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Developing evaluative strategies for harm reduction programme for street children in Durban : a PAR approach.Makopo, Phumzile. January 2005 (has links)
The research has been part of a larger study on developing evaluative strategies for programmes
on street children in KwaZulu Natal. This study focussed on harm reduction programmes with
reference to violence and crime. The phenomenon of street children has been seen to be caused
by various interactive factors relating to the individual, the family, community and the
society as a whole. The research was guided by a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach
utilizing multiple data sources and multiple focus groups with street children and service
providers. Street children were given the space to talk about their experiences and to identify
indicators of successful programmes. Shelter workers who are child care workers discussed
programmes presented at the shelter and their impact on protecting and preventing children from
exposure to violence and crime. They also discussed indicators of success in their programmes.
Children indicated that successful programmes were characterised by consistency, fairness, non-
discrimination, and that they take into account that street children are children too and that
they can make mistakes. On the other hand child care workers described successful programmes as
contributing to change in the life of a child, through social skills, attitude of the child and
child's ability to be reunited with his family. Programmes, which serve to protect street
children from violence and crime should be monitored and evaluated so as to assess their
effectiveness. Based on the findings of this study recommendations are made regarding the
evaluation of programmes for street children. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.
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Programmes intersectoriels pour les enfants exposé à la violence conjugale : recension des écrits et pistes d'actions pour la région de MontréalHarper, Elizabeth, 1959- January 2003 (has links)
An estimated 800,000 Canadian children are exposed to domestic violence in their homes every year. Families experiencing domestic violence use various community and government agencies along with the criminal and civil court systems. Unfortunately, collaboration between these agencies and the courts is described by professionals in Montreal as being problematic and strained. Elsewhere in Canada and the United States, some cities and communities have made progress in working through the complex obstacles inherent in the coordination of services in the area of domestic violence. This thesis will examine 14 inter-agency programs and coordinated models of intervention that have been initiated outside the province of Quebec to respond to the needs of children exposed to domestic violence. The history of these programs, their objectives and along with coordination mechanisms will be examined. A discussion regarding the implications of these findings for practice in regards to coordination of services in Montreal will also be presented.
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Factors impacting on good governance : a case study of service delivery in child abuse within the eThekwini Municipal District of KwaZulu-Natal.Maharaj, Dhunkumarie. January 2010 (has links)
Good governance is the only mechanism available to provide for the basic social needs of
communities within a normative and ethical paradigm. Good governance in South Africa
is based on the tenets of the Batho Pele (People First) principles and practices. The
primary aim of this study is to determine the factors impacting on good governance
utilizing a case study of service delivery in child abuse in the eThekwini Municipal District
of the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, the
Bill of Rights in Chapter 2, provides for the protection of all children from abuse in South
Africa. There have been several policies that were developed to realize this constitutional
commitment. Despite these developments, and South Africa achieving a democratic order
since 1994, the abuse of children continues to occur in the eThekwini Municipal District,
in large numbers as has been revealed in this research study. This research study has
illustrated that the barriers to good governance in the delivery of services to children who
are abused are several. They stem from structural, strategic and operational gaps that are
prevalent and that have an adverse impact on the accessibility and quality of service
delivery to all communities, at the coalface. The researcher is of the believe therefore
that turnarounds to address these challenges of achieving good governance practices in
service delivery in child abuse, will only be met from a wide range of actions involving all
spheres of government at the strategic helm and the various government and nongovernmental
sectors at an operational level.
The processes of governance in the delivery of services in child abuse in the eThekwini
Municipal District is riddled with problems and anomalies that emanate from the barrierladen
structural positioning and the ineffective leadership role of provincial strategic
governance structures in so far as strategic direction in this priority area of child
protection, is concerned. The outcome of any service delivery program through the
processes of good governance, according to current policy mandates, is that beneficiaries
of services achieve sustainable development and this could only be achieved if there is a
holistic services delivered to the client system. This has not happened in service delivery
in child abuse in the eThekwini Municipal District. Services were fragmented and
duplication occurred as the different state sectors responsible for service delivery were in
the main, operating in silos. Governance in service delivery seemed to lack direction due
to the absence of an intersectoral strategic planning process. There was no strategic plan
to inform operations on the ground and which it is proposed, would have facilitated child
protection organizations to acquire separate budgets for resource acquisition, to facilitate
and support efficient, effective, economical and sustainable service delivery. In actual
fact, there were no separate budgets to fund services in child abuse by the different
sectors. There were therefore very limited programs available for services to child abuse
victims. There was no service delivery improvement plan for child protection which is the
priority area within which services in child abuse is provided for. This according to the
National Policy Framework and Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Management of
Child Abuse, (2004), was supposed to be the strategic core function of the Provincial
Department of Social Development. There is a clear indication that this strategic
governance structure has not complied with the mandate of the Public Service
Regulation, 2001 by ensuring that there was a service delivery improvement plan in place
for child abuse services that was well known to service providers for the period of this
study. One can then from this prevailing situation conclude, that the public service
policies and legislation had not been complied with in this regard at a provincial level.
