Foster care as a form of substitute care in the black community : an exploratory-descriptive study
- Authors: Sishuta, Happy Babalwa
- Date: 1996
- Subjects: Foster home care -- South Africa , Kinship care -- South Africa , Children, Black -- Services for -- South Africa , Black people -- Services for -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3282 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006505 , Foster home care -- South Africa , Kinship care -- South Africa , Children, Black -- Services for -- South Africa , Black people -- Services for -- South Africa
- Description: Kinship care is increasingly supplementing the more traditional forms of out-of-home care. Because related foster care has potential great value, the possibility of placement with relatives needs to be explored first. At its best it provides the child love and security with known people and possibly in a familiar environment. Yet, important as it is, this area of practice is seriously underdeveloped - few publications especially in South Africa exist on how children fare in this arrangement. This situation exists in spite of the fact that many children find themselves in both legal as well as privately arranged related foster care placements. Equally of course no comprehensive study has been undertaken to study the black family's perception of formal foster care and their adjustment to formal foster care practice which for many is a new encounter in their lives. More clarity on these issues pertaining to kinship care will not only improve our understanding but can lead to a better service. Socio-political influences have weakened the mutual aid system in African families. This has resulted in needs· and problems which the African family find it difficult to deal with. This has prompted families to make use of non-family support particularly services from specialized and other welfare agencies. Formal foster care is a foreign practice to the black community as a result of their tradition and custom. It offers a new method of coping with child care problems and indicates a shift from the conventional patterns among South African blacks. As a result there is often confusion and a lack of understanding, making the community not to make proper use of this service. This study is exploratory-descriptive. The sample comprised thirty foster parents. The main objective of this study was to investigate the nature and practice of formal foster care in the black community with specific emphasis on related foster care and its perception. The study has raised a number of issues for practice and policy consideration. Notable findings were: the need to (1) promote much more active involvement of foster parents, foster child and their families (2) educate the community about foster care (3) prepare, train, support and supervise foster parents. The study revealed that these placements have become indistinguishable from natural parenthood and the foster children have become absorbed into the foster family. A need exists for permanency planning in foster care. It is hoped that the research findings will contribute to the existing body of knowledge and that more studies will be undertaken in future.
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The impact of the mentally retarded child on the family living in the rural areas of the Transkei
- Authors: Sipambo, Sindiswa
- Date: 1995
- Subjects: Children with mental disabilities -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Family relationships , Children with mental disabilities -- Family relationships
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3281 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006502 , Children with mental disabilities -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Family relationships , Children with mental disabilities -- Family relationships
- Description: This research was designed to do four things: first to discover what problems face caregivers who bring up handicapped children in their own homes; second, what community resources are available or which should be available to assist the mentally retarded and his family to cope with the problem; third, social policy measures available through the Transkei government, e.g. single care grant and disability grant and under what conditions are they available and whether other resources/services are available, and fourth, to find out from caregivers themselves how well the social services, although limited which are intended to help them and their children work in practice, more specifically in rural areas especially when community and public sector measures are highly circumscribed. The lack of resources for mentally retarded children and their families in Transkei and particularly the Sterkspruit district raised some questions in the researcher's mind on how to rear a mentally retarded child in this area. Data was gathered from a sample of all mentally retarded children who are single care grant recipients. The subjects were the mothers of these children or the present custodian about the time of the study. Information was also gathered from the social workers in the district mainly from their case files in the office. The sample was sufficient for the study to be meaningful and well represented and to eliminate guesses and assumptions about the lives of mentally handicapped children and their families. Findings reveal that caring for a mentally retarded child is a demanding task with varying levels of stress. Families of the retarded, in general, tend to have more problems in individual and marital adjustment, child-rearing practices, and sibling relationship. They are significantly affected - socially, economically and emotionally - by mental retardation. Support systems both formal and informal, were a great single source of help for these families for them to cope with these children. Recommendations for better quality of life for both the handicapped child and his family are given in the last chapter, and they are most suitable for undertaking by the Welfare and Education Departments. It is not the purpose of this study to give advice to parents on how to bring up their handicapped children. Often using the mothers' own words, the researcher only presents the picture given by the parents themselves of how they actually learn to live with a handicapped child
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The role of the industrial social worker in corporate community relations
- Authors: Harnett, Claire F
- Date: 1993
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:21091 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6342
- Description: This research study is a qualitative investigation of the role of the industrial social worker in corporate community relations. The research study was undertaken by means of mailed questionnaires. Two different populations were utilized, namely corporations known to practice corporate social responsibility and corporations employing industrial social workers. As a background to the research, relations is defined and its Furthermore, the contribution of relations in the realization of a corporate development community traced. corporate community government-business partnership to address community social problems, is discussed. Lastly, in an attempt to demonstrate that the social worker can indeed play a role in corporate community relations, the extent to which corporate community relations goals and approaches correspond with the community organization model of social work practice, is examined. The purpose of the empirical part of the research study was to determine what form community relations has taken in South Africa and the role that the industrial social worker assumes in this regard. From the findings it appears that there is a focus on philanthropic activities and less direct corporate involvement in creating new resources. Industrial social workers involvement in this function was limited. They primarily assumed the roles of consultant and expert. Although these social workers' have laid the ground work for expansion of the industrial social worker's role, it appears that development has been more serendipitous than rationally planned. It appears from the findings that the potential does exist for industrial social workers to assist the corporation to expand its social responsibility programme, and in so doing expand their practice to include macro level intervention strategies. Based on these assumptions, it is suggested that further in-depth research is carried out to establish what strategies are being employed by industrial social workers to expand their roles, it appears that there is a need to assist the industrial social worker to adopt a rationally planned approach in order to assume a greater role in the corporation's social responsibility activities internally and externally.
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Family planning : an evaluative study on the attitudes and use of contraceptives by black males in Umtata
- Authors: Madikizela, Nosinodi Alicia
- Date: 1989
- Subjects: Birth control -- South Africa -- Transkei , Transkei (South Africa) -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3278 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006454 , Birth control -- South Africa -- Transkei , Transkei (South Africa) -- Social conditions
- Description: The purpose of this study is to identify, observe and record the attitudes and use to of contraceptives by black males in Umtata and to investigate the effect of education, urbanisation and age on fertility control. Data was gathered from a sample of adult males who were past the school going age and were employed or working in Umtata and its surburbs, which are Ngangelizwe, Ikwezi, Southernwood, Northcrest, Norwood, Ncambedlana, Nduli Crescent, Fortgale and Hill Crest. Information was also gathered from Nursing officers in charge of family planning service centres in the areas mentioned above. Findings reveal that, although black urbanised educated males in Umtata seem to have accepted the use of contraceptives by themselves and their sexual partners, their patterns of behaviour in relation to fertility control and the value of children to families remains traditional. This contributes to the relatively high fertility rate in the country. Children are an investment for old age. They are also regarded as a security factor against divorce. It is the duty of legally married couples to raise a family with children who will continue to bear the family name. It appears that men are either suspicious of modern contraception if not totally opposed to it. Many still prefer the use of natural methods of contraception. There is thus need for social workers and health planners to recognise and educate males on the use and benefits of modern contraceptives to limit the number of children borne and control periods when they would like to have children. This study will be of value to social welfare services and to family planning nurses who are in direct contact with clients in hospitals and clinics, in their family planning campaigns, when they motivate couples and individuals on the importance of family planning, and also in mother-and-child health services. Educationists, sociologists, psychologists and persons in other fields of study will also benefit from information attained in this survey.
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