1. There was research several years back that came to the conclusion that "institutional" care of children had a maximum benefit period of two years. After that it said, the benefit experienced a "drop off" effect and there was a slow down in development against chronological age.
There seem to be a trend to sentence young people to very long terms of residential programmes of diversion within the institutional setting of, say,a Youth Centre.
Is it possible that the diversion programme itself will have a developmental growth effect that will overcome the apparent negative effect of long term "institutionalisation".
2. Bowlby's research showed that there were long term detremental effects of maternal deprivation A child had need of a an attachment figure to allow for good enough long- term affectional bonding. Rutter later re-assessed Bowlby's findings and concluded that children can develop good enough affectional bonding behaviours even if they had multiple care givers. 5 - or even up to 11 !!!
Really?? Because this give support to the use of staff rotations and shift systems. What do we know about this in Africa?
3. In Anna Freud et al book "Beyond the Best Interests of the Child" the idea is put forward that we have to think ethically when the decision is made to separate child from parent and use a residential setting for care. The criteria for making this judgement is said to be the concept of " irrevocable harm " . Using this criteria for placement outside of the parent means that it has to be established if the child were to stay in the care of the parent and in the conditions attached to the parental situation, the child would suffer harm that was irrecoverable. It seems that it would need the application of, and a high regard for professional opinion.and professional judgement before making a placement decision..
Are we making ethical decisions around the placement of children in South Africa and in Africa?
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Friday, 5 October 2012
running to, from and about...3 incidents, briefly told
RUNNING TO...
He was 17 1/2 and had completed the struggle he had with his sexual identity. He knew he was gay. Over time he built around himself a string support system in the centre of the city to which he went over weekends on whatever other pretense he put out officially to the Homes authorities.
One weekend, on his way out, he said, "Goodbye Mr Lodge".
He never returned. Phoned after a while to say that he was safe and well looked after in the city . He was never searched for. The Department just legally released him from the Act.
RUNNING FROM....
It was one of those"informant" incidents. Bongani had marijuana in his bedroom cupboard.
Every incoming young person signed a contract with the Home. In this contract, one of the understandings in this contract was permission for random searches. On the Homes side it was contracted to give help and support to any young person who used drugs. And this included Marijuana which is illegal in South Africa. The conditions for search were that the young person must be present.... no "secret" searches"
The male child care worker undertook a random search of the full house in order not to "pick out" an individual. When it came to Bongani he quickly grabbed the packet of marijuana from his cupboard and also a fairly log knife. He then told the child care worker to stand back, stabbed at his stomach but the knife entered the child care workers hand just below the thumb.
I was called to find Bongani threatening both the male and the female workers who wanted to block the door and keep him in the bedroom until I came. I told them to back right off and leave him be.
He ran out of the room. out of the house and into the streets of the city centre .
Too scared to come back he had lived off his wits in the centre of Johannesburg for two weeks before we found hi.
RUNNING ABOUT....
These two boys made a habit of running about. They always did it together. A bigger boy who was always regarded as the "influence" on the smaller one. But this may not have been completely true.
Sometimes they set themselves a target.... a destination and ran with the destination in mind "let's got to ....."
Another run about plan was to set themselves a place where the would see for how long they could survive without getting caught. They would often first, either agree on a suburb, or first find themselves a place to sleep, like a vacant house, a building site, large cement pipes, the caves in the koppies (rocky hills).
The third adventure and perhaps by far the most exciting was to run about in the vicinity of the Home itself and live off the Home by breaking in at night to steal and/or to get accomplices to feed them and support their survival.
On one of these escapades they tried to get to an eastern town about 30 kilometers away. They jumped a train but got caught and thrown off. There they were in farmland, so they decided to hide and sleep in the middle of a field of dried mielies (corn), ready for the farmer to 'plough back,. To keep warm they made a fire. he whole field caught fire with them in the middle of it. Fire authorities were called rescued them, and they were brought back
Anyone for a run about... ?????
He was 17 1/2 and had completed the struggle he had with his sexual identity. He knew he was gay. Over time he built around himself a string support system in the centre of the city to which he went over weekends on whatever other pretense he put out officially to the Homes authorities.
One weekend, on his way out, he said, "Goodbye Mr Lodge".
