A question was posed on social media this week. "Are we losing child and youth care workers?". It was unanswered. But other posts when put together provided some answers....
YES!!!
Some child and youth care workers posted that they will leave the profession to go back to their previous field of employment; "I'm going to "give up"and go back to ...... whatever". In a telephone call I made to the Isibindi project that I initiated, I was told, "It's not the project you started. There only a few child and youth care workers left."
Others say "God is good,... I got employed .......new job" Others are all but lost to the profession but hanging in ......lost income, losing hope, losing enthusiasm, losing loyalties. Some are considering immigration.
There were also posts from child and youth care workers employed in the non-governmental sector (NGO's) who said that funds/ subsidies/ grants from government have not been payed and that business plans submitted to government in good time have not resulted in service level agreements (SLA's) being finalised or signed. Recently SLA's have been a three year contract. This year funds have not been forthcoming. At least three Child and Family Welfare facilities in two provinces and so their programs, have closed as a result.In one Child and Family Welfare facility, at least, there was a children's home. The state is the ultimate parent. The NGO sector does the work of state.
Social media posts from child and youth care workers in the NGO sector were " Every year we don't know if we have a job, we have to wait to see if the funds arrive." For this reason many NGO's will employ child and youth care workers on a fixed term contract that expires at the end of each financial year waiting to renew the contract if funds are available. This year has been a year of particular uncertainty with some child and youth care workers in some facilities holding on without pay hoping for pay with back pay.
I don't know whether delays can be explained by the Department of Social Development new Minister's refusal to sign her Department's Annual Performance Plan (APP) saying that her Department was in a "shambles". She could not present her budget to parliament for the current financial year.
All this is reminiscent of the Social Work crisis of 2008 when though poor salaries and conditions of employment,social workers were leaving government positions to find jobs in the private business sector or immigrating, mainly to the UK. The shortage of social workers in South Africa resulted in Social Work being declared a "scarce skill". Now sometimes in the social media referred to as a "Critical and scarce profession".
Child and youth care workers in South Africa are voicing the same grievances.I believe that now we either face, or are in, a child and youth care workers crisis.
Let us all hope that something was learnt from the Department of Social Development's response to the 2008 Social Work crisis. The intention was good, but the long term effects are haunting us today.
Firstly, bursaries were made available to students gaining entry into Schools of Social Work at universities nationally. So many students were attracted into Social Work studies as a result of the funding that emerging graduates flooded the market and became unemployable. Today that situation still prevails Yet, the bursaries remain on offer..... No bursaries for child and youth care workers. This year I am told, with the financial crunch, so far, bursaries remain unpaid. Imagine !!
Secondly, there was a move to train and employ a "general worker". We were told that parliament believed that a multi-disciplinary team approach would confuse families. The "do all" worker concept was based on a model in Cuba. Funds were made available for delegations to visit Cuba and then to train these general workers. Fortunately for the social service profession field pressure from the Social Work and Child and Youth Care Professional Boards and the voice of professionals squashed this initiative.
A new Child Care Act was introduced and costed. The costing model took into consideration that 110,000 social service practitioners would be needed to operationalise the Act. Three funding models were prepared...... an ideal model, a medium model and a basic model. Today the basic funding model is not operationalised and the Act is undergoing revision to further improve service delivery to children.
In this time of crisis the NGO sector was expanded. It was a structure that employed social workers. Today the NGO sector is shrinking noticeably nationally as a result of lack of funds.
Back to square one.
Unsustainability of projects initiated by the Department of Social Development is clearly an issue this We are not spared this pattern. Unsustainability is again affecting the field. This time child and youth care workers are affected in numbers.
It is obvious that the availability or rather the unavailability of funds or maladministration is behind this pending crisis.
Surely a substantial Department of Social Development budget has now to be tabled and approved .If then there is a problem National Treasury must release funds to avert a national welfare disaster. We cant afford a crisis in the professional care of the children and young persons at risk in South Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment