ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR CHILDREN IN ALTERNATIVE CARE

NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (DSD)

ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR CHILDREN IN ALTERNATIVE CARE

ASSESSMENT TOOL & TRAINING GUIDE

Building a Caring Society. Together

Building a Caring Society. Together

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The process of developing an assessment tool for children in alternative care began in June 2012. The Department of Social Development (DSD) wishes to recognise the individuals and organisations that contributed to the development of the assessment tool for children in alternative care, the critical role played by the service provider, National Department of Social Development and UNICEF. Special acknowledgement goes to Theresa Wilson for her contribution to the development and enhancement of the tool in 2012.

TOOL FOR ASSESSMENT OF CHILDREN IN ALTERNATIVE CARE V2 3

Building a Caring Society. Together

ACRONYMS

ACRWC CP CFC CYCC DSD ECD HIV ID IDP RSA UNCRC UNICEF

African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children Care Plan Cluster Foster Care Child and Youth Care Centre Department of Social Development Early Childhood Development Human Immunodeficiency Virus Identity document ndividual Development Plan Republic of South Africa United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child United Nations Children's Fund

4

TOOL FOR ASSESSMENT OF CHILDREN IN ALTERNATIVE CARE V2

DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS

Alternative Care It is defined as a placement either in foster care; a Child and Youth Care Centre (CYCC) or temporary safe care following an order made in respect of the Children's Court or Child Justice Act.

Assessment Assessment can be defined as a process and a product. As a process, assessment involves the gathering, analysing and synthesizing of information to provide a concise picture of people's needs and strengths, within their unique circumstances. As a product, assessment results in an actual formulation or statement regarding the nature of a person's circumstances and other related factors at a given time (Hepworth et al., 2012).

According to the Children's Act assessment of a child means a process of investigating the developmental needs of a child, including his/her family environment or any other circumstances that may have a bearing on a child's need for protection and therapeutic services. Child

A child according to the Children's Act and Section 28 of the Constitution is defined as any person under the age of 18 years.

Cluster Foster Care Cluster foster care (CFC) as defined in the Children's Act, is the reception of children in foster care in accordance with a cluster foster care scheme registered by the provincial head of social development.

Foster Care According to the Act, this is the care of a child by a person who is not the parent or guardian of the child as a result of an order of the Children's Court.

Child and Youth Care Centre According to the Act, this is a setting that provides residential care to more than six (6) children outside the child's family environment in accordance with a residential programme suited for the children in the setting.

Child Protection According to UNICEF (2006), this "refers to preventing and responding to violence, [neglect], exploitation and abuse against children-including commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation/ cutting and child marriage."

Child Protection Services These are legally sanctioned interventions for the protection of children who are alleged or confirmed to be in need of care and protection (South African Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, 2011, p. 3).

TOOL FOR ASSESSMENT OF CHILDREN IN ALTERNATIVE CARE V2 5

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download