The goal of the study was to explore the perceptions of social workers regarding their role in aftercare and reintegration towards substance-dependent persons. The research was about the quest to unlock the perceptions that social workers, both in the employ of the Gauteng Department of Social Development and SANCA, have about their role in aftercare and reintegration services. Hence, the research approach followed was qualitative. Due to the nature of the study, the researcher used focus group interviews for data collection. An interview schedule, with guiding questions, was prepared in advance. The research also aimed to make comparisons between the Gauteng Department of Social Development and SANCA findings. Consequently, two focus group interviews were conducted for Gauteng Department of Social Development and SANCA, respectively. The findings from the two focus groups conducted were packaged in three sections, namely, findings from Gauteng Department of Social Development, from SANCA Eersterust and the combined data. The key findings from the Gauteng Department of Social Development were that aftercare services were viewed as motivation of clients and providing emotional support. The causes of substance abuse relapse were due to a lack of support, boredom and stigma. There was limited knowledge amongst social workers on how relevant legislation and policies link up with aftercare and reintegration services. There was a lack of manuals or guidelines on how aftercare and reintegration services should be rendered, and lastly, there was a view from social workers that the Department of Social Development should play a leading role on issues of aftercare and reintegration services. The key findings from SANCA were that aftercare and reintegration services were more about a holistic approach. The causes of substance abuse relapse were mainly about triggers and lack of social infrastructure. The stumbling blocks for effective aftercare and reintegration services were part of an external locus of control, shortage of skills development centres and inadequate services in treatment centres. Aftercare and reintegration services should include assessment, support groups for clients and families, skills development programmes and referrals. Lastly, the role of social workers when it came to aftercare and reintegration services included case management and support. The role of the social workers both from the Gauteng Department of Social Development and SANCA according to the participating social workers were as follows: resource management, therapy, empowerment, case management and support. Recommendations were made for effective aftercare and reintegration services and for future research. The recommendations for effective aftercare and reintegration services were: (1) aftercare and reintegration services should include in their programmes sessions and activities on emotional support and motivation; (2) the holistic approach should be adopted when rendering aftercare and reintegration services to substance-dependent persons; (3) the Department of Social Development should take the lead on issues of aftercare and reintegration services and should be supported by NGOs; (4) social workers were best located and more effective as case managers for substance abuse and aftercare and reintegration services in particular; (5) specialisation of social workers in the field of substance abuse was recommended; (6) there was a need for workshops for social workers in the substance abuse field to be trained about relevant policy and legislation in the sector; (7) there was a need for a manual from the Gauteng Department of Social Development and SANCA which should sketch out the process and procedures of rendering aftercare and reintegration services to recovering substance-dependent persons. The recommendations for future research were that this study was based on social workers from the Gauteng Department of Social Development and social workers from SANCA within the jurisdiction of the Tshwane area. It was recommended that a study be conducted in other areas of South Africa to make comparisons of the data. It was established that there were various legislation and policies which deal with issues of aftercare and reintegration services. There was however, a need to determine whether such legislation and policy were in line with the needs of the substance dependent people. Lastly, it was also recommended that there should be more scientific enquiry on issues of aftercare and reintegration services in substance-dependent persons in South Africa. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmchunu2014 / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

