The study was carried out at the Mogale Child and Youth Care Centre (MCYCC) a privately run institution by Bosasa Operations in partnership with the Gauteng Provincial Departments of Social Development and Health and Social Welfare Department. The facility caters for boys in conflict with law aged 14–18 years, who have been legally placed in the facility as a place of safety by court order. It is expected that the findings and recommendations from this study will be useful in improving the food service standards for such institutions. At the time of this study there were 200 adolescents, 137 were awaiting trial, 55 on the diversion programmes and 8 were serving court sentence at the centre. The cross sectional study evaluated the food service offered at the MCYCC to establish the nutritional adequacy of the food served. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to collect and analyse data. Out of the 200, 144 answered the customer satisfaction questionnaire and 167 took the BMI test. Observations were done in the kitchen to determine the compliance level to the food and safety regulations. The analytical results of the responses from the self-administered questionnaire on the customer service satisfaction generated by the SAS software revealed reliable results. The probability, (p-value) from the Chi-square (χ2) test showed that there was a significant difference in response the parameters tested including the overall satisfaction. Body Mass Index (BMI) calculations established different anthropometric patterns of which 1.3% adolescents were found to be obese, 28.2% were overweight, 57% had normal weight while 13.5% were found to be underweight. The Foodfinder 3 software used to evaluate the nutrient composition in a 2-week cycle menu revealed that in most cases both the macronutrients and micronutrients in the menus exceeded the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for the adolescent boys. Food safety and hygiene standards results showed that the unit is compliant with the required standards as it scored 86%; it was colour coded Silver and rated as very good. All the parameters evaluated scored above average percentage rating the customer satisfaction level for the services offered at the MCYCC are as good. Both underweight and overweight adolescents exist among the adolescents at the centre. The weights from the sample food plates exceeded the RDA of the adolescent boys. The centre’s compliance to health and safety regulations was rated as very good. The authorities in the Gauteng Provincial Departments of Social Development and Health and Social Welfare and Bosasa operation management should make use of this evident information to further improve the food service standards for other such institutions. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2015 / School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH) / MSc / Unrestricted

Most children born HIV positive live longer and have more healthy lives since the advent of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), together with the accessibility of Anti-Retroviral Drugs (ARV) to persons living with HIV. However, some of those children find themselves in need of care due to abandonment, orphanhood and / or neglect. In South Africa such children may enter the formal Child and Youth Care System and be placed in centres such as Epworth Child and Youth Care Centre. Due to the complex nature of the consequences of such disclosure or non-disclosure of HIV positive children’s status to them, social service workers are posed with a dilemma. In the absence of clear guidelines and policy around such disclosure, the children concerned may be unaware of their HIV positive status, despite being on a medication regime. The aim of the study was to explore the perceptions of social service workers regarding disclosure of HIV status to children born HIV positive living at Epworth Child and Youth Care Centre in Lambton, Ekurhuleni, South Africa. The study was located within a qualitative research paradigm, and utilised a purposive stratified sample of 15 social service workers form various occupational groupings recruited from Epworth Child and Youth Care Centre. A semi-structured interview schedule was employed as the research tool, with in-depth one-on-one interviews being adopted as a method of data collection. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data collected during the interviews. The main findings of the study were that HIV status disclosure is viewed as a complex but essential process as it reinforces children’s ability to adhere to medication regimes and to dispel anxiety and suspicion within themselves and around their status; that non-disclosure may lead to poor or coerced adherence and strains the relationship between the children and the social service workers. Disclosure of children’s HIV positive status can be viewed as complex as it presents both positive and the negative. Recommendations relate to community educative and awareness programmes, policy and practice changes regarding disclosure and none disclosure of children’s HIV positive status, as well as future research.

