Child Welfare in dire need of public funding

The Department of Social Development has funded the organisation with R1 573 652, but this is not enough to sustain the society’s needs.

At the moment the organisation needs to raise an additional R2 028 718 through its charity shop and public donations.

“Our forecast budget for 2014/15 reflects a deficit of R600 000,” said Celest van Niekerk, board member of Benoni Child Welfare, who was acting chairperson for the board.

Thebe Mohatle, from the Department of Social Development, said the society is allocated funds according to subsidy scales.

“The non-profit organisation is expected to augment the subsidy with other sources of income, such as sponsorships from the private sector.

“This is the premise of the partnership between the organisation and the department,” said Mohatle.

And, according to van Niekerk, the department claims they do not have the budget to provide funding at a higher level, because they have to consider new applications.

“This year we only received an increase of four per cent, however, there is no mandated annual increase awarded and we have, on a number of occasions, received no increase at all,” said van Niekerk.

The services provided by the welfare include;

•  Foster care screening, supervision, investigation, prevention and treatment of physical, sexual and emotional abuse of children.
•  Counselling and guidance to families where children are exhibiting behaviour that can not be controlled by parents.
•  Placement of abandoned children and HIV positive children.
•  Community projects such as poverty alleviation.
•  Foster parent support groups, parenting skills groups, awareness programmes for foster children.

Training support facility for tertiary institutions, social work and psychology students.

Without enough funding the welfare can not provide proper services to the community.

“Underfunding results in the community being deprived of valuable welfare services such as awareness campaigns, holiday and life skill programmes for children,” said van Niekerk.

The welfare is currently facing an abundance of cases with few social workers to handle them.

Van Niekerk said the department states that each social worker should be given 80 cases and a maximum of 150 cases.

“With 2 816 families in our are, the case load translates to 400 cases per social worker, which effectively limits optimal service rendering,” she said.

As the welfare is funded per social worker, they will not retrench any of its staff.

But the number of services rendered would have to be reduced.

“The availability of social workers in satellite offices, in disadvantaged areas, would have to be reduced to minimise operational costs,” said van Niekerk.

To raise funds the board is arranging a number of fundraising initiatives, such as selling badges in support of the 16 Days of Activism campaign at the annual Toy Run.

Newly-appointed chairperson of the board, Mary Goby, acknowledged that the board has a big task ahead as they try to keep the welfare funded.

“It is a big task that the new board members have on their hands, but we are willing to push all the way so that the Benoni Child Welfare is there for children in need.

The children are the future and we, as the adults of today, need to protect them in anyway,” said Goby.

If any member of the public would like be a Benoni Child Welfare member, it costs R100 per annum and R3 000 for a lifetime.

“If you are a member you are not required to do anything, but you are more than welcome to be involved if you want to,” said Goby.

Sponsorships and donations of unwanted household items, toys, toiletries, cleaning products, home and office furniture and clothes are welcome, and can be delivered to the Benoni Child Welfare Office, on 1 Third Avenue, Northmead.

To assist contact the Benoni Child Welfare on 011 849 5241.