South Africa shifted from the residual approach to adopt a developmental approach to social service delivery through adopting the White Paper for Social Welfare (RSA, Ministry for Social Welfare and Population Development, 1997). This mandated the shift from social welfare services to developmental welfare services. Included in these services is the foster care service; this is a child protection service which addresses section 28 (1b) of the South African constitutional endorsement, which states that “children have the right to family, parental or alternative care” (Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996). In April 2010, the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 was initiated and implemented as legislative policy on the matter, with guidelines concerning the delivery of foster care services within the developmental approach. The goal of the study was to identify and describe barriers in the implementation of the foster care services within a developmental approach in Nkangala District, Mpumalanga. The research followed a qualitative approach whereby data was collected through focus group discussions. The participants were 13 social workers from seven child protection organisations in Nkangala District, Mpumalanga. From the key findings it was gathered that the majority of foster care social workers have no conceptual or contextual understanding of the delivery of foster care services within the developmental approach. The researcher recommends the formation of training manuals for Nkangala District foster care social workers, which clearly define developmental foster care services and the role of social workers. The researcher also recommends that social workers in Nkangala District take up the responsibility of being up to date with new developments that arise in social service delivery. The researcher further recommends that the Department of Social Development should consider reviewing the amount of money allocated to Non-profit Organisations for developmental statutory services, so as to ensure effective service delivery. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Social Work and Criminology / MA / Unrestricted

O presente trabalho dedica-se a explorar o funcionamento da medida protetiva de acolhimento institucional para crianças e adolescentes, desvelando as forças presentes nesse campo de trabalho, bem como os efeitos nas vidas sobre as quais age. A partir da compreensão de que tais equipamentos integram a chamada rede de Proteção Social Especial de Alta Complexidade da política de Assistência Social brasileira e são ancorados no discurso de cuidado e proteção, bem como na lógica da garantia de direitos, busca-se afirmar as potências, os desafios e as contradições presentes nessas instituições. Tais equipamentos carregam traços de uma história em que o trato à criança e ao adolescente é marcado por uma engrenagem precarizada e produtora de vidas adoecidas - vidas permeadas por sofrimento e que, simultaneamente, geram práticas protetivas e de cuidado. As vidas das quais falamos são das crianças e dos adolescentes acolhidos, de seus familiares ou mesmo dos profissionais presentes nos equipamentos em tela. Objetiva-se compreender, a partir do funcionamento dos serviços e das políticas em voga, quais os modos de vida têm sido engendrados nesses equipamentos. A experiência em Serviços de Acolhimento para Crianças e Adolescentes (Saica) foi disparadora das questões presentes nesta dissertação e permitiu acessar formas de analisar as relações familiares, as práticas cotidianas, as relações institucionais e seus jogos de poder, bem como os elementos presentes no trabalho com família e nas práticas de adoção. Três histórias foram escolhidas para dar a ver essas diferentes questões e fazem parte de uma escrita-narrativa tecida com elementos dessas histórias, discussões teóricas, dados quantitativos e reflexões. Os movimentos e as inflexões nas vidas acolhidas institucionalmente carregam facetas do emaranhado que de fato é um Saica e permitem articular essas vidas às suas condições de existência ressaltando os esforços para que as práticas cotidianas gerem proteção e cuidado / The present work is dedicated to exploring how the protective institutional foster care for children and teenagers measure works, revealing the forces present in this scope of work, as well as the effects on the lives upon which it acts. Considering the premise that such equipment is part of the so-called Special Social Protection Network of High Complexity of the Brazilian Social Assistence policy and are anchored in the discourse of care and protection, as well as in the logic of guaranteeing rights, it is affirmed the powers, challenges and contradictions present in these institutions. These institutions bear traces of a history in which the treatment of the child and adolescent is marked by a precarious process of life-sickness lives permeated by suffering and which, simultaneously, result in protective and care practices. The