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97 TUESDAY, 7 OCTOBER 2008
98
rendered in each province and (c) by
whom to (d) how many childheaded
households? NW1596E
The MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOP-
MENT:
(1) DSD has not yet ascertained the number
of orphaned families that are
headed by teenagers as a result of the
death of parents because of illness,
however, hereunder follows the number
of child-headed households (CHH)
per provinces that received services
within home-based care for the period
April 2007-March 2008:
Province Number of CHH
Eastern Cape 610
Free State 714
Gauteng 4 828
KwaZulu-Natal 12 381
Limpopo 176
Mpumalanga 2 951
Northern Cape 93
North West 1 623
Western Cape 522
Total 23 898
(2) Yes, CHH including the families
headed by teenagers as a result of death
of parents because of illness do receive
assistance from the state. The services
rendered to them are guided by Child
Care Act, Act 74 of 1983 as amended.
Presently children in child-headed
households (including orphaned families
that are headed by teenagers) are
regarded as children in need of care
according to the Child Care Act, Act 74
of 1983 as amended. After identifying
each and every child-headed household,
it is assessed by social workers
who would then provide either statutory
services or community based services.
The type of service that needs to
be rendered to the family will then be
informed by the outcome of the assessment.
Statutory services rendered to the
CHH’s families are as follows:
— Therapeutic counselling where the
family members are motivated to
learn and understand their individual
and different situations; and
also learn to live with it.
— Alternative placement where children,
who are keen to be removed
and be placed in alternative care,
that is foster care or residential
care, are removed and be placed
accordingly. Both foster care and
residential placements are court
ordered by the local magisterial
court after the social worker has
investigated the situation and recommended
the suitable placement
to the court.
— Adult supervisory arrangement,
where an adult in the nearby surrounding
is identified to provide
the family with parental care and
guidance regularly. The adult supervisor
is staying at her or his
respective home, but keeps constant
supervision to the family.
This is an out of court settlement,
but the social worker is expected
to provide the overall supervision.
— In situations where children are on
their own without any adult supervision,
the family is linked with
the local home community-based
care centres.
— Poor relief in a form of food
parcels (as a temporary intervention
whilst the social worker is
planning for a permanent intervention)
is provided to childheaded
households.
Community-based care services are
rendered in drop-in centres or home