The Care and Protection of Children within ECD

The Care and Protection of Children within ECD Programmes Directorate: Child Protection ECD Conference in East London, E. Cape Date: 27 -30 March 2012 Presented by: Director, Ms M Ngcobo-Mbere

PURPOSE • To highlight how ECD programmes can be nodes of care and support for children; • How ECD programmes can provide preventive and early intervention measures for children. • How communities can utilize ECD programmes as part of their protective environment for children. • Importance of intersectoral collaboration in service delivery to children. 2

INTRODUCTION • The DSD is committed to promote and protect the rights of every child as a lead department in the implementation of the Children’s Act. • The department has to ensure that all children in South Africa enjoy the care and protection embodied and assured in our international obligations and national legislation. • Care and protection of children focuses on the intellectual, psychological, cognitive, emotional and physical developmental stages in the age cohorts of 1 -18 months, 18 months to 3 years, 3 -4 and 5 -6 years old. 3

INTRODUCTION (Cont…) • The critical stage of a child’s development are the early years from birth to 7 years old; • It is during this phase of development when a child absorbs everything happening in it’s environment like a sponge; • This is also an important stage to identify children with developmental delays and those at risk, to make an appropriate intervention regarding treatment, care and support; • ECD programmes must recognize the family as the most fundamental unit of society for children to grow up in a nurturing and secure environment ensuring their care, protection, survival and development. 4

LEGISLATION • SA Africa is a signatory of international obligations such as the UN Convention on Children’s Rights, African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children in respect of Intercountry Adoptions etc. • Section 28 of the Constitution ensures that children’s rights are recognized. • The Children’s Act No. 38 of 2005 is a comprehensive piece of legislation that affords children the necessary care, protection and assistance so that they develop to their full potential. • There are other pieces of legislation that also focus on children, however the Children’s Act places emphasis on their care and protection. 5

Principles of the Children’s Act The following principles underpin intervention measures for children: • The best interest of children is of paramount importance; • Services and programmes should be rights based; • Responsibilities of children depend on their abilities and age appropriate responsibilities; • Child participation in accordance with their age, sex and developmental needs; • Necessary measures be in place to protect the privacy, information and personal details of the child and the family; • Child victims have the right to protection without discrimination whether the child is South African or non- South African; 6

APPROACH § Child protection to adopt a developmental and multi-disciplinary approach. § Recognizing that building a protective environment for a child is a collective undertaking requiring societal and government commitment. § Have a clear intersectoral framework for management of child abuse, neglect and exploitation in SA. § Adoption of a child-centred approach to ensure intervention that is individualized according to the needs and rights of the child and the family. § To give attention to the child’s best interests and to recognize children with special needs and disabilities; § Understand each child’s level of functioning and developmental stage for effective responses. 7

Prevention and Early Intervention Programmes • Prevention programmes are to strengthen and capacitate individuals, families and communities to care and protect children. • Provide for measures to prevent children from being separated from their families by providing parenting programmes to build capacity of caregivers and parents. • Encourage participation of parents, caregivers and children in identifying and seeking solutions. • Utilize ECD programmes for advocacy and awareness programmes on an ongoing basis. • Early intervention services are provided to preserve families by identifying vulnerable or children at risk of abuse, neglect and exploitation or other harmful practices before it is necessary to remove them into alternative care. 8

• IDENTIFYING VULNERABLE CHILDREN OR AT RISK OF CHILD ABUSE NEGLECT, EXPLOITATION, VICTIMIZATION OR MARGINALIZATION Factors amongst others that may assist in identifying a child who is vulnerable or at risk: • A child displaying signs of physical, emotional, mental or sexual abuse; • Erratic attendance with high absenteeism without any explanation; • Bruises, wounds or other signs of physical abuse; • Child that is always tired or sleepy; • Parents who pick up a child displaying signs of being under the influence of substance/s; • Constant nappy rash or an unattended medical condition; • Child with poor hygiene, no change of clothes or has body odour. • Deep sadness and depression displayed by the child; • Fear of talking about home or parents; • Child engaging in inappropriate sexual conversation. 9

CHILD PROTECTION REGISTER (CPR) • Government has put in place various instruments and mechanisms to protect children one of which is the CPR legislated by the Children’s Act. • The strategic objective of Part A of the CPR is for the child to get services they need and the family to be provided with support. • The objective of Part B of the CPR is to have a record of persons who are unsuitable to work with children and to use the information in the Register to protect children in general against abuse from these persons. • All staff employed in the ECD centres are compelled to be screened against the CPR. • Staff that violates the rights of a child in an ECD centre must be reported to a social worker, a police officer and or the head of the centre by submitting a completed Form 22. 10

TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING • ECD staff to go through proper induction, capacity building and ongoing training on the developmental stages of a child; • Various forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation, victimization and marginalization; • Training on the early detection of developmental delays, prevention and early identification as well as the management of these cases. • Training on the appropriate referral and reporting process. 11

CODE OF CONDUCT • • Board of Management must develop a code of conduct to be used as a standardized framework for persons working with or managing children. All staff must sign and adhere to the code and it must be accessible to all. The implementation of the code of conduct is to ensure that staff enhance the care and protection of children. The code of conduct also ensures that communication about children must never be abused, misused or violated. 12

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF ECD PRACTITIONERS Amongst others these are a few roles and responsibilities of practitioners: • Provide children with developmental opportunities and age appropriate effective programmes to help them develop to their full potential; • Children must be cared for in a constructive positive manner, which gives them support security and ensures development of positive social behaviour; • Children must not be emotionally nor physically abused; • Practitioners must use positive guidance and discipline to assist their development; • Practitioners must value each child’s race, gender, religion, culture, language, socio-economic status and their disability. 13

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF FAMILIES • Parents must have an open relationship with their children to encourage them to report should their rights be violated anywhere including the ECD centre; • Parents must be observant when the child returns from the ECD programme/centre to establish whether the child has been violated in any way; • Parents have a right and responsibility to inform the head of the centre on any suspicion of the child being violated at the centre for investigation; • If a child has a contagious disease; • Is dissatisfied with the services provided by the centre to ensure that their concerns are addressed seriously and resolved amicably. 14

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMUNITY • ECD centres and services form part of the community and parents should be active members within their own communities and ensure a good relationship between themselves and the community; • Community members act as a support system to the centre and monitor the care and protection of children; • Community members are to be trained to identify and report cases of child abuse, neglect , exploitation and any other forms of violation on the rights of the child ; • Community members should assist with the maintenance of ECD centres. 15

CONCLUSION • Society as a whole should be committed to eradicate abuse, neglect, exploitation, victimization and marginalization of children by working together upholding the best interests of the child. • Proper and appropriate early childhood development care and protection is a right to every child laying a foundation for their adulthood; • Communities should take charge of their children in the spirit of UBUNTU and the ethic that Umntwana wakho ngumntwana wam- “ Your child is my child , ” “ My child is your child” and it takes a village to raise a child. 16

THANK YOU 17