Our Services
There are many ways in which vulnerable children depend on us at Jo’burg Child Welfare. Keep scrolling to learn more about this and get in touch with us if you’d like a closer look.
Since many of our beneficiaries are protected by court orders, we can’t always publish photos and identifying details, but we’re always willing to engage with you as our supporters and benefactors, to show you the life-changing difference made by your donations.
CHILD ABUSE TREATMENT AND TRAINING SERVICES (CATTS)
CATTS treatment offers a holistic, comprehensive and specialised therapeutic service to child survivors of sexual abuse and their families. Where statutory intervention is required, such services are also provided. Therapeutic intervention is also offered to adult survivors of sexual abuse. The CATTS treatment programme offers medium to long-term therapy to both children and families. The programme includes thorough assessment of victims, home visits, family therapy, and case conferences in collaboration with psychologists and professional consultants, with the exception of individual therapy.
FOSTER CARE AND REUNIFICATION SERVICES
The Foster Care Department is responsible for recruitment, screening and training foster parents as well as the supervision and monitoring of foster care placements. The Recruitment and Screening Section is responsible for recruitment and screening of new prospective foster parents in order to determine their suitability to care for children. The Supervision and Monitoring Section is responsible for supervising and monitoring of foster care placements and to render reconstruction services to the biological parents of the children for reunification to take place.
ADOPTIONS
The Adoption team is a specialised team dedicated to the permanent placement of abandoned babies and children and those for whom consent for adoption has been given. Our Adoptions team work hard to place those children eligible for adoption. Social workers in the adoption team are responsible for counselling pregnant women who may be considering giving up their unborn children for adoption. Temporary or permanent placement of the child is arranged where necessary. Our policy is ideally to find suitable adoptive parents within South Africa, but should no such family be available, applicants from Botswana, Finland or Belgium are considered. International adopters undergo stringent tests and are expected to learn about the child’s culture, language and the history of the country.
AGANANG TRAINING CENTRE
Jo’burg Child Welfare initiated the establishment of a training centre for the training of social auxiliary workers. This was due to the shortage of social workers in South Africa, which placed severe strain on the state’s ability to respond to the rising needs of children orphaned and those made vulnerable as a result of the HIV/Aids pandemic. An added dimension is the strengthening of the communities we serve by providing learnerships to caregivers and volunteers who work with community-based organisations (CBOs). In this way communities will be strengthened and capacity building will also be promoted.
CHILD AND FAMILY UNIT (CFU)
CFU is the first point of entry into the organisation. This unit deals with children from birth to 12 years at intake level. This is the biggest section of JCW have 3 statutory teams who render services to abandoned, neglected, abused children and in terms of the Children’s Act. The Child and Family Unit have a specialist Adoption team who deal with National and Inter country Adoption services
ADVOCACY
Advocacy is about influencing the course of the decision-making process and about empowerment. Through the work of our advocacy program, we aim to give children a voice. The department plays an active role in the law and policy making process, serves on various forums and collaborates with other organisations to expedite the realisation of the rights of children. The department also focuses on capacity building and child participation. Those served by JCW are among the most vulnerable of children and it is integral that their interests are represented at the highest level. That being said, the children themselves must also be given a sense of agency. Both of these are the aim of the advocacy department.
Our Centers
Over the last 100 years our centers have developed to meet the varying needs of the communities in which we work
MASIBAMBISANE ORPHANED AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN CENTRE
Masibambisane Day Care Centre was established in 2003. The Centre is well placed for the neighbouring informal settlements of Kliptown, Mandela Square and Slovo Park and 80% of the beneficiaries live in these settlements. The Centre provides psychosocial support, material assistance, bereavement and general counselling to children between the ages of 2 and 18 years and to their caregivers. Outreach programmes are also facilitated at schools, churches and community-based organisations. The translation of Masibambisane is “Let’s Pull Together” and is based on a service model of: Retain orphans in their community of origin by enabling them to continue functioning as a family unit.
PRINCESS ALICE ADOPTION HOME
The Princess Alice Adoption Home (PAAH) is a place of safety and the first loving home for many Johannesburg area babies who have been abandoned, consented for adoption or orphaned. The babies in our care range in age from new-born to two years. All of their physical and emotional needs are provided for until they are adopted, fostered or, as a very last resort, transferred to another child-care facility. Today our primary service is to act as a place of safety to 30 babies (at any given time) as the Home received an upgrade of capacity from 25 babies to 30 in April 2008. PAAH also provides a safe haven for pregnant young women who are experiencing crises or destitution. During their stay, they receive counselling from JCW social workers. PAAH provides full accommodation, ensures that they receive appropriate pre- and antenatal care, and supports them throughout the birth experience. View their website here. Follow them on their dedicated Facebook page here.
THEMBALETHU LIFE SKILLS AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT CENTRE
Established in 1994, Thembalethu (isiZulu for “our hope”) is a centre situated in Johannesburg’s inner city area that provides multi-faceted services to the community. The staff at Thembalethu trains women in various skills to enable them to become economically active in society. These women are provided with training and guidance in areas such as life skills, beauty and nail care, business skills, as well as HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and parenting skills. In addition, Thembalethu serves as a drop-in centre for young, destitute women living on the streets. While Thembalethu itself is not equipped to cope with these women, workers ensure that these women are referred to shelters that are better able to meet their specific needs.
OTHANDWENI FAMILY CARE CENTRE
Othandweni, which means “Place of Love”, is situated in Mofolo South, Soweto and offers residential care for children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected. The Centre was established in 1984 and caters for 90 children from the ages of birth to 18 years. The Centre also has limited space available for destitute mothers or pregnant women who are contemplating the futures of their unborn children. Othandweni acts as a place of safety where children are placed until suitable families have been found, either by our Adoptions or Foster Care Departments. Those children who cannot be immediately placed stay at Othandweni for as long as is necessary. There is a great need for facilities such as Othandweni as incidences of child abandonment, abuse and neglect are increasing. In addition, we are now faced with a growing number of AIDS orphans and HIV+ babies in need of shelter and special care..
