Existing grants and services
There are three main social assistance grants available in respect of children. The Child Support Grant replaces the State Maintenance Grant and is targeted at the 30% poorest children under the age of seven years. An amount of R110 per month (still only R100 till June) is paid out to the primary care-giver of the child if all the other qualifying conditions are met. The take-up rate is extremely low with only a handful (one third) of the targeted 3 million (approx 33%) children by 2003 being covered presently.
The Care Dependency Grant provides assistance in respect of severely disabled children under the age of 18 who require permanent home care. It is subject to a means test, taking into account the combined annual income of the family, which should not exceed R48 000. It is payable to the legal parent or foster parent of the child.
The Foster Child Grant is payable to a person in whose custody a foster child has been placed. Both the parent and the child need to be resident in South Africa, but citizenship is not required. The means test used to determine eligibility considers the means of the foster child and not that of the foster parent.
Children also benefit from other services such as free health care, nutritional schemes, and free or subisidised education. While these are important provisions they encounter several problems such as poor quality service, mal-administration, and lack of accessibility to all children.
Author
Free to Share
Related
