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.

“If prospective adoptive parents have to make use of the processes and services of other state departments in order to be able to provide a loving house for a child, it will result in a drastic decline in the number of adoptions. Therefore, the disaster will be twofold: it will affect families and it will affect the people who will lose their jobs. A report on adoptions compiled by the Solidarity Research Institute in 2019 found that the department had only finalised precious few adoptions in the previous number of years. We cannot allow this amendment to be implemented; healthy family structures and jobs are at stake,” Engelbrecht concluded.

To view the full commentary, click here.

Issued byMarisa Engelbrecht, Sector Head: Occupational Guilds, 30 November 2020