Social Development
With regard to the social crime prevention programmes supported by her Department to promote a safer environment for children of the province:
- What are the details of those programmes in terms of (i) their geographic reach across the province, (ii) their outcomes in relation to child safety and (iii) the nature and extent of the support provided by the Department, (b) how do partner organisations and other entities work with her Department through these programmes and (c) what have been the observed effects that the programmes have on young children?
With regard to the social crime prevention programmes supported by her Department to promote a safer environment for children of the province:
- What are the details of those programmes in terms of
- their geographic reach across the province,
Crime prevention programmes are rendered by DSD, in partnership with NPOs, in all 6 regions of the Department.
- their outcomes in relation to child safety
-To strengthen child safety, empowered and equipped programme participants
with skills and knowledge on child rights,
-How to deal with and seek appropriate assistance for safety risk factors such as bullying and intimidation, family/ gender-based violence, physical/sexual abuse and substance abuse,
-Child safety ensured by extending these crime prevention programmes to school holidays in keeping children in a safe, secure and constructive environment.
- and the nature and extent of the support provided by the Department
-The programmes are life skills based and conducted in group set up. Individual follow ups emanating from the group sessions are made via referrals to the appropriate social workers.
(b) how do partner organisations and other entities work with her Department through these programmes
DSD has appointed Probation officers and Assistant Probation officers to render crime prevention programmes in the community and schools. DSD also fund NPO Social Workers, Social Auxiliary Workers, lay counsellors to render crime prevention programme and support services to programme beneficiaries. These programmes are conducted in partnership with departments of Education, SAPS and Health.
- and what have been the observed effects that the programmes have on young children?
The observed effects are confirmed by the teachers, school principals and parents who noticed positive behaviour changes, improvement of classroom discipline and a general sense of cooperation among learners in the schools.
