SUMMARY OF AMENDMENTS TO BILL 19B – 2006
Definitions
Insertion of definitions
“after-care” means the supportive
service provided by a social worker or a social service professional to monitor
progress with regard to the child’s developmental adjustment as part of—
(a) family preservation or reunification services;
(b) adoption or placement in alternative care: or
(c) discharge from alternative care;
“assessment
of a child” means a process of investigating the developmental needs of a child,
including his or her family environment and any other circumstances that may
have a bearing on the child’s need for protection and therapeutic services;
“assessment
of a programme” means a process conducted by a suitably qualified person, of determining
whether the provision and the content of a programme complies with prescribed norms
and standards;
“cluster
foster care” means the reception of children in foster care in accordance with a
cluster foster care scheme registered by the provincial head of social development;
Amendment of definitions
“cluster
foster care scheme” means a scheme providing for the reception of children in
foster care managed by a nonprofit organisation and registered by the
provincial head of social development for this purpose;
“quality assurance
process”
the content of this definition was moved to section 211 as the definition
contained substantive provisions.
“secure
care”
means the physical containment in a safe and healthy environment—
(a) of children with behavioural and emotional difficulties; and
(b) of children in conflict with the law;
Amendments
done generally throughout the Bill
Clauses 77, 92, 104, 145, 192, 214:
Strategy concerning partial care / early childhood development / protection of
children / prevention and early intervention / child and youth care centres /
drop-in centres
Relevant Ministers were added to the lists of
Ministers to be consulted for purposes of the development of the departmental
strategy on the above-mentioned topics.
Clauses 78, 93, 146, 216: Provision
of partial care / early childhood development programmes / prevention and early
intervention programmes / drop-in centres
The addition of subclause (4) regarding the
prioritisation of funding for partial care / early childhood development
programmes / prevention and early intervention programmes / drop-in centres:
·
In communities where families lack the means of providing
proper shelter, food and other basic necessities of life to their children;
·
To make partial care facilities and drop-in centres accessible,
and early childhood development programmes and prevention and early
intervention programmes available to children with disabilities.
Clauses 79, 94, 106, 147, 194,
216: Norms and standards for partial
care partial care / early childhood development / designated child protection
services / prevention and early intervention / child and youth care centres /
drop-in centres
Lists of relevant Ministers to be consulted for
purposes of the development of norms and standards for the matters referred to
above were added.
Clauses 80, 95, 197, 217: Partial
care facility / early childhood development programme / child and youth care
centre / drop-in centre to be registered
The exemption from registration of partial care
facilities / child and youth care centres / drop-in centres operated or managed
by national or provincial departments of social development and early childhood
development programmes provided by national or provincial departments of social
development was removed.
Clauses 82, 97, 200, 219:
Consideration of application for registration of partial care facility / early
childhood development programme / child and youth care centre / drop-in centre
A time limit of six months was inserted as the period
within which the head of social development of a province must consider an
application for registration, conditional registration or the renewal of
registration.
Clause 86, 101, 177, 207, 223: Appeal
against and review of certain decisions in relation to partial care facility /
early childhood development programme / foster care / child and youth care
centre / drop-in centre
A time period of 90 days for the lodging of appeals
and 90 days for the consideration of appeals were added.
Clauses 88, 102, 225: Assignment of functions to municipalities in
relation to partial care facility / early childhood development programme /
drop-in centre
Provision is made that functions assigned to
municipalities may be delegated to social service professionals, not social
workers.
A time period of 90 days for the lodging of appeals
and 90 days for the consideration of appeals was added in connection with
matters assigned to municipalities
Clauses 89, 226: Serious injury, abuse or death of child in
partial care facility / drop-in centre
Apart from the existing obligation on the person
operating a partial care facility or drop-in centre to report any serious
injury or abuse of a child to the provincial head of social development for an
investigation, an obligation on employees of facilities and centres to report
any serious injury or abuse of a child was added.
Amendments
to Chapter 5: Partial care
Clause 79: Norms and standards for
partial care facilities
Subclause (3)(c)(iii): “basic therapeutic interventions” as part of
the norms and standards relating to the training of employees at partial care
facilities for children with disabilities and chronic illnesses was added.
Clause 90
Paragraph (g)
was added to provide for regulations on the procedure to be followed with
regard to children in a partial care facility that is closed down.
Amendments
to Chapter 6: Early childhood development
Clause 91: Early childhood
development
The description of early childhood development was
amended to add the terms “sensory” and “communication”.
Clause 101: Appeal against and review
of certain decisions
A clause to provide for an appeal procedure for
decisions relating to early childhood development was inserted.
Amendments
to Chapter 7: Protection of children
Part 1: Child protection system
Clause 110: Reporting of child in
need of care and protection
Subclause (1): The following amendments were made with
regard to compulsory reporting of children who are abused in a manner causing
physical injury, sexually abused or deliberately neglected:
·
Immigration officials were added to the list of persons who
are compelled to report;
·
Police official were removed from the list of persons that
should report and added to the list of persons to whom a report should be made;
·
The qualification that a report by persons who are compelled
to report the abuse or neglect of children should be done if it is in the best
interest of the child concerned had been removed.
Subclause (6)(a): An obligation on a designated child
protection organisation to report matters reported to it to the provincial department
of social development was added.
