Social workers’ perspectives on the support needs of foster parents in cluster foster care schemes in South Africa
| dc.contributor.advisor | Slabbert, Ilze | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Scharein, Margaret | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work. | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-02-27T09:46:13Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-05-18T07:04:40Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-02-27T09:46:13Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-05-18T07:04:40Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-03 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (M Social Work)--Stellenbosch University, 2023. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is a growing worldwide need to provide alternative care for children in need of care and protection. In South Africa the ongoing socio-economic impacts of poverty, unemployment and violence undermine the ability of many families to thrive, thus increasing the vulnerability of their children. The increasing volume of children in this position has overwhelmed the already struggling foster care system to the point where the exact figures are unknown. Cluster foster care is a relatively new and unknown form of foster care, with scant literature on the topic and questions surrounding its efficacy in meeting the best interests of the child. The employment of foster parents to parent unrelated children in homes run by cluster foster care schemes has hence been a contentious issue. The preliminary literature review revealed a problem in that very little is known about these foster parents, especially what support they need to enable them to perform this crucial role appropriately and sustainably. The goal of the study was, therefore, to develop an in-depth understanding of the support needs of foster parents in cluster foster care schemes in South Africa, from the perspectives of social workers, who provide supervision and support services, with a view to contributing to the development of support systems and best practice principles in the domain that will ultimately raise the level of care of children in need of care and protection. The study used a qualitative research approach with an explorative, descriptive design. Data was collected from twenty-one participants by means of online semi-structured interviews based on the principles of the Circle of Courage. Participants of this study are registered social workers providing services on behalf of eleven social service organisations operating cluster foster care schemes in the South African provinces of Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Western Cape. A hermeneutic line of enquiry, with a theoretical underpinning of the developmental approach to social welfare, was followed and data was analysed using the method of reflexive thematic data analysis. The findings of the study revealed that the cluster foster care scheme system in South Africa is propelled by dedicated, resourceful management and teams that look beyond the dependence on government funding to secure and provide resources that focus on one goal – to secure nurturing, family-like care for children in need of care and protection. It was found that contrary to beliefs that cluster foster care is not conducive to meeting the best interests of the child, the partnership that exists between foster parents, cluster foster care schemes and the department of social development is capable of facilitating nurturing, sustainable care of these children. Nevertheless, it was concluded that for the main purposes of foster care to protect and nurture, promote permanency and respect diversity to be fulfilled, this developing system needs to fill gaps in permanency planning for foster parents and children alike and inconsistencies in developmental and culturally sensitive practices need to be prioritised by social service providers and their community partners. The outcomes thus highlighted that gauging the efficacy of cluster foster care in meeting the best interests of vulnerable children goes beyond assessing the quality of the relationship between the foster parent and child, or monitoring whether the cluster foster care scheme has completed its registration with the department of social development. Significantly, the study found marked parallels between the special needs of foster parents in cluster foster care schemes and the special needs of the children in their care and concluded that these can be a protective factor rather than a risk factor when receiving the hands-on social work support that is a characteristic of this system. A crucial recommendation based on these findings is therefore that stakeholders recognise the worth of quality foster parent-social worker relationships and contemplate placing value on the dual motivations that foster parents have to find employment while answering a calling to fulfil a higher purpose. In so doing, they can secure quality interim family-like care for the burgeoning numbers of children in need of care and protection in South Africa, while empowering marginalised members of society to secure economic and personal upliftment. