CHILD AND YOUTH CARE WORKERS IN SOUTH AFRICA...PERCEPTIONS OF DISPARITY IN STATUS BETWEEN SOCIAL SERVICE PROFESSIONS

CHILD AND YOUTH CARE WORKERS IN SOUTH AFRICA.....PERCEPTIONS OF DISPARITY IN STATUS BETWEEN SOCIAL SERVICE PROFESSIONALS

I must again emphasise that I write this blog in my personal capacity and NOT as a representative of any organisation, structure or body. I write as Barrie talking child and youth care.

Child and youth care workers in South Africa are forcefully expressing, through social media and  in various forums, their perception and in many instances, their experience, that there is disparity in status between child and youth care workers and social workers.

Child and youth care workers are saying that they are being regarded as the lessor profession.

The child and youth care workers support their view by saying that:

       1. they are still being supervised by social workers in the workplace in state and in non-governmental organisations

       2. the Department of Social Development has social workers in senior positions in its structure and so policy and status is coloured by a social work mindset. This, they say, has a trickle down mindset effect to the workplace.

        3. .....and this..  probably the most vocalised of their comments;... there is not equality of salaries between the professions.....again in both government and non governmental organisations.

TOWARD UNDERSTANDING THE PERCEPTIONS AND REALITIES
The purpose of this blog is not to justify, nor judge, but an attempt to provide some kind of background of understanding around the perceived and experienced issues raised today by child and youth care workers in this country and then to set out an argument for the view that the social service professions have an equality of status.

MISBELIEF AROUND THE ROOTS OF CHILD AND YOUTH CARE AS A PROFESSION
There is for some reason, a belief among some, that child and youth care work has "grown out of " social work and so, is a sub-set of social work, This misunderstanding has led to child and youth care work being regarded as an emerging practice striving for an independence it has no real right to have.
This  view is based on a misunderstanding and misinformation.

Child and youth care work has grown out of its very own pioneers, their theories,practice and sometimes their heroic acts in the best interests of children, their lives and their wellbeing The pioneers of child and youth care work are mainly, faith-based people, also psychologists, psychiatrists, educationalists,and heroes and heroines acting to protect and develop children at risk. Students of child and youth care work know and can name these pioneers, their theories, actions, practice and philosophies. From these pioneers grew the field of child and youth care work as it is practiced today.

THE STRUGGLE FOR RECOGNITION
Historically, then, child and youth care work has struggled to  establish itself to be recognised a a profession in its own right.,,, independent but obviously connected to other social service professions as a helping profession.
Its been a long hard struggle in South Africa....one in which, for decades, hard working activists have fought the fight in that struggle. The professional recognition of social work  long preceded the registration of child and youth care workers. The  registration of child and youth care workers as professionals only really occurred when the minister of social development signed the regulations on the 13th October 2014.
This meant that in the workplace, and in Government structures,  social workers as the only recognised social service professionals, were employed in senior, supervisory, management and directorship positions.
It is this legacy that child and youth care workers, now registered as professionals in South Africa, have inherited. It will take time for this legacy to work itself into a situation when positions are filled by a professional supervising a person from their own profession.
The salary and mindset issues appear also to flow from this legacy.

CURRENTLY
In the meantime, in the field, the advocacy continues to speed up that process and to ensure it. Current regulations for the registration of child and youth care workers do contain clauses to regulate that persons are supervised by professionals in their own fields.

THE EQUALITY OF THE TWO PROFESSIONS
Child and youth care workers and social workers in South Africa are registered as professionals at the same two levels ....auxiliary and professional. This in itself implies professional equality.
Equality and professional interdependence is underscored in the professional practice of multi-disciplinary case management and the multi disciplinary team (MDT).. It is here that developmental assessment and the Individual (or family) Development Plan (IDP) is jointly formulated and tasks within our different professional fields are allocated in the best interests of the young person. Each profession has a unique but equal contribution to make in this.

There is no argument that supports the view that one profession is dominant in the social service professions.

Misbelief and legacy issues will be resolved