Amendment to Children’s Act: comments against state control of adoptions
30 November 2020
Solidarity’s Social Workers’ Guild submitted its comments regarding the proposed amendments to the Children’s Act. According to the Guild, the amendments indicate a strong shift towards more power for the state and less for private social and support structures, which can have catastrophic consequences, especially with regard to the abolishment of adoption fees.
According to the Guild, the adoption process in its current form is already a drawn-out and highly regulated process that needs specialised knowledge; assessments, interviews, medical records and counselling for the children and prospective parents are required, among other things. In addition, South Africa already has a critical shortage of social workers and the state simply does not have the funds to employ more people.
“The average accredited adoption specialist handles about 100 cases at any given time, while international standards propose a maximum of 60 cases. This makes it impossible for the state to completely replace this function without ruining lives,” said Marisa Engelbrecht, sector head of Solidarity’s Social Workers’ Guild.
In terms of the amendment, the clause regarding the payment for services during the adoption process is completely scrapped from the Act, and the Act then determines that no fees may be charged for any services rendered during the adoption process. A private social worker may still provide this service if he/she registers to do so, but may not charge any fees for his/her services. This also applies to doctors, counsellors and lawyers who provide support in this process. Thousands of jobs will be lost through this amendment, and the social burden on the state will simply increase.