He never returned. Phoned after a while to say that he was safe and well looked after in the city . He was never searched for. The Department just legally released him from the Act.
RUNNING FROM....
It was one of those"informant" incidents. Bongani had marijuana in his bedroom cupboard.
Every incoming young person signed a contract with the Home. In this contract, one of the understandings in this contract was permission for random searches. On the Homes side it was contracted to give help and support to any young person who used drugs. And this included Marijuana which is illegal in South Africa. The conditions for search were that the young person must be present.... no "secret" searches"
The male child care worker undertook a random search of the full house in order not to "pick out" an individual. When it came to Bongani he quickly grabbed the packet of marijuana from his cupboard and also a fairly log knife. He then told the child care worker to stand back, stabbed at his stomach but the knife entered the child care workers hand just below the thumb.
I was called to find Bongani threatening both the male and the female workers who wanted to block the door and keep him in the bedroom until I came. I told them to back right off and leave him be.
He ran out of the room. out of the house and into the streets of the city centre .
Too scared to come back he had lived off his wits in the centre of Johannesburg for two weeks before we found hi.
RUNNING ABOUT....
These two boys made a habit of running about. They always did it together. A bigger boy who was always regarded as the "influence" on the smaller one. But this may not have been completely true.
Sometimes they set themselves a target.... a destination and ran with the destination in mind "let's got to ....."
Another run about plan was to set themselves a place where the would see for how long they could survive without getting caught. They would often first, either agree on a suburb, or first find themselves a place to sleep, like a vacant house, a building site, large cement pipes, the caves in the koppies (rocky hills).
The third adventure and perhaps by far the most exciting was to run about in the vicinity of the Home itself and live off the Home by breaking in at night to steal and/or to get accomplices to feed them and support their survival.
On one of these escapades they tried to get to an eastern town about 30 kilometers away. They jumped a train but got caught and thrown off. There they were in farmland, so they decided to hide and sleep in the middle of a field of dried mielies (corn), ready for the farmer to 'plough back,. To keep warm they made a fire. he whole field caught fire with them in the middle of it. Fire authorities were called rescued them, and they were brought back
Anyone for a run about... ?????
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Running to..... three conversations
SIPHO
You have a warm bed here, TV and you are at a good school. You get meals every day and you go to Karate lessons.
Yes
Sipho was a bright little 9 year old
Things to you look settled with your Mom right now. She has work again and lives in a one bedroom place. here is a bed for you to sleep.
Yes
It hasn't always been like that.
No.
You want to go live with your mom now.
Yes.
Let's play "what if?" What if it all goes wrong again and Mom lives under a bridge again under cardboard under a bridge?
I'll chose to be with my Mom.
What if a social worker says you should come back to this Home?
I'll choose to live with my Mom.
What if it's bread and jam and tea day after day?
My Mom.
So you know what you lose if you go now. And you know that there's a chance that it can all go wrong again. You know it can be really vary hard?
Yes. I want to be with my Mom.
And what if the Department says "No"?
I'll run away to my Mom.
MPHO
The social worker tells of the conversation.
Mpho is 16 and a big boy not doing all that well at school and nearing the end of compulsory schooling. He did not return to the Home after the mid-year holiday break. After three days of absence and now officially an absconder .. otherwise AWOL and a "no return " at school, she visits the parental house.
I'm not coming back!
She sets out the implications and consequences.
I'm not coming back. I'm going to stay here with my Dad.
Mpho. You didn't come back because you have been lying here on your bed on your stomach for three days. Just look at your back. Your Dad beat you with a 'shambok'. ( a South African whip traditionally made from rhino hide but now mass produced in rubber. A shambok is particularly damaging).
You have at least 11 whip marks on your back. We or you should lay charges of assault against your Dad. And we can look after you if you come back
.
I'm not coming back I want to stay with my Dad. Please don't lay charges. I want to stay here..You don't understand ma'm. My Dad shamboked me because I did something wrong. It's the best thing that has ever happened to me. It's the first time ever that he has shown any interest in me, or what I do. It's the first time he has cared enough to punish me. I believe he loves me now. Since he shamboked me . it's been different. I want to stay with my Dad. I'm not going back
.
I you force me to go back - I'll run to my house again.
I don't care.
I want to be with my Dad.
DENNIS
I just want to be with my mother.
