Developing social policy for children in the context of HIV/AIDS:

Children’s Institute, University of Cape Town, & Community Agency for Social Enquiry, December 2008
rights that would accompany an adoption. The Department of Social Development wants to
encourage more people to adopt children. The financial test in the Child Care Act, that
prevented willing people from adopting children simply because they (the prospective
adopters) lacked financial means, has therefore not been included in the Children's Act.
Adoption offers children added security and gives the adoptive parents total control over
the child who is no longer a ward of the state. However, the loss of the FCG effectively
creates a financial penalty and is a strong deterrent to potential adoptive parents to taking
on the additional responsibilities.
The profile of grant beneficiaries and children by De Koker et al (2006) illustrates the extent
to which the foster child grant currently serves as a poverty alleviation measure rather than
support for children in need of care as a result of neglect, abuse or abandonment.
Given western conceptions of what constitutes a ‘family,’ and the link between marriage
and parenting, it is interesting to note that 24% of foster parents have never been married
and that only 50% were married or co‐habiting at the time of the study. In reality, and in
contrast to western conceptions, the nuclear family is not the norm in South Africa, where
large numbers of women are bringing up their children without their fathers, even when
fathers are still alive. De Koker et al also found that nearly two‐thirds of caregivers had
received the FCG for less than four years, which in part reflects the rapidly increasing takeup.
Over three‐quarters (78%) said that grants were their only source of income, and more
than half received other grants in addition to the FCG.
The survey on which the De Koker et al analysis was based showed high numbers of
beneficiary children living with extended families. It showed that, nationally, nearly one in
five (18%) foster children lived with their foster parents since birth. In over two‐fifths (41%)
of cases, the foster parent was the child’s grandmother, while it was the aunt in 30% of
cases. Only 9% of foster parents were not related to the child. The Western Cape was an
exception in this respect, with 36% of foster parents unrelated to the child. This could
reflect a combination of factors – stricter application of ‘rules’ in the Western Cape, a lower
HIV incidence, a smaller African population (and thus less likelihood of extended family
structures), and high levels of substance abuse and crime which could increase the need for
foster care to protect children.
Linking the grant to the HIV/AIDS pandemic is more difficult, but there are some
indications. The survey revealed that in 48% of cases, both parents of the foster child were
deceased. Western Cape was again the exception as the only province in which the majority
of children were not in foster care because of their parents’ death. Instead, the most
common reason was that the parents were not fit to look after their children, with neglect
or abuse the result. A further 21% of Western Cape parents had abandoned their children.
In contrast, in KwaZulu‐Natal, 63% of foster children were reported to be double orphans
(both mother and father deceased). Of equal importance given the limited role played by
many fathers in South Africa, is that in 72% of cases nationally, the mother of the child was
deceased. In more than four‐fifths of cases, respondents said that loss of one or both
parents was the reason that the child was in foster care. Where the father was alive, he
often did not make contact or contribute to the child’s care.
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