Social Development committed to eradicating the foster care backlogs and note with concern misleading media reports
10 September 2019
The Department of Social Development is committed to clear the foster care backlogs and has noted with serious concern misleading media reports regarding the North Gauteng High Court on foster care orders that are due to lapse at the end of November this year.
As the deadline for the implementation of the North Gauteng High Court order on foster care approaches, both the National and Provincial Departments of Social Development reiterated their commitment to work with speed to ensure that no child in foster care placement falls through the cracks.
The Citizen article is inaccurate as no foster care order has lapsed to date. The figures presented to Parliamentary Portfolio Committee are projections of foster care cases that provincial departments are working hard to extend before the foster care order lapses at the end of November.
The article was written and published with the malicious intention to taint the name of the Department and to cause panic amongst vulnerable children and foster care families. The article conveniently and blatantly ignores to mention the progress the Department has registered with regard to the implementation of a long lasting comprehensive legal solution to the foster care system as directed by the North Gauteng High Court.