stout, 2003). It is estimated, however, that 42% of sexual offences reported to Childline, a national help-line providing crisis intervention services, are committed by other children (Vanzant, 2004) and the latest statistics available from the Department of Correctional Services (2007) show that on 31 January 2007 a total of 288 children were in prison for crimes of a sexual nature. It was reported in the Pretoria News that in South Africa a daily average of 82 children were charged for indecently assaulting or raping other children (Maughan, 2006:1). There is also a dearth of empirical international research and literature on the origins of child-on-child sexual abuse (Lightfoot & Evans, 2000)
AN OUTCOME EVALUATION OF A YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Get PDFThe Child Care Act of South Africa (1983) requires children who are in children’s homes to leave these places of care once they reach 18 years of age. Research indicates that youths aging out of foster care are more likely to experience homelessness, unemployment, substance abuse and lack of basic healthcare services (Courtney, Drowsy, Ruth, Havelock & Boost, 2005). Atkinson (2008:195) points out that as a result a life marked by traumatic experiences and their lengthy time on the streets, foster care youths often lack the basic skills necessary for independence such as keeping appointments, managing a bank account, finding housing, shopping for groceries, cooking meals, driving a car and taking public transportation
ADOLESCENTS’ PERSPECTIVES ON CHILD-PARENT RELATION-SHIPS FOLLOWING PARENTAL DIVORCE: SUGGESTIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
Get PDFA family is regarded as the main social institution that structures the lives, activities and relations of women, men and children (Thornton, Axinn & Xie, 2007:3). It is the basic unit of society that plays a vital role in the lives of all people, especially with regard to the survival, protection and development of children who are below the age of 18 years (Patel, 2005:167). It is against this backdrop that divorce, which is the legal dissolution of a marriage (Barker, 1995:106), is often a painful and a stressful process for parents and children (Afifi, Huber & Ohs, 2006:2; Yu, Pettit, Lansford, Dodge & Bates, 2010:283), especially adolescents. Family disruption is difficult for adolescents to adapt to, as they are going through a developmental stage characterised by changes in their physical growth, sexual development, cognitive abilities and identity development (Barton, Watkins & Jarjoura, 1997:488; Videon, 2002:489). Hines (1997:375) aptly states that parental divorce “promotes growth for some adolescents and developmental vulnerabilities to others”
LEGAL INSTRUMENTS TO CONSIDER IN STRUCTURING PARENTING PLANS
Get PDFThe objective of this article is to provide the legal context of parenting plans in South Africa. The Children‟s Act 38 of 2005 (hereafter Children‟s Act) makes explicit provision for parenting plans. It is therefore important to analyse the relevant provisions in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) (hereafter Constitution) and the Children‟s Act, read together with international and regional children‟s rights instruments pertaining to parental rights and responsibilities to establish their nature and content of these plans as well as their necessity. Section 33(3) of the Children‟s Act states that a parenting plan may determine any matter in connection with parental responsibilities and rights, including (a) where and with whom the child is to live; (b) the maintenance of the child; (c) contact between the child and (i) any of the parties, and (ii) any other person; and (d) the schooling and religious upbringing of the child
PREVENTING RELAPSES AMONGST CHEMICALLY ADDICTED ADOLESCENTS: EXPLORING THE STATE OF CURRENT SERVICES
Get PDFThe susceptibility of adolescents to chemical addiction has become a major international concern. Approximately 25% of people in Central Asia and Eastern Europe who inject chemical substances are under the age of 20 years (Youth at the United Nations, 2006), while up to 75% of unintentional injuries among adolescents in America are related to substance abuse (Page & Page, 2003:196). On the national level approximately 25% of adolescents under the age of 20 are involved in substance abuse (Western Cape Department of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation, 2006:13). A report from the South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Abuse (2007:3) highlights that, of the 2 798 persons who received in-patient treatment in the Western Cape, 27% were under the age of 20, more than any other age group in treatment
THE RATIONALE FOR THE INVOLVEMENT OF FIELD INSTRUCTORS IN PRACTICE EDUCATION
Get PDFPractice education is regarded as an integral component of the curriculum in social work training (Bogo & Globerman, 1999; Raskin, Skolnik & Wayne, 1991:276; Unger, 2003:107), because it is through practice education that students develop the professional skills that form the basis of their future work performance (Bogo & Globerman, 1999). Practice education makes it possible for students to integrate theory and practice, develop intervention skills and manage ethically challenging situations (Litvack, Bogo & Mishna, 2010:228). Valentine (2004:3) rightly observes that practice education is the place where theory, ethics and skills meet to form the professional judgement characteristic of an effective social work practitioner. The quality of the social work profession and social workers is therefore partly determined by the availability and effectiveness of the practice education opportunities which are offered by the university (Kanno & Koeske, 2010:23), because these opportunities have an important influence on the graduates’ readiness for practice (Wayne, Bogo & Raskin, 2006:161)