Dennis you have run to her 52 times in six weeks. That's sometimes more than once a day. .. and she brings you back every time..... what does that say to you? What does that tell you?
I don't care. I just want to be with her.
You have a warm bed here, TV and you are at a good school. You get meals every day and you go to Karate lessons.
Yes
Sipho was a bright little 9 year old
Things to you look settled with your Mom right now. She has work again and lives in a one bedroom place. here is a bed for you to sleep.
Yes
It hasn't always been like that.
No.
You want to go live with your mom now.
Yes.
Let's play "what if?" What if it all goes wrong again and Mom lives under a bridge again under cardboard under a bridge?
I'll chose to be with my Mom.
What if a social worker says you should come back to this Home?
I'll choose to live with my Mom.
What if it's bread and jam and tea day after day?
My Mom.
So you know what you lose if you go now. And you know that there's a chance that it can all go wrong again. You know it can be really vary hard?
Yes. I want to be with my Mom.
And what if the Department says "No"?
I'll run away to my Mom.
MPHO
The social worker tells of the conversation.
Mpho is 16 and a big boy not doing all that well at school and nearing the end of compulsory schooling. He did not return to the Home after the mid-year holiday break. After three days of absence and now officially an absconder .. otherwise AWOL and a "no return " at school, she visits the parental house.
I'm not coming back!
She sets out the implications and consequences.
I'm not coming back. I'm going to stay here with my Dad.
Mpho. You didn't come back because you have been lying here on your bed on your stomach for three days. Just look at your back. Your Dad beat you with a 'shambok'. ( a South African whip traditionally made from rhino hide but now mass produced in rubber. A shambok is particularly damaging).
You have at least 11 whip marks on your back. We or you should lay charges of assault against your Dad. And we can look after you if you come back
.
I'm not coming back I want to stay with my Dad. Please don't lay charges. I want to stay here..You don't understand ma'm. My Dad shamboked me because I did something wrong. It's the best thing that has ever happened to me. It's the first time ever that he has shown any interest in me, or what I do. It's the first time he has cared enough to punish me. I believe he loves me now. Since he shamboked me . it's been different. I want to stay with my Dad. I'm not going back
.
I you force me to go back - I'll run to my house again.
I don't care.
I want to be with my Dad.
DENNIS
I just want to be with my mother.
Dennis you have run to her 52 times in six weeks. That's sometimes more than once a day. .. and she brings you back every time..... what does that say to you? What does that tell you?
I don't care. I just want to be with her.
Monday, 1 October 2012
Running from..will professional child and youth care prevent it?
It's the very stuff of urban legend.
Certainly the very stuff of legends in the organisation. And yet there seems to be good reason to believe it. The incident was told to me by my predecessor and he is a reliable story teller.
It goes like this.
There was gang warfare in Hillbrow, an infamous mid-city section of Johannesburg. One of the gangs was made up of young people and youth of Lebanese origin .. known simply as the Lebanese, or if you like, the "Lebanese Gang".The rivals had a name, but it was not mentioned in the telling of this story.
Somehow some of the young persons in the Home, known only to the staff as "the boys" would go into Hillbrow especially over weekend nights as "back-up" for the rival gang. Their story was that the didn't actually fight but stood behind the rival street gang to swell the numbers, increase the threat and fight only when it really became necessary. "The Lebanese knew the "Home boys" at very least, by sight. Gang members on both sides would recognise each other anywhere.
There was a soccer match a the Home. The "Home boys" were playing against some or other side when it was noticed that the Lebanese Gang had jumped the fence and were collecting somewhat out of sight on a lower bank of the field in large numbers and armed.
The story goes that on staff instruction the match was stopped. The entire Home, players and spectators were ordered to get into their houses and lock themselves in. The police were called who then dispersed the attackers with the help of dogs.
Legendary stuff !!
There was a sequel in my time.
There is a procedure by which a boy could be admitted for 48 hours as an emergency Place of Safety. The police or a social worker had the legal power to sign the form and deliver the boy to the Home as a Place of Safety awaiting a magistrate to decide on a future placement or to make the Place of Safety placement permanent. These boys just arrive, sometimes if you are lucky on the strength of a telephone call only... no preparation of the others in the house..just arrive,form in hand in a police van or a social workers car.