This study focuses on social workers‟ perceptions regarding life story work with children in child and youth care centres in South Africa. Life story work is an established form of intervention utilized by social workers with children in care mostly in the United Kingdom. Limited research has been conducted on the subject in South Africa. The research hoped to discover how social workers perceive life story work as a therapeutic intervention technique to be utilized with children in child and youth care centres. Qualitative descriptive design was conducted inductively, through semi-structured interviews and one focus group discussion. A total of six registered social workers at registered child and youth care centres in the Northern and Southern suburbs of Cape Town in the Western Province of South Africa were purposefully selected to participate in this study. All of the interviews and the focus group were audiorecorded. Recordings were transcribed by the researcher to ascertain certain emerging themes and categories. Thematic data analysis was utilized to transform the transcribed data into meaningful information. The principles and strategies for enhancing the trustworthiness of the data were done through crystallisation. The findings of the study revealed that social workers initially perceive life story work as time-consuming and are unaware of what the concept truly entails, but once examples were shown to the social workers, they recognised that they were using some of the activities already and perceived life story work as valuable, effective and essential in child and youth care centres. Life story work was perceived as useful for identity formation, a sense of belonging, relationship-building and family reunification services, for example. It was discovered that the social workers were utilising aspects of life story work, but that there is a shortage of social workers to act as facilitators to possibly complete life story work processes with each child in child and youth care centres. The recommendation was, therefore, made that childcare workers be trained in life story work in order for it to be implemented in child and youth care centres effectively. Further research studies were, therefore, recommended to ascertain how life story work could be practically implemented as a holistic programme with the children in child and youth care centres. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In an age of unbridled global capitalism and caustic neocolonial relations to land and life, the question of the aims and approaches of doing counselling with young people, particularly those majoritarian youth who are inheriting the privileges and specters of capitalist and colonial conquest, is pertinent. This dissertation is a collection of three theoretical papers on critical counselling with majoritarian young people in the context of contemporary Empire. A critical lens drawn from decolonial analyses was applied to mainstream counselling practice and theory. By developing a map of how contemporary Empire functions as a permutation of settler colonialism and globalized capitalism, this work investigates the forms of power and discourse that structure contemporary counselling, particularly the bio-medical-industrial-complex of psychiatry and the pharmacology industry, societies of control and digital technology, affective labour, and coloniality. Practices of vulnerability, self-reflexivity, decolonization, accountability, and critique are weaved into a cartographic methodology to redefine counselling as an ethics-driven and politicized intervention in the reproduction of majoritarian subjectivity. In the 21st century, globalized capitalism and settler colonialism seek to push past material limits and appropriate the products of human relatedness—feelings, ideas, cultures, and creations. In resisting this affective extractivism, these papers explore what it might mean to position engagement, living encounter, and relationship in an ethics-based counselling paradigm of resistance and social justice. The challenge of a critical counselling praxis commensurate with such a paradigm is to find avenues to intervene in the majoritarian psyche’s capito-colonial grip on all forms of land and life. Counselling in an Age of Empire proposes that a politicized account of counselling with majoritarian subjects might prove to be a productive space for recrafting subjectivities. Through a careful critique of the majoritarian subject, in the roles of both counsellor and client, a praxis of counselling attentive to political context, based in living encounter, and grounded in a settler ethics of vulnerability and accountability is sketched out. Overall, the work is aimed at majoritarian students and counsellors, their teachers, and those interested in developing a counselling praxis grounded in settler ethics, critique, vulnerability, and the power of living encounter. / Graduate / 2019-09-30

In recent decades, the practice of mindfulness has spread from its initial Eastern philosophical and spiritual roots and has been adapted in various Western contexts of service provision in attempts to improve the physical and psychological well-being of individuals with a diverse range of conditions. Secularized versions of mindfulness are currently being utilized in elementary schools. Given the rising presence of mindfulness practices in elementary schools, it is important to learn about educators’ experiences, perceptions, and beliefs regarding these practices. This study investigates how mindfulness practice is being conceptualized and taught in public elementary school settings with children. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 educators in 3 public elementary schools within the same catchment area. A thematic data analysis approach was utilized to derive central themes from the interviews. The findings contribute to qualitative understandings surrounding the benefits and limitations of current practices. As well, approaches and strategies are proposed that could inform a more comprehensive practice of mindfulness and more consistent implementation in these settings. / Graduate

