The behavioral impact of foster care towards middle-aged children and adolescents on their families of origin: A case study in Alice Township

Abstract

Provision of care for children who have been taken from their families can be viewed as being a potentially unconvincing and fragile process in our black communities. Since 1994 the South African Government has increasingly adopted a social agenda, channeling a significant amount of effort and resources towards identifying vulnerable groups in society, crafting legislation that would protect their interests and developing and implementing programmes and strategies to support them. The qualitative study assessed the behavioural impact of children in foster care and also behavioural impact towards their families of origin in Alice, Eastern Cape Province. The open-ended questionnaires were used to collect data from 30 participants, who gave a voluntary consent. The findings of the study are that today the vulnerabilities of children, the youth, and the disabled are still inextricably linked to harsh apartheid-era legislation aimed at subjugating black South Africans and are further exacerbated by systemic poverty and inequality which continuous to manifest itself along a racial divide. Recommendations made are that there should be immediate filling of vacant posts, induction of new social workers, and provision of adequate services to liaise foster cares with the families' origin of these children.