It was evening when this Lebanese youth was delivered and admitted. I was told that he had said at the time, " I can't stay here". I think that the background possibilities were not known by the person who did the admittance. He was accompanied to the dininghall for the centralised evening meal, reluctant and scared, but he didn't have an option. His anxiety was interpreted as normal considering he had been picked up in some kind of emergency and very quickly delivered into a strange place with 103 other boys already well integrated into the system.
In the dininghall "the boys" immediately recognised him as a member of the "Lebanese Gang". He knew "the boys" as the supporters of the rival gang.
Now, the dininghall situation was closely controlled. It was monitored by staff, table orderlies, and a little body of boys known as "prefects". Even so.animosity and rivalry could not be contained About five of "the boys" stood up so that they would be seen by the Lebanese youth and gang member.
Almost in unison, they gave him "the sign".
The thumb is placed behind the front teeth and pulled forward sharply to make a clocking sound. Then the forefinger of the same hand is stretched asif pointing and drawn slowly across the neck asif slitting the throat.
The message was clear.
The Lebanese boy got up, ran out of the dininghall, ran out of the Home and the property, not to be seen again.
He escaped.
It was fear.
He" ran from....... "
We all talk of pro-active, preventative, professional child and youth care.
Could this have been prevented?
What do you think?
Certainly the very stuff of legends in the organisation. And yet there seems to be good reason to believe it. The incident was told to me by my predecessor and he is a reliable story teller.
It goes like this.
There was gang warfare in Hillbrow, an infamous mid-city section of Johannesburg. One of the gangs was made up of young people and youth of Lebanese origin .. known simply as the Lebanese, or if you like, the "Lebanese Gang".The rivals had a name, but it was not mentioned in the telling of this story.
Somehow some of the young persons in the Home, known only to the staff as "the boys" would go into Hillbrow especially over weekend nights as "back-up" for the rival gang. Their story was that the didn't actually fight but stood behind the rival street gang to swell the numbers, increase the threat and fight only when it really became necessary. "The Lebanese knew the "Home boys" at very least, by sight. Gang members on both sides would recognise each other anywhere.
There was a soccer match a the Home. The "Home boys" were playing against some or other side when it was noticed that the Lebanese Gang had jumped the fence and were collecting somewhat out of sight on a lower bank of the field in large numbers and armed.
The story goes that on staff instruction the match was stopped. The entire Home, players and spectators were ordered to get into their houses and lock themselves in. The police were called who then dispersed the attackers with the help of dogs.
Legendary stuff !!
There was a sequel in my time.
There is a procedure by which a boy could be admitted for 48 hours as an emergency Place of Safety. The police or a social worker had the legal power to sign the form and deliver the boy to the Home as a Place of Safety awaiting a magistrate to decide on a future placement or to make the Place of Safety placement permanent. These boys just arrive, sometimes if you are lucky on the strength of a telephone call only... no preparation of the others in the house..just arrive,form in hand in a police van or a social workers car.
It was evening when this Lebanese youth was delivered and admitted. I was told that he had said at the time, " I can't stay here". I think that the background possibilities were not known by the person who did the admittance. He was accompanied to the dininghall for the centralised evening meal, reluctant and scared, but he didn't have an option. His anxiety was interpreted as normal considering he had been picked up in some kind of emergency and very quickly delivered into a strange place with 103 other boys already well integrated into the system.
In the dininghall "the boys" immediately recognised him as a member of the "Lebanese Gang". He knew "the boys" as the supporters of the rival gang.
Now, the dininghall situation was closely controlled. It was monitored by staff, table orderlies, and a little body of boys known as "prefects". Even so.animosity and rivalry could not be contained About five of "the boys" stood up so that they would be seen by the Lebanese youth and gang member.
Almost in unison, they gave him "the sign".
The thumb is placed behind the front teeth and pulled forward sharply to make a clocking sound. Then the forefinger of the same hand is stretched asif pointing and drawn slowly across the neck asif slitting the throat.
The message was clear.
The Lebanese boy got up, ran out of the dininghall, ran out of the Home and the property, not to be seen again.
He escaped.
It was fear.
He" ran from....... "
We all talk of pro-active, preventative, professional child and youth care.
Could this have been prevented?
What do you think?
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