GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
Initially service delivery involved largely the dispensation of charity and benevolence to the poor, needy and destitute. Clients were interviewed at office premises of officials. Home visits were undertaken in the evenings and on weekends. Field workers employed by the National Council visited the officials regularly and guided them in their voluntary efforts and also accompanied officials on home visits. The Society’s focus was largely assisting families to apply for maintenance grants, public assistance, supervision of grants, regular investigations and completion of renewal forms. People were also assisted with late registration of births, applications for birth certificates and identity cards, unemployment benefit and personal tax payments.
With the employment of the first qualified social worker on 01/04/1971, emphasis shifted to therapeutic services. It was during this period that the Department of Indian Affairs transferred all statutory cases to the Society. The Society provided supervision services to families receiving state maintenance grants, children in foster care and a wide range of other services including child placement services in terms of the Children’s Act No. 33 of 1960 (now the Children’s Act No 38 of 2005)
Services in Phoenix
In 1976 the Society found itself confronted with a set of circumstances which made it obligatory , as the only registered welfare organization within whose area of operation the “Phoenix New Indian Township” project fell, to extend its services beyond its normal commitments until such time an independent, autonomous registered child welfare organization was established to cater for the needs of this massive township.
In order to facilitate this process the Society established local committees. The Society operated a sub-office in Greenbury and later moved to larger premises in Clayfiled. The officials of the local committees had representation on the Society’s Management Committee.
On 8 March 1981 the Phoenix Child and Family Welfare Society was established.
With the appointment of the first community worker (1 April 1978) work was undertaken at grass-root level making contact with individuals and groups in the community, motivating the formation of organisations and supporting existing organisations in order to effect a networking relationship. The community work programme included the formation of women’s groups, youth groups, addressing the problems of eviction, provision of pre-school classes and promoting child & family welfare. Later, emphasis was placed on group work approach. This entailed supportive therapy, programmes for wives of alcoholic husbands aimed at developing coping skills and creating an understanding of the problems associated with alcoholism.
Behaviour modification aimed at effecting positive changes in behaviour and attitude to school were undertaken with pupils and supportive therapy programmes for mothers of children displaying deviant behaviour, developing an understanding of deviant behaviour and its causes and providing support systems. A support service programme was also undertaken with foster children.
Advocacy at Macro Level
The Society’s various surveys served to reinforce claims that there was a dire need for several facilities and essential resource systems. To this end the Society played a major and pivotal role at he macro level.
In advocating for health services to be available free of any charges and accessible the Society submitted a formal proposal to the Council in Session in 1988.
In submitting this motion, which was accepted, the Society made a plea that:
1. all health services be provided by one National Department to all people on a non-racial basis.
2. poly – clinics became available and within reach, within the area of each local or similar authority.
3. free immunisation programmes be supplemented with educational programmes.
Another motion submitted by the Society and accepted at this meeting was the provision of essential services. The Society urged the National Council to make urgent representations for the provision of piped water, proper sanitation, refuse removal services, decent housing, educational and recreational facilities as a matter of urgency in communities where these were lacking. Today, with all the growth, development and expansion that has taken place, the Society has shifted its emphasis from alms-giving to guidance, counselling, protecting and enabling services which have become its major functions and responsibilities. A shift in focus from a therapeutic to a preventative and holistic approach to service delivery has been firmly entrenched.