This had led to the lack of leadership that existed in service delivery in child abuse at the
local community level. A consequence of this shortcoming was that each state
department developed its own sectoral operational plans and rendered services
according to these sectoral plans that were geared to meet the sectoral need which in a
manner, entrenched fragmented service delivery and had resulted in victims of child
abuse being exposed to secondary abuse by service providers.
The present constitutional provision is that service delivery in child abuse be managed as
a national and provincial responsibility under the umbrella of child care and protection
services. The Public Works Department is responsible for infrastructure development for
these sectors at the local level. The study has revealed that the biggest challenge to
accessibility of services in rural areas was the lack of basic infrastructure of roads,
electricity, telephones and safe environments, the constitutional responsibility of which is
the core function of local government. The local sphere of governance does not play a
role in ensuring that structural barriers to good governance in service delivery in child
abuse are included in their Intergrated Development Plans (IDP), for the simple reason
that it is not a constitutional functionality of this sphere of government. There is in
practice, no plan in place, to address the structural barriers to improve accessibility of
services in child abuse in rural areas, due to the exclusion of local government structures
in this process. This arrangement is an anomalie which exacerbates the problem of poor
governance in service delivery in child abuse.
The attempts of decentralizing social service delivery was not achieving the purpose of
taking services to the community, as the decentralized service points were still not within
reach of people because of the great distances between communities and service points.
Furthermore, these services only operated in the day and not after hours when it is
presumed that more abuse happens, and the employed members of communities are
able to assist child victims and their support systems to seek help.
The study has revealed that some best practice policies such as the KwaZulu-Natal Multidisciplinary Protocol on Child Abuse and Neglect, has come into disuse in the province.
The best practice model of the Thuthuzela Care Centre, was currently being piloted in two
different hospitals. Communities serviced by the two hospitals running this programme,
benefitted from a multi-disciplinary service provided by intersectoral roleplayers. This
program is led by the National Prosecuting Authority whose aim was to improve the
conviction rate of perpetrators of abuse. It has been established that funding for this
programme was obtained through international donor funding. Two very significant
factors emerged in this research study with regard to policy development in child abuse,
and they are worth noting. The first was a reliance on international donor funding for
policy development by individual government and non-governmental sectors. This has
compelled policy developers then to comply with meeting the requirements of donor
agencies, instead of that of the community. There was a lack of a participative
governance approach through the inclusion of the local communities in these initiatives.
It does appear as though policy development in child abuse service delivery was heavily
influenced by global partners in governance, instead. Secondly, while good governance
policies were developed such as the KwaZulu-Natal Multi-disciplinary Protocol on Child
Abuse and Neglect, its implementation was not supported nor monitored by the
responsible strategic governance structure and this resulted in such policies being
ineffective. The policy review process as well was not fully participative and did not
promote local community input. While politicians have focused on policy development in
response to an externally identified need other than that of the affected community,
there has been no provision for the required resources and strategic leadership for
ensuring coordinated holistic accessible service delivery. Neither has there been provision
for oversight and support services to ensure that implementation happens at a
community level.
While the Department of Social Development is mandated to be the lead department in
matters of child abuse, it seems not to have strongly positioned itself in this regard. This
department assumed a weak position in so far as taking on responsibility for leading and
directing services to children who are abused. There are too many different policies that
are developed by the national department and handed to the province for
implementation in local communities. Some of these policies address a similar aspect of
service except that it comes from a different sector. This has caused a great deal of
confusion on the ground as to which was the relevant policy to implement. There appears
to be a rigorous attempt at policy formulation and development with very little regard to
the support resources such as additional staff, equipment and the required intensity of
training for key personnel. It has led to frustrations felt by intersectoral service providers
at grassroots.
Child abuse is a phenomenon of living and that requires crisis intervention by significant
role-players at a grassroots level when it occurs. The study has revealed that important
sectors who impact on the daily lives of people have been excluded from the governance
processes. These structures are local government, the house of traditional affairs,
business, cultural and religious organizations and the local community. The researcher
proposes the utilization of the Governance Model in public administration which should
be primarily community based and include all local governance structures. It therefore
supports the bottom-up intersectoral approach in its modis operandi. Furthermore,
service delivery should be provided from a one-stop centre under the leadership of a
project manager. The model embraces ethical and normative theoretical practices within
a democratic and developmental paradigm. This model repositions the strategic planning
responsibility to local governance structures and proposes that the provincial structures
assume a monitoring and oversight role which should be participative and which should
include community representation. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.
