In 1994, racial domination in the form of apartheid ended in South Africa and the first postapartheid government was elected through a non-racial and democratic franchise. The new government inherited an entrenched system of racial inequality as well as widespread poverty amongst the formerly oppressed population, and it sought to address these challenges through policies of redistribution based on a new progressive constitution which emphasised the realisation of socio-economic rights. At the same time, and despite its redistributive measures, the post-apartheid government has pursued a macro-economic strategy with pronounced neoliberal dimensions. One of its critical redistributive measures focuses on social assistance to poor blacks, and this has entailed the construction and expansion of a massive social grant system including the child support grant which is received by millions of black South Africans on a monthly basis. The objective of this thesis is to examine and understand the livelihoods of child support grant recipients (or caregivers) in the context of conditions of extreme vulnerability marked by poverty. It does so by focusing on the small town of Riebeek East located in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Though undoubtedly child support grant caregivers are victims of poverty, the thesis demonstrates that they are not without agency. They exist in structural conditions of vulnerability and poverty, but they nevertheless seek to manoeuvre and negotiate their way in and through their conditions of existence. This does not necessarily alleviate their poverty in any significant manner but it does show evidence of reflexivity, decision-making and responsibility in the pursuit of livelihood practices and outcomes. In making this argument, I draw upon the mega-theory of Margaret Archer (specifically, her morphogenetic approach) and the more middle-level perspective of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. Beyond contributing to the prevailing academic literature on the child support grant in South Africa, this thesis also hopefully makes a small contribution to controversies about structure and agency within sociology.

The aim of this study was to determine the ability and proficiency of the newly qualified professional nurses in utilising psychiatric nursing skills at Chris Hani District Psychiatric Health Care Services in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The research method was a qualitative, phenomenological approach. A purposive sample of newly qualified professional nurses and supervisors participated in the study. The data were collected through interviews and focus group discussions, using semi – structured interview guides. Interviews responses were recorded on the interview guide. Data were analysed using the computer software Atlas ti and manually. Positive and negative themes were identified. Ethical considerations were ensured by means of privacy, anonymity and confidentiality. Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Fort Hare and permission from the Provincial Department of Health and Chris Hani District Health and Mental Health Institution at Queenstown was sought. The findings revealed that newly qualified professional nurses performed well, according to the perception of their supervisors. Newly qualified professional nurses were faced with challenges such as shortage of resources, mental illness not considered as a priority and lack of skills development. The study also revealed that newly qualified professional nurses focussed on the curative aspect of ailments, rather than preventive care. However community health workers (CHW) focussed on the preventive aspect of care. Limitations and recommendations based on the findings of the study are presented.

MPH / Department of Public Health / See the attached abstract below

Mental illness remains one of the most devastating condition affecting the social functioning of individuals and families. The affected individuals and their caregivers expressed dissatisfaction in mental health service delivery. The mental health system is medically oriented and does not involve caregivers as partners in the provision of mental health services. Although the developmental approach has been adopted to guide the provision of services recognising human rights and social justice, the medical model remains a challenge in the provision of comprehensive mental health services. This is compounded by the Mental Health Care Act (Act No. 17 of 2002) that is silent on the role of families in the mental health system. Additionally, social workers are unable to provide adequate services due to lack of resources. A qualitative study using the exploratory, descriptive and contextual designs was undertaken. Purposive sampling was used to select 28 participants from three groups, namely ten MHCUs, nine caregivers and nine social workers. The goals of the study were to understand the experiences of MHCUs, caregivers and social workers in mental health service delivery; and to proffer guidelines for social work practice to enhance partnership between the family and mental health care providers. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysed according to Tesch’s (in Creswell, 2009:186; 2014) framework. Data verification was guided by Lincoln and Guba’s (in Krefting, 1991:214-222) model to enhance trustworthiness. The findings suggest that MHCUs and caregivers received inadequate psychosocial support which is attributed to lack of involvement in service delivery. Furthermore, social workers lack adequate training to provide effective mental health care. As a result, guidelines were developed for the establishment and enhancement of partnership between families and mental health service providers to offer comprehensive and sustainable mental health services. Future exploration of the role of the family in mental health services is required. / Social Work / D. Phil. (Social Work)