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar is ‘n groeiende wêreldwye behoefte om alternatiewe sorg te verskaf aan kinders wat sorg en beskerming benodig. In Suid-Afrika ondermyn die voortdurende sosioekonomiese impak van armoede, werkloosheid en geweld die vermoë van baie gesinne om te floreer, en dit verhoog dus die kwesbaarheid van hul kinders. Die toenemende aantal kinders in hierdie posisie het die reeds sukkelende pleegsorgstelsel oorweldig tot die punt waar die presiese syfers onbekend is. Klusterpleegsorg is ‘n relatief nuwe en onbekende vorm van pleegsorg, met min literatuur oor die onderwerp en vrae rondom die doeltreffendheid daarvan om die beste belange van die kind te bevredig. Die indiensneming van pleegouers aan ouer onverwante kinders in huise wat deur groeppleegsorgskemas bestuur word, was dus ‘n omstrede kwessie. Die voorlopige literatuuroorsig het ‘n probleem aan die lig gebring, omdat baie min oor hierdie pleegouers bekend is, veral watter ondersteuning hulle nodig het om hulle in staat te stel om hierdie deurslaggewende rol toepaslik en volhoubaar te verrig. Die doel van die studie was dus om ‘n diepgaande begrip van die ondersteuningsbehoeftes van pleegouers in klusterpleegsorgskemas in Suid-Afrika te ontwikkel, vanuit die perspektiewe van maatskaplike werkers wat toesig- en ondersteuningsdienste verskaf. Verder het die studie beoog om by te dra tot die ontwikkeling van ondersteuningstelsels en beste praktykbeginsels in die domein wat uiteindelik die vlak van sorg van kinders wat sorg en beskerming benodig te verhoog. Die studie is gedoen deur gebruik te maak van ‘n kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering met ‘n verkennende, beskrywende ontwerp. Data is van een-en-twintig deelnemers ingesamel deur middel van aanlyn, semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude gebaseer op die beginsel van die ‘Circle of Courage’. Deelnemers wat betrek is by die studie is geregistreerde maatskaplike werkers wat dienste verskaf aan elf maatskaplikediensorganisasies wat groeppleegsorgskemas bedryf in die Suid- Afrikaanse provinsies Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Noordwes, Vrystaat, KwaZulu-Natal, Noord-Kaap, Oos-Kaap en Wes-Kaap. ‘n Hermeneutiese ondersoekmetode, met ʼn teoretiese onderbou van die ontwikkelingsbenadering tot maatskaplike welsyn, is gevolg en data is ontleed deur die metode van refleksiewe tematiese data-analise te gebruik. Die studie het aan die lig gebring dat die groeppleegsorgskemastelsel in Suid-Afrika aangedryf word deur die toegewyde vindingryke bestuur van spanne wat verby die afhanklikheid van staatsbefondsing kyk om hulpbronne te verseker en te verskaf. Die hooffokus van hierdie groeppleegsorgskemastelsel is om koesterende gesinsorg vir kinders wat sorg en beskerming benodig, te voorsien. Daar is gevind dat, anders as wat geglo word, klusterpleegsorg wel bevorderlik is om die beste belange van die kind te bevredig. Die vennootskap wat bestaan tussen pleegouers, klusterpleegsorgskemas en die departement van maatskaplike ontwikkeling is in staat om koesterende, volhoubare sorg aan hierdie kinders te verskaf. Nietemin is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat hierdie ontwikkelende stelsel leemtes in permanensiebeplanning vir pleegouers en kinders het. Daar is ook teenstrydighede in ontwikkelings- en kultuursensitiewe aspekte wat uitgevoer moet word deur maatskaplike diensverskaffers en hul gemeenskapsvennote om die hoofdoel van pleegsorg naamlik, om te beskerm en te koester, permanensie te bevorder en diversiteit te respekteer. Die uitkomste het dus beklemtoon dat die bepaling van die doeltreffendheid van klusterpleegsorg om die beste belange van kwesbare kinders te bevredig, verder gaan as die beoordeling van die gehalte van die verhouding tussen die pleegouer en kind, of die monitering van die registrasie van die klusterpleegsorgskema by die departement van maatskaplike ontwikkeling. Die studie het merkbare parallelle gevind tussen die spesiale behoeftes van pleegouers in klusterpleegsorgskemas en die spesiale behoeftes van die kinders in hulle sorg. Die gevolgtrekking is gemaak dat hierdie parallelle eerder ‘n beskermende faktor as ‘n risikofaktor kan wees met in agname die praktiese, sosiale werksondersteuning wat ‘n kenmerk van hierdie stelsel is. ‘n Sleutelaanbeveling gebaseer op hierdie bevindinge is dus dat belanghebbendes die waarde van gehalte van pleegouer-maatskaplike-werkerverhoudings erken en oorweeg om waarde te heg aan die dubbele motivering wat hierdie pleegouers het om werk te kry, terwyl hulle ‘n roeping beantwoord om ‘n hoër doel te vervul. Sodoende kan hulle kwaliteit tussentydse gesinsorg verseker en word hulle as gemarginaliseerde lede van die samelewing bemagtig om ekonomiese en persoonlike opheffing te verseker. | af_ZA |
| dc.description.version | Masters | en_ZA |
| dc.format.extent | xiv, 216 pages : illustrations | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/127108 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Foster home care -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Foster children -- Care -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Foster parents -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | South Africa -- Social conditions | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | South Africa -- Economic conditions | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Poverty -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Social workers -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject.name | UCTD | |
| dc.title | Social workers’ perspectives on the support needs of foster parents in cluster foster care schemes in South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |
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