October 2007

Editorial : Making A Difference

By Merle Allsopp

I met with a group of child and youth care people from the USA a little while ago who expressed a sense of wistfulness, and perhaps even envy, about aspects of our situation here in South Africa. They said that they felt that their country the way things happen with children is governed by so many laws and policies, each connected with the other, that they feel hamstrung in really influencing and bringing about change in the system of children’s services. In our country on the other hand, they saw evidence of ordinary social service practitioners - us - have a real possibility of helping to improve service delivery to vulnerable and at-risk children.

And this month I have a real sense of this as we see the Children’s Bill process - so very long a process that it has been - coming to fruition.

Ten years have passed since the decision was made to produce a comprehensive legislative framework for children. In that time we the people, we the practitioners, we the service recipients have thought about what this legislation should say and do for children. We have articulated our points, sometimes hesitantly, growing in confidence as we give voice to our thoughts in our new, democratic world. Some of us have fiercely argued our points in many different forums, using every opportunity to get the best we possibly can for children in this new deal. We have demonstrated our services to MPs. We have provided the context for children to tell things as only children can - directly from the heart of the experience of suffering.

As a result of the collective views of many being considered, some very dramatic policy shifts have been made. For instance, street children are seen in this Bill as children in need of care and protection, and not as somehow deserving of lesser services than others. There are many more aspects of the Bill that we should celebrate, and as Lucy Jamison and Paula Proudlock from the Children’s Institute say, the Bill “incorporates a number of creative solutions to ensure that services can cope with the huge increase in demand” (see pages 10 - 12 of this issue).

And on the note of creative new solutions, this issue covers the story of the launch of the country’s first child and youth care agency, custom-built for the purposes of providing community-based child and youth care services! Not only are we able to influence policy for children, but this event demonstrates how our field is steadily moving forward in making ‘creative new solutions’ a reality for children.

Hats off to the partners that have made this happen, including the Department of Social Services and Population Development; hats off to the child and youth care workers across the country who are pioneering community-based service delivery - already doing what the Bill makes provision for; and hats off to all the colleagues who have taken the trouble in either small or great ways to speak up on the matter of policy for South Africa’s children. ‘We’ impacted on the way South Africa will deal with children for decades to come. I think the American colleagues were right - we can make a difference!