A family is a basic unit of society. Among the many functions that are performed by a family, is the task of providing for its children's needs while simultaneously transmitting the society's way of life. The functioning of the family takes place through a parent-child relationship. It is therefore significant for the family to carry out parental tasks in order to give a sense of security, a sense of companion and belonging, a sense of responsibility, sense of purpose and direction to its members. Although there are many factors that pose a threat to family functioning, the scourge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic cannot be underestimated. As the disease has advanced over time, it has negatively impinged on the children's lives. Children are losing their parents to HIV/AIDS opportunistic illnesses and this has resulted in the burgeoning of child-headed households. The phenomenon of a child-headed household presents a shift from a structural family since a significant subsystem of a family (i.e the parental subsystem) is non-existent. The study presents an in-depth investigation into the social functioning of a child-headed household. The aim was to come to a better understanding about issues that surround households that are headed by children. The social institutions with whom the household co-exists have been scrutinised in order to determine the ways in which these institutions impact upon the social functioning of child-headed households. The study highlights that child-headed households are a deviation from the norm and they create a situation where needs of children are unmet and their rights are eroded. The role of social work in mobilising resources to meet the unmet needs and championing for the rights of the children has been investigated. Case studies of ten families were conducted in the three districts of KwaZulu-Natal an area in South Africa that has widely been reported as hardest hit by the pandemic. A research team was constituted which designed a protocol for conducting case studies and collected data. Social workers also participated in the study with an aim of exploring guidelines for social service delivery with regard to a child-headed household. The study found that children are increasingly exposed to aspects of multiple care-giving through lack of parental care and a changing family structure. It was also revealed that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is shattering children's lives and reversing many hard won children's rights. In spite of the transition in the family life cycle, the family remains the central institution in the children's lives. The scourge of HIV/AIDS poses a great challenge to society. Children are left on their own without visible means of support. The problems of children develop into great magnitude in spite of policies that are in place. The findings of the study point to implications for a practice model that is aimed at co-ordinating services for effective service delivery. The researcher has presented suggested guidelines based on the findings of the study. These guidelines include the role of social work in ensuring that the social functioning of the children in child-headed households is enhanced and that social justice for these children is promoted. A protocol for intervention in child-headed households is provided. This would ensure that interventions in bringing about desired change in the lives of the children, produce sustainable results on a significant scale. / Social work / D. Phil.(Social Work)

The study sought to explore professional nurses' perceptions of the roles of home and community-based carers in the Capricorn district of the Limpopo province as well as the problems they experienced and make recommendations to improve the quality of home and community-based care. A qualitative approach with non-probability, purposeful sampling was used in this study. The sample consisted of professional nurses serving as focal points for home-based care in the area of the study. The findings indicated that professional nurses believe that carers have a role in providing care to the community and serve as the extended hands of their services. However, challenges exist, which impact on the quality of service delivery. Recommendations included the strengthening of existing elements, such as improving relationships, communication, and the care of carer's programme, carer training, reporting, and monitoring and carer distribution. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The scourge of HIV/AIDS is ravaging our communities; many children have lost their parents to this pandemic. The death of parents because of this pandemic has resulted in the emergence of a new phenomenon of child-headed households. This paper seeks to examine the rights of children in child-headed households as entrenched in section 28(1)(b) and (c) of the Constitution. Once the rights of children in child-headed households are ascertained, the state’s duty to give effect to these rights is investigated. In the analysis of the rights, the socio-economic rights jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court is considered. The paper further argues that the state gives effect to the rights of children in child-headed households through legislation and policy. As such, the paper takes a closer look at the legislation and policies that seek to give effect to the rights of children in child-headed households as enumerated in section 28(1)(b) and (c) and gaps in that legislation and policy are highlighted. In conclusion, proposals are made that will assist the state to give effect to the rights of children in child-headed households as set out in the Constitution. / Private Law / LL.M.