This study focuses on social workers‟ perceptions regarding life story work with children in child and youth care centres in South Africa. Life story work is an established form of intervention utilized by social workers with children in care mostly in the United Kingdom. Limited research has been conducted on the subject in South Africa. The research hoped to discover how social workers perceive life story work as a therapeutic intervention technique to be utilized with children in child and youth care centres. Qualitative descriptive design was conducted inductively, through semi-structured interviews and one focus group discussion. A total of six registered social workers at registered child and youth care centres in the Northern and Southern suburbs of Cape Town in the Western Province of South Africa were purposefully selected to participate in this study. All of the interviews and the focus group were audiorecorded. Recordings were transcribed by the researcher to ascertain certain emerging themes and categories. Thematic data analysis was utilized to transform the transcribed data into meaningful information. The principles and strategies for enhancing the trustworthiness of the data were done through crystallisation. The findings of the study revealed that social workers initially perceive life story work as time-consuming and are unaware of what the concept truly entails, but once examples were shown to the social workers, they recognised that they were using some of the activities already and perceived life story work as valuable, effective and essential in child and youth care centres. Life story work was perceived as useful for identity formation, a sense of belonging, relationship-building and family reunification services, for example. It was discovered that the social workers were utilising aspects of life story work, but that there is a shortage of social workers to act as facilitators to possibly complete life story work processes with each child in child and youth care centres. The recommendation was, therefore, made that childcare workers be trained in life story work in order for it to be implemented in child and youth care centres effectively. Further research studies were, therefore, recommended to ascertain how life story work could be practically implemented as a holistic programme with the children in child and youth care centres. / MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

With Youth work being one of the key interventions used to advance the development of young people, through this study, the researcher takes a closer look at how Youth work can be enhanced to ensure its maximised contribution to empowerment and development of young people. On that basis, the researcher investigates the perceptions, attitudes, and opinions of social service professionals towards emergence and future status of Youth work practice in South Africa. This is essential, given that policy directions ought to be guided by rational, fact-based information. The researcher used two-phased sequential mixed methods research approach, which combines qualitative and quantitative methods in sequence, to explore the research phenomenon. Qualitative data was gathered from four (4) focus groups, conducted in each of the selected South Africa’s provinces. Quantitative data was gathered from five hundred and ninety-three (593) respondents who completed a measuring instrument. Some of the key empirical findings suggested that the social development factors compared to human resources and diversion factors are key drivers behind emergence of Youth work. Therefore, there is a need to ensure that interventions primarily and consequently enhance the social functioning of young people. On the current status of Youth work, a significant majority of respondents indicated that Youth work is the responsibility of a multi-disciplinary team. The evidence also pointed to Youth workers being more skilled than Social workers and Child youth care workers in rendering services to the youth. Additionally, the findings showed that the involvement of social service professionals in Youth work was mainly in collaborating with other professionals when rendering Youth work services, and also in direct service delivery. Their involvement in policy development was to no extent. This was associated with a limited number of Youth workers in the public sector. The findings on perceptions of social service professionals regarding the future status of Youth work showed that 75% of the respondents believe that Youth work should become an area of specialisation for Social work and/or Child and youth care work; followed by 17% who are of the opinion that it should remain as an occupation; whilst only 8% said it should be an autonomous profession. Additionally, an overwhelming majority of the respondents agreed with all statements which were listed as advantages or benefits of having Youth work recognised as an area of specialisation or a profession. On the basis of these findings, the researcher recommended that young people’s problems and aspirations should be addressed within their social contexts; there is a need to ensure that interventions primarily enhance the social functioning of young people; there is a need to have Youth work as an area of specialisation for Social work and/or Child and youth care work; and there is a need to create additional capacity to provide services to the youth, especially in government as a policy making structure. It is essential to note that the support for specialisation supports South Africa’s approach to mainstreaming youth development across various sectors. It could also be seen as a clear indication of the positive role and value placed on Youth work, and the potential contribution it might have should it become an area of specialisation for Social work and/or Child and youth care work. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

