Delivery of vital child support grants essential
SOCIAL Development experts warn that failure by the government to deliver child support grants infringes on children’s constitutional rights.
“Income support is crucial and it should not be compromised by the government’s failure to deliver child support grants.
“If this happens, it will have dire consequences on child nutrition and health,” said Professor Leila Patel from the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ’s) Centre for Social Development in Africa.
Patel was speaking at the release of a new report conducted by UJ in conjunction with the universities of Chicago and Utrecht as well as the Department of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation as well as the Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development (PSPPD).
The study, which comes days before World Children’s Day on November 20 and almost 10 months from when Sassa faced a debacle over grant payments, looks at the impact child grants have had on the well-being of the country’s young children.
It also highlights the role the government plays in supporting families of these children.
Themed “Family contexts, child support grants and child well-being in South Africa”, researchers sampled up to 3 132 children under the age of eight who lived with their relatives in Doornkop, Soweto, and Moutse in the Sekhukhune district, Limpopo.
Quantitative data used included national statistical data and information from the National Income Dynamic Survey of 2008.
Reading the outcomes of the study, Professor Patel said the aim of the report had cast focus on how Child Support Grants (CSGs) could be improved.
“What we wanted to do was to build on the strength of CSG and poverty reduction,” she said.
She added that the PSPPD had called for proposals around child grants to be made, adding that the centre decided to pitch their report on families.
“Our research flows directly from past research. Although the CSG is doing well, we argue it is not enough. It is not sufficient to address the multifaceted needs children have,” she said.
It is thought that up to 12 million receive R380 in child support grants every month. The amount was increased by R20 in April this year. Six out of 10 children also live below the poverty line.
Patel said 80 percent of eligible children were still not receiving a grant, adding that this was detrimental to their health and well-being.
“Poverty is a risk factor for growth and the development of children,” she said.
The study also found that child support grants beneficiaries under the age of five were of normal weight and height.
“It is therefore important to start children on grants at an early age,” Patel said, adding that the core message from the research was that the government now needed to step up by not only providing a cash injection to families, but an overall support structure that would assist families to raise children who will contribute meaningfully to society in the future.
Patel also pointed out that when the grant was designed 20 years ago, its intention was to support families by way of cash and increasing food security.
Professor Tessa Hochfeld of the centre said that the deteriorating economic situation in the country and rising poverty were expected to have dire consequences for poor children and their families.
The report also revealed how some households rely on an income of R394 a month, particularly in rural areas.
It said complementary family and community-based programmes are recommended to prevent social problems from occurring and that if implemented, these programmes would fast-track the positive gains already made by the government through providing grants.
Poverty a risk factor for their development