DA’s Children’s Amendment Bill open for comment
24 May 2023
On 19 May 2023, the DA published its notice of intention to introduce the Children’s Amendment Bill, 2023. After months of hard work, the Bill is now a few steps away from being introduced into Parliament. A copy of the gazette notice can be found HERE.
There is a glaring void in the protection of children in partial care facilities. In terms of section 76 of the Children’s Act, partial care is provided when a person takes care of more than six children on behalf of their parents or caregivers. A partial care facility is required to be registered and comply with norms and standards as well as structural safety, health and other requirements. However, there is no such regulation, registration or requirements for facilities that cater for and provide such care for less than six children.
The effect, in reality, is that certain facilities that cater and care for, less than six children are not inspected and nor are they required to maintain their facilities in accordance with the norms and standards. The result of this is that children are being cared for in facilities that are not regulated, and which have deplorable conditions which would violate not only the norms and standards, if regulated, but also section 28(2) of the Constitution.
The draft Bill thus aims to address the consequences of the non-regulation of facilities that cater and care for, less than six children by inter alia: