Reflections on the effectiveness of child support grants
Date
2020
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Sun Media
Abstract
South Africa’s unusually large social assistance system annually
transfers some 3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to
the poor as cash grants.1 The child support grant (CSG) programme is
one of the cornerstones of this system. Government spending on this
programme exceeds 1% of South Africa’s GDP, and, in March 2019,
nearly 70% of the 17.8 million grants disbursed in South Africa were
CSGs (South African Social Security Agency 2019:18).
The premise of this chapter is that a humane society should
maintain safety net schemes to meet the basic needs of children and
other vulnerable persons. Given the extent of poverty in South Africa
and its severe effects on large numbers of children, this premise implies
that measures, such as the CSG programme, are essential. Yet the same
factors that make such interventions essential also underscore the
necessity of ensuring their effectiveness. An appropriate criterion for
assessing the effectiveness of the CSG programme is the degree to which
its benefits to children are maximised. The design and implementation
of the programme, as well as the usage of the funds by households, all
influence its efficacy. In turn, the choices that manifest in these aspects
of the programme reflect the beliefs of society about its obligations to
poor children, those of policymakers about the requisites and agency
of the poor, and those of caregivers about the needs of children and the
role of grant money within household budgets. The salience of choices
rooted in beliefs imparts a strong ethical slant to attempts to assess
the effectiveness of the CSG programme.
The chapter proceeds with an overview of economic and social
influences on the living conditions of South African children. This
section highlights the high incidence of poverty in South Africa and
its severe effects on children. Next, the chapter sketches the history of the CSG programme and outlines its main characteristics. A review of empirical research into the effectiveness of CSGs follows. This section also identifies limitations of the programme. Against this backdrop, the final section offers broad suggestions for improving the CSG programme itself and for enhancing its effectiveness by means of changes to other policies that affect the living conditions and future prospects of children.
Description
CITATION: Siebrits, K. 2020. Reflections on the effectiveness of child support grants, in Grobbelaar, J. & Jones, C. (eds) 2020. Childhood vulnerabilities in South Africa : some ethical perspectives. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928480952/09.
The original publication is available at https://africansunmedia.store.it.si/za
The original publication is available at https://africansunmedia.store.it.si/za
Keywords
Children -- South Africa, Child support grants
Citation
Siebrits, K. 2020. Reflections on the effectiveness of child support grants, in Grobbelaar, J. & Jones, C. (eds) 2020. Childhood vulnerabilities in South Africa : some ethical perspectives. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928480952/09.