The state of adoption in South Africa

Robyn Wolfson Voster

Statistics compiled by the Children's Institute show that there are approximately three million orphans in South Africa. These include over 500,000 maternal orphans, 1.8 million paternal orphans and more than 600,000 double orphans. Some of these children live in relatively safe kinship or communal care relationships but a large number could benefit from adoption (either by extended family – to afford them a permanent, legal, familial relationship – or by unrelated families). In addition, there are tens of thousands of crisis pregnancies annually.

According to a 2010 statistic, roughly 3,500 children survive abandonment every year. In a follow-up study released during Child Protection Week in 2017, the National Adoption Coalition (NACSA) confirmed the accuracy of this figure, but also indicated that unsafe and anonymous abandonments are increasing. The implication is that for many children who experience the trauma of abandonment, family reunification and a safe family environment are not an option. Again, these are children who could benefit from adoption (which is why most of the children on RACAP – Register on Adoptable Children and Prospective Adoptive Parents – were abandoned, rather than placed consensually for adoption). For these children, in the absence of adoption, a childhood spent in institutional care or impermanent foster care becomes the only option.

It would follow that in response to this crushing need, adoption should be integral part of the country's child protection plans. But is it? Statistics produced by the Department of Social Development (DSD) show a significant decline in adoptions since the inception of the Children's Act, with numbers decreasing every year. In 2017, they dropped as low as 1,033, with unrelated adoptions forming a tiny percentage of this already miniscule number. Anecdotal evidence from adoption social workers indicates that the situation is not improving and that social workers must overcome significant obstacles in order to process adoptions.

Some of the top hindrances to adoptions include:

• Obtaining birth certificates, especially in the case of late birth registrations and children born from
  foreign mothers in South Africa.
• Delays from the DSD in producing Form 30s and 239s. Especially in provinces like KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, where the proposed terms of reference for 239 panels are likely to make things more difficult for social workers. It is one of the reasons for the High Court case being brought against the DSD by NACSA in KZN (Managing adoption challenges in KZN). It is also telling that when a landmark High Court ruling last year declared that 239s were no longer necessary for intercountry adoptions, it paved the way for a number of previously stalled intercountry adoptions to proceed. This further illustrates just how difficult this part of the process is, especially in specific provinces.
• Foreign or undocumented children – this continues to be a challenge for adoption social workers. Recently, a magistrate in Johannesburg refused to finalise a step-parent adoption of a foreign child. This is also a common challenge for children being adopted by unrelated parents. In addition, on instruction from the government in Lesotho, the DSD is now prohibiting the adoption of any children born in South Africa from Lesotho mothers.
• Processes can be very cumbersome. Examples include getting a child declared abandoned and getting parental rights rescinded.
• Slow turnaround times from some government officials at key points in the process. This includes birth registration, panels, court dates and other key areas.
• Even once children are listed on RACAP, the time spent on the list is increasing. Even more troubling: in 2010 there were only three children who spent more than 60 days on RACAP. This number has increased annually and in 2017, 240 children were recorded to have spent more than 60 days on the list. Given our increasing knowledge about problems with attachment and the neurological impact of delayed placement, this should be extremely concerning for practitioners and authorities alike (The First 1000 Days).
• There are serious inconsistencies when it comes to collaboration between different stakeholders and differences in regions or provinces. For example, the DSD in one location may decide that social workers are no longer allowed to place a child in a specific way, justifying it as a directive from national DSD. However, nothing will be provided in writing and it will not be applied in other regions. This ends up having huge practical implications.
• The DSD has yet to resolve issues of speciality regarding its own social workers (who, based on new legislation, should also be able to complete adoptions, but in many instances, currently lack the specialist knowledge and skills to perform adoptions).
• Another challenge is evident in the statistics on RACAP. Although the number of children on RACAP has remained quite consistent (583 in June 2016 and 597 in February 2018), the number of adoptive parents dropped from 366 in June 2016 to 250, 20 months later. This should undoubtedly be a point of concern for adoption social workers.

On a positive note, though, an evaluation of RACAP statistics shows some very important trends. The first is that after years of trying to motivate more black parents to adopt, the number of black adoptive parents on RACAP has increased in the last two years (up to 62 in February 2018). What is also of interest is that fewer parents are trying to adopt white and Indian babies (known to be very scarce and difficult to adopt; there have not been more than three white or Indian children on RACAP at any one time over the past two years). Instead, it appears that far more adoptive parents are committed to adopting black, coloured or mixed-race children, making matching easier.

To raise the number of adoptions in South Africa it is critical for the DSD, in collaboration with the NGO sector, to address these key problems. Without this intentional intervention, adoptions will continue to meander, leaving countless abandoned and orphaned children to grow up in care or impermanent families.