The trend of new drugs entering the drug market has intensified in South Africa. Currently in South Africa, there is a fairly new drug on the market known as nyaope which is being abused mostly by the youth in the townships. Nyaope is a drug consisting of heroin, dagga and other elements like rat poison, cleaning detergents and even crushed antiretroviral drugs. Failure to find a solution to drug abuse can lead to economic problems and handicap the social development of the country, as well as threatening the life and health of the people involved. In the South African context, the value of aftercare has been downplayed and there has been relatively little emphasis on aftercare and reintegration services in both research and practice. Therefore, it was the goal of this study to explore and describe the aftercare needs of nyaope users from both the users' and the significant others' points of view in Hammanskraal. In order to achieve this goal, a qualitative research was adopted to explore and describe the aftercare needs of nyaope users from both the users' and the significant others' points of view. Due to the nature of the study, the researcher had two sampling groups, namely (1) nyaope users and (2) significant others. The study was guided by a collective case study design. Semi-structured interviews were used as a data collection method for this study and two distinct interview schedules were developed and used for nyaope users and significant others, respectively. The researcher aimed at answering the following two research questions: (1) "Based on the views of nyaope users, what are the aftercare needs of nyaope users in the Hammanskraal community?"; and (2) "Based on the views of significant others, what are the aftercare needs of nyaope users in the Hammanskraal community?" From the raw data, the researcher implemented thematic analysis as stipulated by Braun and Clarke (2006) in analysing the data. The researcher used credibility and triangulation in establishing the trustworthiness of the data analysis. The findings from the two sets of samples were unpacked in three sections, namely, findings from the nyaope users, from significant others and the combined data with the aim of triangulation. The key findings from nyaope users and the significant others are as follows: The key findings from nyaope users were that nyaope use has a negative impact on the physical, psychological, spiritual well-being of the users. Causes of relapse were identified as a lack of support from the government and family members, personal problems that users encounter during the recovery process, going back to the same environment and being coerced to go for treatment. Furthermore, nyaope users indicated that they value the trust of community members that is often lost and can be regained by a change of lifestyles following treatment and getting volunteering opportunities in order to create awareness at local schools. The users indicated that they could achieve total abstinence if they can change the type of lifestyle they were living before, such strategies include going for treatment, adopting a more conducive and healthy lifestyle, get adequate support from their families, attending group sessions following treatment, the implementation of an adequate aftercare programme that could assist in preventing relapse, the creation of employment and spiritual support during and post treatment. The key findings from the significant others were that families are victims of theft due to nyaope users' stealing to sustain their habits. As a result significant others are left with feelings of disappointment and hurt. Nyaope also impacts negatively on family relationships in a manner that there is a lack of communication and ineffective communication among family members. The significant others identified the causes of relapse as a lack of educational programmes in communities, high unemployment rate, a lack of spiritual support, inadequate aftercare programmes and the return to the same community and friends following treatment. Significant others also indicated that nyaope users require volunteering opportunities in communities as a form of reintegration and that nyaope users need to change their lifestyles following treatment in order to regain trust from the community. Significant others recommended that nyaope users require support from family, spiritual support from spiritual leaders and psychosocial support in order for them to maintain total abstinence. / Mini Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW / Unrestricted

The susceptibility of adolescents to chemical addiction has become a major international concern. Approximately 25% of people in Central Asia and Eastern Europe who inject chemical substances are under the age of 20 years (Youth at the United Nations, 2006), while up to 75% of unintentional injuries among adolescents in America are related to substance abuse (Page & Page, 2003:196). On the national level, approximately 25% of adolescents under the age of 20 are involved in substance abuse (Western Cape Department of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation Transformation Plan, 2006:13). Focusing on the Western Cape, a report from the South African Epidemiology Network (2007:3) highlights that the youngest patient in in-patient treatment was nine years of age, and among 2 798 persons who received in-patient treatment, 27% were under the age of 20, more than any other age group in treatment. Treatment of adolescent chemical addiction should include preparation for treatment, treatment, and also aftercare services to ensure that the addicted adolescent develops skills to maintain sobriety (Meyer, 2005:292-293). Section Six of the South African Prevention and Treatment of Drug Dependency Act (1992) prescribes that chemically addicted persons should have access to professional aftercare services to ensure that treatment is not terminated prematurely. The motivation for this study was based on the fact that, despite this statutory requirement, the Western Cape Drug Forum (2005:3) identified the need for the development of aftercare services in 2005, indicating the lack of focus on aftercare as part of treatment. This concern was confirmed by practitioners in the field of adolescent chemical addiction and findings resulted from previous research regarding relapse experiences of chemically addicted adolescents (Van der Westhuizen, 2007:129-130). / Social Work / D. Phil. (Social Work)

The susceptibility of adolescents to chemical addiction has become a major international concern. Approximately 25% of people in Central Asia and Eastern Europe who inject chemical substances are under the age of 20 years (Youth at the United Nations, 2006), while up to 75% of unintentional injuries among adolescents in America are related to substance abuse (Page & Page, 2003:196). On the national level, approximately 25% of adolescents under the age of 20 are involved in substance abuse (Western Cape Department of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation Transformation Plan, 2006:13). Focusing on the Western Cape, a report from the South African Epidemiology Network (2007:3) highlights that the youngest patient in in-patient treatment was nine years of age, and among 2 798 persons who received in-patient treatment, 27% were under the age of 20, more than any other age group in treatment. Treatment of adolescent chemical addiction should include preparation for treatment, treatment, and also aftercare services to ensure that the addicted adolescent develops skills to maintain sobriety (Meyer, 2005:292-293). Section Six of the South African Prevention and Treatment of Drug Dependency Act (1992) prescribes that chemically addicted persons should have access to professional aftercare services to ensure that treatment is not terminated prematurely. The motivation for this study was based on the fact that, despite this statutory requirement, the Western Cape Drug Forum (2005:3) identified the need for the development of aftercare services in 2005, indicating the lack of focus on aftercare as part of treatment. This concern was confirmed by practitioners in the field of adolescent chemical addiction and findings resulted from previous research regarding relapse experiences of chemically addicted adolescents (Van der Westhuizen, 2007:129-130). / Social Work / D. Phil. (Social Work)