Children’s Amendment Bill – Deadline for Submissions: 27 November 2020

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The portfolio committee on Social Development was briefed on 6 October by the Department of Social Development on amendments contained in the Children’s Amendment Bill. The Bill seeks to provide a comprehensive legal solution for specific challenges in relation to foster care. There are also significant proposed amendments impacting adoptions. According to a media statement issued by the parliamentary communication services, concerns were expressed with the way certain clauses, including a clause on adoption processes, were explained. The Department has been requested to provide a more detailed briefing on these sections.

Opportunity will be provided for public comments on the bill from 16 October to 27 November 2020. NACSA will be making a written submission in collaboration with key stakeholders in the sector.

Should you be interested to get involved or to make a written submission, please read the NACSA position paper posted below. This paper aims to contextualise adoptions and provides an explanation of the key issues pertaining to adoption, while proposing alternatives to these amendments.

You can your send your submission to: Ms Lindiwe Ntsabo at childrens-amendment-bill@parliament.gov.za Please note the cut off date for written submissions is 27 November 2020. The more submissions in relation to key provisions, the more likely they may change the amendments

Please feel free to email us on info@adoption.org.za if you would like to have more information or to confirm your support of our position. Please consider joining the Coalition as this is when having a collective voice for adoption is so crucial.

To read the revised Bill and follow the process see: https://bit.ly/34bNZzX

Childrens Amendment Bill

Adoption and the Children_s Amendment Bill- NACSA POSITION PAPER

Call for submissions

Annexure F Memorandum of Objects of the CABill 28 January 2019

NACSA submission to parliament

The truth behind SA’s shocking child abandonment statistics

What to expect from the controversial Children’s Amendment Bill

 

Adoption: Landmark court ruling gives hope to KZN’s vulnerable children

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Robyn Wolfson Vorster • 1 March 2020

In a country where adoption numbers are low and declining, KwaZulu-Natal, the province with the largest number of orphans, is also the one with the fewest adoptions. In 2016, only eight were granted. Children have languished in care for years waiting for adoption placements. But now a landmark high court decision will change that.

Daily Maverick – https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2020-03-01-adoption-landmark-court-ruling-gives-hope-to-kzns-vulnerable-children

 

National Adoption Coalition of SA vs KZN Department of Social Development

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Dear NACSA Members,

CASE NUMBER D4680/2018 IN THE MATTER OF
NATIONAL ADOPTION COALITION OF SOUTH AFRICA
vs KZN DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (DSD)

On 1 November 2019 the National Adoption Coalition of SA assisted by the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria challenged the delays experienced by adoptable children in KZN in the Durban High Court. Advocate Deborah Ainslie of Artium Advocate Chambers have been instructed in this matter by the Centre for Child Law. The application was opposed by the Department of Social development. Judgement was handed down by Judge Rishi Seegobin on 25 February 2020.

In summary the case related to serious delays experienced in the issuance of Section 239 letters  by the KZN Department of Social Development(DSD).These delays in many instances prevented adoptions from proceeding by  the Department’s failure to make a decision and preventing  the Children’s Court from considering the adoptions.

The judgment handed down was the relief that was requested by the applicants and declares that the current process followed in respect of consideration section 239 applications is infringing on the rights of the adoptable children, the birth parents and the prospective adoptive parents. It provides for tight timelines for DSD to process all the outstanding adoptions within 30 days. The Order directs that proper consideration of relevant factors be undertaken, a change from the past decision making. It includes other relief, some more ‘technical’ – a structural interdict / supervisory order, but includes the provincial policy must be amended, the ‘expert’ panel composition and meetings changed and DSD report to progress to the Court every 6 months.

Although this judgement is not binding on other cases it does provide a precedent and can be referred to as such.

