July/August 2008

Contents

• Editorial - Merle Allsopp
• Raising Children in a Global Village: Lessons from South Africa - Merle Allsopp
• Behaviour Management Checklist
• On Courage and Commitment- stories from isibindi projects - Nonkanyiso Dlamini
• Therapeutic interventions for Children with Impairment - Katrin Auf der Heyde
• GAMES
• Youth Focus - Francisco Cornelius
• Personal Values in Child and Youth Care Work - Zeni Thumbadoo
• A Better Future for Children Today - Merle Allsopp
• What are We Doind Today? - Lesiba Molepo
• Khululeka - Grief Support for Children and Youth
• Personality Profile - Jonathan Gelderbloem
• Dear Doctor - Michelle Meiring
• Discretionary Grants: The What, Who and How - Sandra Oosthuizen
• Child Justice Bill Passed! - Child Justice Alliance
• Students - Jackie Winfield

Editorial : Setting the Record Straight

By Merle Allsopp

Times of uncertainty and controversy spawn rumor. This is a fact. When people are not sure of what is happening around them they ‘fill in the blanks’. Conjecture on the part of one person is repeated by another, and another, and gradually even outlandish stories become seen as absolute reality! Sometimes untruths are deliberately fed into communication networks to suit the agendas of particular individuals engaged in complexities. All of this can complicate difficult circumstances further, cause unnecessary offense and deepen divisions between parties involved.

The social service professions (I include child and youth care work and social work in this category) are going through times of real complexity, struggle and uncertainty. I think all in the field of child and youth care work thought that when the Professional Board for Child and Youth Care was elected and inaugurated, the long fought-for goal of regulating the profession was within sight. It is now evident that this is not quite the case. Regulations submitted to the Minister by the SACSSP allow for the regulation of child and youth care workers at auxiliary level only - to the great consternation of many child and youth care workers who have written in protest to Minister Skweyiya. These are certainly times of uncertainty …and controversy!

As is predictable, we see in the midst of this our fair share of misinterpretation and misinformation. One iniquitous and destructive perception being created is that the field of child and youth care work is somehow ‘anti’ social work! Where this comes from I am not sure, but it is a rumor that must immediately be scotched. The fact that we are fighting for recognition as a profession does not mean that we are in any way against any other social service profession - least of all social work, the profession child and youth care workers work alongside of most intimately. The fact that child and youth care work is, across the globe, seeking recognition, regulation and the responsibility that goes along with this does not in any way point to a deficit or lack in the social work profession.

Worrying is that I have been asked by the President of the SACSSP to stop saying bad things about social workers in these editorials. Some research into past editorials leaves me puzzled as to how such a perception has arisen - for I see nothing disparaging about social work anywhere! Even more worrying was that I was told (I was not at the meeting so did not hear it with my own ears!) that one of the SACSSP representatives who met with child and youth care workers in the provinces recently also said that this publication was critical of social work. I do know that some colleagues from both social work and child and youth care work were offended by the rather baldly critical statements made about us as social service professionals by some of the youth conference delegates at the last NACCW biennial conference. My perception is that these young people were rather even-handed in their criticism of the professions - and surely we ought all to be robust enough to take this kind of challenge from the young people we serve?

The danger of this perception is that if left to spread, it can only breed unnecessary animosity - in an already tense situation. The NACCW has, throughout its history, included people trained in either social work or child and youth care work. Never have I experienced a shred of confusion in our ranks on this issue. At key junctures the struggle for recognition of child and youth care work has been actively led by social workers! We have always believed that there is room for child and youth care work to grow as a profession - in the context of social work being a ‘veteran’ social service profession continuing its crucial work. Right now we are being called upon to rise above rumor and misinformation. Child and youth care workers and social workers are working in synergy across the country, delivering quality services to children and families in every province - through the synergy forged by mutual professional respect, and often in the context of great commitment to the greater good. For the sake of the greater good, let us all, in word and deed, set the record straight. The struggle for the recognition and professionalisation of child and youth care work has never been and never will be linked to any perception about the value of social work. Our struggle has always been to ensure the clients of child and youth care workers are serviced by people adequately trained and sufficiently guided to meet their complex needs. We struggle towards something not against anybody…