Placement of orphans under kinship foster care is a common occurrence in social work practice, especially around Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga Province. Social workers are facing the challenge of an alarming increase in foster care cases due to the HIV and AIDS pandemic in the area. Thus the social workers are trapped in a situation of having to place orphans in kinship foster care, without adequate preparation nor the opportunity to explore the feelings and experiences of being in a child-headed household. This study aimed at exploring and describing the experiences and expectations of orphans who were in charge of child-headed households, regarding their preparation for being placed in kinship foster care and their subsequent placement in such care. Research findings revealed that some orphaned children who had previously been heading a child-headed household and were now placed in kinship foster care were continuing to head the households despite the fact that an order had been issued by the children’s court for them to be under the care and guidance of kin foster parents. The non-involvement of orphaned heads of households in any decisions that affect them emerged in the findings of the study as a critical issue. Another important finding was that some orphaned children in kinship foster care experienced the abuse of the foster care grant by their kin foster parents. The research study has made provision for conclusions and recommendations to all role-players responsible for placing child-headed households in kinship foster care in order to enhance the efficacy of kin foster care placement. / Department of Social Work / M.A. (Social Science (Mental Health))

A family is a basic unit of society. Among the many functions that are performed by a family, is the task of providing for its children's needs while simultaneously transmitting the society's way of life. The functioning of the family takes place through a parent-child relationship. It is therefore significant for the family to carry out parental tasks in order to give a sense of security, a sense of companion and belonging, a sense of responsibility, sense of purpose and direction to its members. Although there are many factors that pose a threat to family functioning, the scourge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic cannot be underestimated. As the disease has advanced over time, it has negatively impinged on the children's lives. Children are losing their parents to HIV/AIDS opportunistic illnesses and this has resulted in the burgeoning of child-headed households. The phenomenon of a child-headed household presents a shift from a structural family since a significant subsystem of a family (i.e the parental subsystem) is non-existent. The study presents an in-depth investigation into the social functioning of a child-headed household. The aim was to come to a better understanding about issues that surround households that are headed by children. The social institutions with whom the household co-exists have been scrutinised in order to determine the ways in which these institutions impact upon the social functioning of child-headed households. The study highlights that child-headed households are a deviation from the norm and they create a situation where needs of children are unmet and their rights are eroded. The role of social work in mobilising resources to meet the unmet needs and championing for the rights of the children has been investigated. Case studies of ten families were conducted in the three districts of KwaZulu-Natal an area in South Africa that has widely been reported as hardest hit by the pandemic. A research team was constituted which designed a protocol for conducting case studies and collected data. Social workers also participated in the study with an aim of exploring guidelines for social service delivery with regard to a child-headed household. The study found that children are increasingly exposed to aspects of multiple care-giving through lack of parental care and a changing family structure. It was also revealed that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is shattering children's lives and reversing many hard won children's rights. In spite of the transition in the family life cycle, the family remains the central institution in the children's lives. The scourge of HIV/AIDS poses a great challenge to society. Children are left on their own without visible means of support. The problems of children develop into great magnitude in spite of policies that are in place. The findings of the study point to implications for a practice model that is aimed at co-ordinating services for effective service delivery. The researcher has presented suggested guidelines based on the findings of the study. These guidelines include the role of social work in ensuring that the social functioning of the children in child-headed households is enhanced and that social justice for these children is promoted. A protocol for intervention in child-headed households is provided. This would ensure that interventions in bringing about desired change in the lives of the children, produce sustainable results on a significant scale. / Social work / D. Phil.(Social Work)

The study sought to explore professional nurses' perceptions of the roles of home and community-based carers in the Capricorn district of the Limpopo province as well as the problems they experienced and make recommendations to improve the quality of home and community-based care. A qualitative approach with non-probability, purposeful sampling was used in this study. The sample consisted of professional nurses serving as focal points for home-based care in the area of the study. The findings indicated that professional nurses believe that carers have a role in providing care to the community and serve as the extended hands of their services. However, challenges exist, which impact on the quality of service delivery. Recommendations included the strengthening of existing elements, such as improving relationships, communication, and the care of carer's programme, carer training, reporting, and monitoring and carer distribution. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)