Thesis (M. Dev. (Development in Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Since transition from the system of apartheid to democratic rule, South Africa became the destination for many migrants and refugees from across the African continent. Many children are travelling alone or become separated from their care givers or parents once they reach the country. The migration of residents of other African countries, particularly Zimbabwe, into the Limpopo province has resulted in the increase in the number of unaccompanied minors within the province, in Polokwane and the child protection system, and it requires collaborative intervention. The child protection system, particularly in the Child and Youth Care Centres, has unaccompanied minors who remain in the system for more than the stipulated time in relation to the Children’s Act 38 of 2005. The aim of the study was to explore the challenges faced by social workers in managing the cases of unaccompanied minors in Child and Youth Care Centers in Polokwane. This study employed a qualitative case study research design and one-on-one interview as a primary data collection method. The qualitative data was analysed using a thematic approach. The findings of this study indicate that most of unaccompanied minors were in dire situation and lack proper documentation. The findings also revealed that there were a number of critical child protection challenges that existed in the management of the cases of unaccompanied minors by government officials. The study further highlighted that social workers were not adequately capacitated and there was lack of intersectoral collaboration and insufficient resources to deal with the multiple issues that affect unaccompanied minors in Polokwane. It is therefore recommended that the social worker should also be capacitated regarding different items of legislation that deal with unaccompanied and foreign children in order to ensure proper implementation of the Acts. Department of Social Development must also popularise and provide training to social workers and all relevant stakeholders on the guidelines on separated and unaccompanied minors living outside their country of origin. DSD should make an amendment of the Children’s Act to include unaccompanied minors and also ensure that all stakeholders are trained. The researcher also recommends coordination of service among government departments in order to ensure an effective and integrated child protection system

The aim of this thesis has been to investigate how social workers work with the reunification process at child and youth care centres in South Africa. The intention has been to explore what is important to accomplish a reunification and what challenges the social workers face in the process. A qualitative method was used and included 7 semi-structured interviews with social workers in South Africa. The conducted data was coded and categorized, using an inductive thematic analysis. In this study, the second phase of the ecological systems theory by Bronfenbrenner has been used, which includes the micro-, meso-, exo-, macro- and chrono levels. The theory has served as a framework in the analysis to explain the development of the child. Through the interviews three main fundamental components in the reunification process were distinguished, that overlap. The components are the 90-day assessment period, the time period of placement and the reunification. The time of placement has been categorized into three subthemes including the role of child and parent, the role of social workers and the role of resources. The findings show that the social workers regard the relationship between child and parent, collaboration between the external and CYCC social worker including resources, as crucial factors for reunification. Through the analyses, factors at each level in the ecological systems theory have been identified that affect the reunification process and thereby the child. Consequently, for a reunification to take place efforts need to address several areas around the child. / Syftet med den här studien har varit att undersöka hur socialarbetare arbetar med återföreningsprocessen på boenden för barn och unga i Sydafrika. Intentionen har varit att undersöka vad som är viktigt för att åstadkomma en återförening och vilka utmaningar socialarbetarna står inför i den processen. I studien användes en kvalitativ metod där 7 semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialarbetare i Sydafrika genomfördes digitalt. Den insamlade datan har kodats och kategoriserats med hjälp av en induktiv tematisk analys. I studien har den andra fasen av Bronfenbrenners ekologiska systemteori använts, vilken inkluderar mikro-, meso-, exo-, makro- och krono-nivåerna. Teorin har fungerat som ett ramverk i analysen för att förklara ett barns utveckling. Genom intervjuerna urskildes tre grundläggande komponenter i återföreningsprocessen, vilka överlappar varandra. Komponenterna som urskildes är den 90 dagar långa bedömningsperioden, den tidsperiod som ett barn är placerat på ett boende samt själva återföreningen. Den tidsperiod som ett barn är placerat på ett boende har kategoriserats i tre underteman, vilka består av barnens och föräldrarnas roll, socialarbetarnas roll och resursernas roll. Resultaten visar att socialarbetarna betraktar förhållandet mellan barn och förälder, samarbetet mellan de externa socialarbetarna och socialarbetarna på barn- och ungdomsboendena samt resurser som avgörande faktorer för att en återförening ska ske. Analysen i den här studien visar att faktorer på varje nivå i den ekologiska systemteorin påverkar återföreningsprocessen och därmed barnet. För att möjliggöra en återförening måste därför det sociala arbetet inriktas på flera områden runt barnet.

Many child and youth care organisations in South Africa struggle to implement adequate supervision structures for their child and youth care workers. If supervisors in this field had adequate knowledge and skills, they could enable child and youth care workers to grow and develop competently and provide more professional services to troubled young people in South Africa, This qualitative research sought to identify what knowledge and skills supervisors need in child and youth care settings in South Africa to provide effective supervision to workers. This research confirmed that there are specific skills and knowledge required by supervisors in child and youth care settings in South Africa and while there is an awareness of these in some settings, they are not being fully utilised in organised supervision structures. / Social Work / M.Tech. (Child and Youth Care)