The judgement will be uploaded to our website www.adoptioncoalitionsa.org
View Judgement

 

Katinka Pieterse

Chairperson NACSA

Childrens Act Amendments

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Childrens Act Amendments

Proposed amendments to CHILDREN’S AMENDMENT BILL OF 2018 will devastate rights of children to permanent alternative care through adoption

[13 June 2019]:  Proposed amendments to the Children’s Amendment Bill of 2018 which propose to make it illegal for anyone to receive fees for professional services rendered or expenses incurred in respect of an adoption have received widespread attention and strong criticism from all quarters of child protection civil society sectors.

The controversial changes were hastily pushed through by the Department of Social Development (DSD) without in-depth consultation with the adoption and child protection sectors and without due consideration of the impact on the vulnerable children the act is intended to protect.  The amendments in their current format will unequivocally scupper the already declining number of adoptable children who find their way to a loving, adoptive family, exacerbating South Africa’s ballooning crisis of abandoned and vulnerable children left to languish in adoption homes. Continue reading “Childrens Act Amendments”

Impilo – Fact Sheet

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Impilo – Fact Sheet

  • Child Welfare SA estimated that more than 3500 babies were abandoned in SA in 2010.
  • There are no current statistics detailing the number of children who are abandoned in South Africa on an annual basis, but most child protection organizations believe that the numbers have increased significantly over the past decade.
  • It is estimated that about 3500 children are abandoned annually in SA, about 300 per month and the figure only includes survivors.
  • Figures compiled in Gauteng show that for every abandoned child found alive, two are found dead.
  • 70 per cent of abandonments are unsafe and many babies are never found.
  • “A recent Medical Research Council study on child homicide reveals that children in South Africa are at the highest risk of unnatural death in the first six days of life. Research shows that 65 per cent of abandoned children are new-borns, and 90 per cent are under the age of one. Many abandoned babies have already survived a late-term abortion. 52 to 58 per cent of South African abortions (up to 150 000 per annum) are illegal,” NACSA said.
  • 65% are new-born.
  • 90% are younger than a year.
  • 70% of abandonment sites cited are unsafe.
  • The number one mentioned site of abandonment is toilets, drains, sewers and gutters.
  • This is followed in descending order of mentions:

Continue reading “Impilo – Fact Sheet”

Impilo Child Protection Campaign

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Impilo Child Protection Campaign

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
– Nelson Mandela

It is estimated that 3500 children are abandoned in South Africa every year, approximately 300 per month, this figure only includes survivors. It’s a horrifying and disturbing statistic, but what can we do about it?

Impilo is at the forefront of efforts to address this social crisis through its comprehensive range of child protection and adoption services. To this end, we are embarking on a new campaign to create awareness, increase support and build a dynamic network that will assist these children with the opportunity for a full and productive life. After all, it takes a village…

The campaign will be launched at our media event on 13 June, during child protection month and just before our country celebrates Youth Day and will carry through to Mandela Day and onto Women’s month 2019. (with more details to follow) Continue reading “Impilo Child Protection Campaign”

Debate rages on about law change that will make it illegal to charge for adoption services

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News24 | GroundUp | The Citizen – Kim Reynolds

A debate is raging over a proposed amendment to the Child Care Act that would outlaw charging fees for adoption services. The amendment is expected to be passed by the end of the year, as part of a number of changes to the Act.

News 24 – https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/debate-rages-on-about-law-change-that-will-make-it-illegal-to-charge-for-adoption-services-20190209

Ground Up – https://www.groundup.org.za/article/concern-over-major-change-pending-adoptions/

The Citizen – https://citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/2080573/new-law-will-kill-off-child-adoptions/

Adoption amendments threaten vulnerable children

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politicsweb – Albert Fritz

Families are the bedrock of any society and are the most important social unit in providing a nurturing and supportive environment for children to thrive and grow. In a country with an estimated 3.7 million orphaned and vulnerable children, legislation should facilitate the seamless adoptions.

https://www.politicsweb.co.za/opinion/adoption-amendments-deny-opportunity-to-vulnerable