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Perceptions and experiences of integration for refugee learners.Gramanie, Pushpagandhi. January 2006 (has links)
Public opinion, media and literature describe refugees as generally suffering, traumatised,
dependent, helpless victims without power, in need of constant guidance and support in
order to find solutions to their predicament. Humanitarian assistance may be accused of
perpetuating this dependency and disempowerment. To me this may be true of refugees
in encampment. The perception portrayed in the various media is unfitting and a sharp
contrast to the perceptions and experiences of refugees learners encountered in this study.
I questioned for myself the potential image of refugee learners being powerless and
helpless and felt that if all refugees shared that view outlined above, it would worsen their
situation instead of empowering their aspirations, history and capacities. So I chose to ask
the refugee learners.
This led to the purpose and core area of consideration of this study entitled "Perceptions
and experiences of integration for refugee learners."
In this study I focused on refugee learners from African countries Burundi, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Kenya. It offers them a voice and makes them actors in
their own stories. My study is intended to inform the reader of the personal experiences
of refugees within a South African context shedding light on the specifics of access to
and support from social services and other institutional and informal actors.
It was necessary to employ multiple research instruments to analyse the experiences of
refugees who attend the site where I am currently based as an educator. Preliminary
questionnaires completed by refugee learners revealed themes integral to their experience
and perception of integration: living arrangements, social resources, and education. These
themes were further explored one-on-one interviews, focus group discussion and a snap
survey.
It is my view that institutional resources already in place by stakeholders are not fully
utilised as refugee learners are often an after-thought in the service provision for citizen
children. Refugee learners encounter difficulties in accessing education facilities and
living arrangements do not consistently meet protection requirements. As a result,
refugee learners frequently experience isolation and confusion regarding their present and
future stakes in South Africa. Based on these findings, this study will make
recommendations for policy design and development of programme for refugee
integration within the broader South African society. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.
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The relationship between scores of students with emotional disabilties on the Behavioral Objective Sequence and current service intensityWilhite, Kathi January 2000 (has links)
This study investigated the relationship between student scores on the Behavioral Objective Sequence (BOS) and student placement, the relationship of BOS scores to teacher variables, and the relationship of BOS scores to student variables. Participants in the study were 47 special education teachers serving students with Emotional Disabilities (ED). The teachers reported BOS total and subscale scores for 141 ED students. Student and teacher demographic data was collected. A significant relationship was identified between BOS total scores and student placement. A significant relationship was found between five of the six BOS subscale scores and placement. Student variables, with the exception of socioeconomic status, were not found to have a significant relationship to BOS scores or placement. Teacher variables were not found to have a significant relationship to BOS scores. The results of this investigation indicate that the BOS may be a useful tool for IEP team use in determining appropriate placement for students withED. / Department of Special Education
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Towards a framework for identity verification of vulnerable children within the Eastern CapeRautenbach, James January 2007 (has links)
This dissertation proposes the development of an identification verification model that can be implemented within the context of the Eastern Cape, South Africa in order to ensure that vulnerable children are provided with the requisite care that they deserve from the state. The dissertation provides both a developed and developing world perspective on the identification verification needs of vulnerable children by providing an overview of relevant South African policy with regard to caring for vulnerable children and presenting an international perspective with specific reference to current legislative developments in the United Kingdom and Malaysia. Chapter 1 provides a motivation for a framework to be used for the identification verification of children in developing countries by emphasising that the provision of basic social services to children is an urgent requirement for poverty eradication and is a necessity as documented in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A background to the needs of vulnerable children in South Africa is given and the scope, limitations and research methodology used in the dissertation is presented. Chapter 2 provides an overview of child related policy in the South African Context both from a National Government and Eastern Cape perspective. Although extensive progress has been made in the development of policies aimed at protecting vulnerable children, the practical implementation of these policies has been hampered by numerous issues including the lack of coordination between key entities. Chapter 3 provides an introduction to several noteworthy international developments with regard to the identity verification of vulnerable children. Lessons learnt from identity verification systems from the United Kingdom and Malaysia are analyzed for applicability to the South African context. In addition to this, the use of biometric technology in identity verification systems and a number of biometric identification methodologies available are discussed. Chapter 4 proposes the development and implementation of a biometric identity verification model in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa based on lessons learnt from the assessment of South African policy and international best practice. The system should be piloted in the Eastern Cape and, if successful, be implemented throughout South Africa with a possible view to future implementation on the African continent. The scope of the system, the technological requirements and a high level implementation plan together with the need to further research certain key aspects e.g. the cost implications are discussed. It is clear that the development of such a model and the implementation of such a system will ensure that vulnerable children are provided with the requisite care that they are constitutionally entitled to. Significant follow up research is required during the development of the model to ensure that all aspects of the model are well documented and during the implementation of the system to ensure that the requirements of the users both within the government and the general public are met.
