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The state of foster care services : perspectives of designated child protection social workers at NGOs in Johannesburg
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613748666040320 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Ncube, Susisizungu |
| author2 | Strydom, Marianne |
| author_browse | Ncube, Susisizungu Strydom, Marianne |
| author_facet | Strydom, Marianne Ncube, Susisizungu |
| author_sort | Ncube, Susisizungu |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136115 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:41:04.390Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136115 The state of foster care services : perspectives of designated child protection social workers at NGOs in Johannesburg Ncube, Susisizungu Strydom, Marianne Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work. Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Ncube, S. 2026. The state of foster care services : perspectives of designated child protection social workers at NGOs in Johannesburg. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/0d2bf0f8-3f09-49cc-b59b-f932d722810a Foster care in South Africa is a vital component of the child protection system that provides alternative care for children in need of care and their families. Mandated by the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, foster care aims to ensure the safety, stability, and developmental wellbeing of children while promoting family reunification and long-term permanency planning within a developmental social welfare framework. South Africa officially adopted the developmental welfare approach through the White Paper for Social Welfare in 1997. This marked a shift from the apartheid-era welfare system, which was residual and paternalistic in nature, toward a more rights-based, inclusive and participatory approach to welfare services. To deliver comprehensive developmental services to children and their families, the Department of Social Development (DSD) partners with designated non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to carry out its child protection mandate. The DSD relies on these partnerships to implement statutory and support services, including foster care placement, supervision, and family reunification. Therefore, social workers from designated NGOs represent a group of critical frontline role players in the DSD’s strategy concerning child protection and foster care service delivery. Although the government has pledged to implement reforms, several elements of the foster care system—particularly those concerning legislation, policy and implementation—still require examination and adequate execution. Hence, this study focused on the current state of foster care services in South Africa from the perspectives of social workers employed at NGOs in the Johannesburg region. The study applied the developmental social welfare approach to describe and analyse the South African child protection landscape. This study adopted a qualitative research methodology and utilised the exploratory and descriptive research designs. A purposive sample was drawn, consisting of twenty social workers and four social work supervisors from five designated NGOs operating in the Johannesburg region. The research instrument was a semi-structured interview schedule, which was developed around key themes emerging from a review of existing literature. Six themes were derived from the participant interviews through thematic analysis. These themes were further divided into corresponding subthemes and categories. The findings indicated that NGOs continued to face persistent systemic challenges, highlighting a foster care programme that is inadequate in delivering comprehensive services aligned with the developmental social welfare approach. These shortcomings are primarily attributed to ongoing resource constraints. As a result, the study also found that foster care services remain largely reactive and compliance-driven, with limited attention given to prevention and early intervention services. It was further found that most social workers demonstrated a limited grasp of the core principles of the developmental social welfare approach, especially regarding its practical implementation within foster care services. Social workers’ practice was largely guided by the Children’s Act of 2005, with minimal awareness of the broader international, regional, and national legislative and policy frameworks informing child protection services. Thus, the study highlighted the need for sustained investment in professional development training for social workers to equip them with the knowledge and skills required to align their practice and interventions with the developmental social welfare approach. Therefore, based on the perspectives of social workers employed at NGOs in the Johannesburg region that formed part of this study group, it can be concluded that foster care services are not implemented in full accordance with the developmental social welfare approach. To achieve alignment with this framework, the government must assume a proactive role in delivering comprehensive developmental services to all vulnerable groups, including children in foster care and their families, as outlined in the White Paper for Social Welfare. These developmental services must focus on addressing both immediate protection needs and broader socioeconomic, educational, and psychosocial factors supporting long-term developmental outcomes. Thus, to translate policy principles into effective practice, adequate funding, integrated service delivery, and capacity building within the social work sector must be ensured as a matter of urgency. Doctoral 2026-04-22T12:57:28Z 2026-04-22T12:57:28Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136115 en Stellenbosch University 376 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Ncube, Susisizungu The state of foster care services : perspectives of designated child protection social workers at NGOs in Johannesburg |
| title | The state of foster care services : perspectives of designated child protection social workers at NGOs in Johannesburg |
| title_full | The state of foster care services : perspectives of designated child protection social workers at NGOs in Johannesburg |
| title_fullStr | The state of foster care services : perspectives of designated child protection social workers at NGOs in Johannesburg |
| title_full_unstemmed | The state of foster care services : perspectives of designated child protection social workers at NGOs in Johannesburg |
| title_short | The state of foster care services : perspectives of designated child protection social workers at NGOs in Johannesburg |
| title_sort | state of foster care services perspectives of designated child protection social workers at ngos in johannesburg |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136115 |
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