lives of which we speak are lives of the children and adolescents, lives of their family or even the professional presents in the concerned institutions. The objective is to understand, from the functioning of the services and policies in vogue, which modes of life have been engendered. The experience in Serviço de Acolhimento para Crianças e Adolescentes (Saica) incited the issues presents in this dissertation and allowed access to ways of analyzing family relationships, daily practices, institutional relationships and their power relations, as well as the elements present in the work with family and adoption practices. Three stories were chosen to show these different questions and are part of a writing-narrative woven with elements of these stories, theoretical discussions, quantitative data and some reflections. Movements and inflections in institutionally fostered lives carry facets of the tangle that in fact is a Saica and allow them to articulate these lives to their conditions of existence by emphasizing the efforts that day-to-day practices generate protection and care

O presente trabalho dedica-se a explorar o funcionamento da medida protetiva de acolhimento institucional para crianças e adolescentes, desvelando as forças presentes nesse campo de trabalho, bem como os efeitos nas vidas sobre as quais age. A partir da compreensão de que tais equipamentos integram a chamada rede de Proteção Social Especial de Alta Complexidade da política de Assistência Social brasileira e são ancorados no discurso de cuidado e proteção, bem como na lógica da garantia de direitos, busca-se afirmar as potências, os desafios e as contradições presentes nessas instituições. Tais equipamentos carregam traços de uma história em que o trato à criança e ao adolescente é marcado por uma engrenagem precarizada e produtora de vidas adoecidas - vidas permeadas por sofrimento e que, simultaneamente, geram práticas protetivas e de cuidado. As vidas das quais falamos são das crianças e dos adolescentes acolhidos, de seus familiares ou mesmo dos profissionais presentes nos equipamentos em tela. Objetiva-se compreender, a partir do funcionamento dos serviços e das políticas em voga, quais os modos de vida têm sido engendrados nesses equipamentos. A experiência em Serviços de Acolhimento para Crianças e Adolescentes (Saica) foi disparadora das questões presentes nesta dissertação e permitiu acessar formas de analisar as relações familiares, as práticas cotidianas, as relações institucionais e seus jogos de poder, bem como os elementos presentes no trabalho com família e nas práticas de adoção. Três histórias foram escolhidas para dar a ver essas diferentes questões e fazem parte de uma escrita-narrativa tecida com elementos dessas histórias, discussões teóricas, dados quantitativos e reflexões. Os movimentos e as inflexões nas vidas acolhidas institucionalmente carregam facetas do emaranhado que de fato é um Saica e permitem articular essas vidas às suas condições de existência ressaltando os esforços para que as práticas cotidianas gerem proteção e cuidado / The present work is dedicated to exploring how the protective institutional foster care for children and teenagers measure works, revealing the forces present in this scope of work, as well as the effects on the lives upon which it acts. Considering the premise that such equipment is part of the so-called Special Social Protection Network of High Complexity of the Brazilian Social Assistence policy and are anchored in the discourse of care and protection, as well as in the logic of guaranteeing rights, it is affirmed the powers, challenges and contradictions present in these institutions. These institutions bear traces of a history in which the treatment of the child and adolescent is marked by a precarious process of life-sickness lives permeated by suffering and which, simultaneously, result in protective and care practices. The lives of which we speak are lives of the children and adolescents, lives of their family or even the professional presents in the concerned institutions. The objective is to understand, from the functioning of the services and policies in vogue, which modes of life have been engendered. The experience in Serviço de Acolhimento para Crianças e Adolescentes (Saica) incited the issues presents in this dissertation and allowed access to ways of analyzing family relationships, daily practices, institutional relationships and their power relations, as well as the elements present in the work with family and adoption practices. Three stories were chosen to show these different questions and are part of a writing-narrative woven with elements of these stories, theoretical discussions, quantitative data and some reflections. Movements and inflections in institutionally fostered lives carry facets of the tangle that in fact is a Saica and allow them to articulate these lives to their conditions of existence by emphasizing the efforts that day-to-day practices generate protection and care