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Participating foster care youths' perceptions of an Independent Living ProgramFlowers, Sonja Anita 01 January 1996 (has links)
No description available.
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Identifying and Building on Strengths of Children With Serious Emotional DisturbancesTaylor, Michael Orval 01 January 2002 (has links)
The aim of this study is to explore strengths assessments and the participation of parents in assessment of strengths and functioning of their children challenged by serious emotional disorders. The children in this study have a high level of exposure to mental illness, domestic violence and substance abuse in their biological families. These children are living with family members or foster families in the community, with the majority at continuing risk of placement outside of their homes and communities due to serious emotional and behavioral problems.
The research questions investigated are the concordance of families and professionals in assessment of strengths, differences in assessment of strengths, problems in specific domains of functioning, and relationships of characteristics of the child with recognition of strengths by the parent and professional.
This study uses data collected from families of children with serious emotional disorders receiving services through community-based wraparound services supported by the mental health services program for children #5 HSS SM52297 funded by the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. The dissertation research presents a secondary analysis of a portion of the evaluation data collected for that demonstration.
Eighty-five children were assessed by the parent and professional using the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS), the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the Child and Adolescent Functioning Scale (CAFAS). It was found that families provided significant and unique information regarding their children. A repeated measures analysis of the strengths scores revealed significant differences in the assessment of strengths by the parent and professional raters in domains of intrapersonal strengths, affective strengths and family involvement. The findings support the use of the strengths measure by multiple informants to provide unique information regarding the child’s strengths and functioning.
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Programmes intersectoriels pour les enfants exposé à la violence conjugale : recension des écrits et pistes d'actions pour la région de MontréalHarper, Elizabeth, 1959- January 2003 (has links)
No description available.
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School personnel perceptions of the current level of interagency collaboration available for students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed, ages 5-18, within the Commonwealth of VirginiaColtrane, Jelisa 06 June 2008 (has links)
There is little agreement regarding the identification procedures, characteristics and the definition of emotional disturbances even though the child-serving agencies often share the same clients and the same mandates. Because of these commonalities, a broad range of services are duplicated, lack coordination, and are provided by scarce personnel. The net effect may be no one receives services (LaCour, 1982).
Interagency collaboration, touted as a management tool, is a vehicle by which lack of service delivery may be eliminated. According to state and federal mandates, interagency collaboration is to be used, whenever and wherever, services are needed to effectively serve students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed (SED).
The purpose of this study was to identify the current level of interagency collaboration available to students within the Commonwealth of Virginia for students labeled seriously emotionally disturbed, ages 5-18, as perceived by special education directors and teachers serving students labeled seriously emotionally disturbed.
A School Personnel Perceptions of Interagency Collaboration for Students Identified as Seriously Emotionally Disturbed survey was developed to measure the current level of interagency collaboration for this study. Items included were based on a review of the literature; information generated from informal interviews with special education administrators, special education teachers, and professionals in related fields; and, comments from expert reviewers. Questionnaires were mailed to a sample of thirty six school divisions, which translates into a total of 80 surveys sent to directors of special education and teachers of students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed. The sample was determined by: 1) designating school districts within the Commonwealth according to their Average Daily Membership into large-, medium-, and small- sized districts, and 2) selecting a sample from each size school district. Directors were then contacted and asked for the names of teachers within their school district currently teaching students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed.
Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests and one way analyses of variance. Post hoc tests were used to determine which means were significantly different from each other.
Major findings include: 1) special education directors and teachers of students identified as SED agree that availability of a variety of services is very important to the success of their students. Few significant differences between directors and teachers were found; however, differences did occur with services that focus on the family rather than the child. Teachers found these services to be more important to the success of their students than did directors. 2) While directors and teachers across school district sizes indicated a variety of services were currently available to students identified as seriously emotionally disturbed, there was little agreement between directors and teachers within district sizes as to how much any one service was currently provided. 3) Teachers and directors indicated that, in many cases, they did not know whether or not a certain agency provided a specific service to students identified as in need of services. / Ed. D.
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