Subclause (6)(b): An obligation on the provincial head of
social development to monitor the progress of matters reported to the
department was added.
Subclause (8): An
obligation on a provincial department of social development and a designated
child protection organisation to report the possible commission of offences to
the police was added.
Part 4: Other protective measures
Clause 137: Child-headed households
Subclause (1)(a):
The abandoning of children in a
household by the parent, guardian or care-giver of the household was added as
an additional ground for the recognition of a household as a child-headed
household.
Subclause (1)(c):
The age of the child at the head of a
household to be recognised as a child-headed household was changed to 16 years.
Subclause (1)(d)
of Bill 19B – 2006: The requirement that
a child-headed household must have been investigated by a social worker before
it may be recognised as a child-headed was removed.
Subclause (3)(b):
A provision that a supervising adult for
a child-headed household must be a fit and proper person to supervise a
child-headed was added. A person
unsuitable to work with children is not a fit and proper person to supervise a
child-headed household.
Subclause (5) of Bill 19B – 2006: Provision for the administration of social
security grants and other grants or assistance for a child-headed household by
an organ of state or provincial department of social development was removed.
Subclause (8): A
clause to provide for the reporting of a supervising adult by the children in
the household to the organ of state of non-governmental organisation that
designated the supervising adult was added.
Clause 139: Discipline of children
Clause was removed in
toto.
Clause 141: Child labour and
exploitation of children
Amendments made as requested by Department of Labour.
Subclause (1)(a):
Addition of prohibition on the use,
procurement or offering of children for slavery and similar practices.
Subclause (1)(d):
Addition of prohibition on the use, procurement or offering of children for the
commission of an offence listed in Schedule 1 or 2 of the Criminal Procedure
Act, 1977.
Clause 142: Regulations
Removal of clause to provide for regulations for
cultural and religious practices violating the physical integrity of children.
Amendment of
chapter 8: Prevention and early intervention
Clause 144: Purposes of prevention
and early intervention
Subclause (1) that relates to issues that prevention
and early intervention programmes must focus on, was amended in the following
manner:
·
The addition of the promotion of positive, non-violent forms
of discipline as part of the development of appropriate parenting skills;
·
The addition of a provision for the development of
appropriate parenting skills and the capacity of parents and care-givers to
safeguard the well-being and best interests of children with disabilities and
chronic illnesses.
·
Promoting (not establishing) appropriate parenting skills
Subclause (2) that relates to issues that prevention
and early intervention programmes may deal with was amended by the addition of
the following provisions:
·
The provision of information to families to enable them to
access services;
·
Supporting and assisting families with chronically ill or
terminally ill family members;
·
Early childhood development;
·
Promoting the well-being of children and the realisation of
their full potential.
Clause 146: Provision of prevention
and early intervention programmes
Subclause (1) was amended to make the provision and
funding of prevention and early intervention programmes by the MEC for social
development in a province compulsory
Amendment of
chapter 11: Alternative care
Clause 167: Alternative care
Subclause (2):
A prohibition was imposed on caring, keeping or retaining a child in
temporary safe care or at any place or facility, including a registered child
and youth care centre, for longer than six months without a court order pacing
the child in alternative care.
Amendment of
chapter 12: Foster care
Clause 183: Cluster foster care
A clause providing for the requirements that must be
complied with for the registration and management of cluster foster care
schemes by nonprofit organisations was inserted.
Amendment of
chapter 13: Child and youth care centres
Clause 191: Child and youth care centre
·
Subclause (3):
provision for therapeutic and developmental programmes to be offered at
child and youth care centres.
·
Subclause (4): a
provision was added that requires the provincial head of social development to
approve programmes offered by child and youth care centres and to authorise a
suitably qualified person to asses the content of programmes.
Clause 194: Norms and standards for child and youth care
centres
Subclause (2):
Provision for the determination of the following norms and standards was
added:
·
Access to early childhood development;
·
Security measures for child and youth care centres.
Clause 196: Existing government children’s home, place of
safety, secure care facility, school of industry and reform school
·
Subclause (1) was amended to insert a reference to schools of
industries and reform schools as maintained by the Child Care Act, 1983, in
paragraphs (d) and (e) respectively.
·
Subclause (3) was added as a transitional provision for the transfer
of existing schools of industries and reform schools to the provincial
departments of social development.
Clause 197: Establishment of child and youth care centre
The clause was amended to indicate that a national or
provincial state department for social development, municipalities and
accredited organisations may establish and operate child and youth care
centres.
Clause 205: Voluntary closure of child and youth care
centre
The holder of a registration of a child and youth care
centre must give written notice to the provincial head of social development
when voluntarily closing that centre and must surrender the certificate of
registration.
Amendment of
chapter 14: Drop-in centres
Clause 213: Drop-in centres
·
Subclause (1): The
description of a drop-in centre was amended as follows:
A drop-in centre is a
facility providing basic services aimed at meeting the emotional, physical and
social development needs of vulnerable children
·
Subclause (2) was added to indicate the basic services to be
delivered by drop-in centres;
·
Subclause (3) was added to indicate the programmes that
drop-in centres may offer.
Clause 216: Norms and standards for drop-in centres
The norms and standards for drop-in centres were reviewed.