NELSPRUIT – Many children living in the Lowveld are still not being kept safe by the authorities who are supposed to protect and look after them.
A glaring shortage of social workers working in the government and non-profit sectors are gradually leading to unrealistic case loads that simply does not allow these social workers to reach all of the children assigned to them. Local social workers have said that the weight of caseloads they have to deal with on a daily basis is unrealistic, too demanding and places too much strain on their work and personal lives.
In the end it is the children who suffer.
Lowvelder received several complaints regarding the local Christian Social Council (CMR), claiming that their cases are simply not seen to. “The problem is that the relevant social worker is currently working on approximately 200 cases,” explained Ms Anita Brits, secretary at CMR. According to the department of social development (DSD), the current international norm for population to social worker ratio is 5 000 to 1. If taken into consideration that the ideal caseload per worker is 60 cases, it is a staggering amount. The more realistic ration of 60 to 1 was developed in an integrated service delivery model developed in 2005.
DSD confirmed that they employed only 466 social workers in this province. The non-profit organisations (NPOs) in Mpumalanga do not really add to that figure by having only about 184 employed ones.
This means that Mpumalanga has a shocking 5 626 people for every one social worker employed by NPOs.
But what does this mean for the families waiting for answers regarding their children’s emotional wellbeing?
One of the complainants told Lowvelder that their case has been dragging for about 20 months already. The stepmother explained that her husband’s children from a previous marriage stay with their mother. She said that they were concerned about the children’s wellbeing as they showed signs of post traumatic stress and were apparently also bullied at school. “We can never reach the social worker and don’t know what else to do anymore.”
A CMR worker explained that in the abovementioned case the plaintiff lived outside of the relevant social worker’s area. “Children’s development during play therapy is confidential and can not be divulged to parents to be used.” She added that the plaintiff apparently also did not follow the correct procedures.
Another couple’s child has been moved to live with his grandmother in Nelspruit. There seems to be several sides to the story of how he was placed in his grandmother’s care. The parents had in the meantime split up. The grandmother applied for parental rights but the mother said she was never informed about the court date. She also claims that her son was moved without her consent. “I can never get hold of the social worker to assist me.”
Brits however said that the parents were informed of the court date and that the child was never removed by the social worker but that the parents left their son in his grandmother’s care. This case is still pending in the Nelspruit Child Court.
A third plaintiff in desperation turned to the media for help. “The mother got divorced in June 2012 and had a nervous breakdown. CMR got involved and the children were placed with foster parents,” a family friend said. “The foster mother is friends with the relevant social worker, and she has not been adhering to the court order.” He added that the mother was not allowed to see her children for almost two months and when she eventually fought to see them, the one little girl arrived with a swollen eye and what looked like bitemarks on her arms.
The foster mother apparently said the child’s eye was swollen from allergies. “That little girl has never been allergic to anything! And some of these explanations just does not make sense!” the mother’s friend said.
Lowvelder saw photographs of the child’s face and arms, and the bite marks are very visible. The petite little girl’s one eye is swollen almost shut and there is blue bruising around the eye and cheek area. Despite several attempts by the mother to have this investigated by CMR, she claims that nothing has been done.
“Yes, we are aware of the case and we are in the process of following up on it,” Brits said.
She admitted that it is difficult to get hold of this social worker but blamed this on her large work load and the fact that she is often in court. “She is currently the only social worker in the area with knowledge of forensics. We have already requested that no more cases be assigned to her but the recommendations just pour in.”
According to CMR this year:
• 25 children court investigations were finalised
• 49 foster parents approved
• 91 families received therapy
• 16 battered/abused children were seen to
• 29 sexually molested children were seen to
• 34 neglected children were seen to
• 9 children were placed back in their parents’s care
