Social work services for child-headed households in Virginia in the Free State Province

Abstract

Child-headed households are a reality in South Africa, and extensive research has advanced its causes and the children’s coping mechanisms. Social workers identify children in need, refer them to SASSA for social grants, facilitate foster care placements and offer psychosocial support services. This study sought to determine the nature of social work services rendered to children in such households in Virginia in the Free State. Qualitative exploratory, descriptive and contextual research was used to reach the goal of the study. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen participants who were selected through purposive sampling. The data collected was analysed using the eight steps of Tesch (in Creswell, 2009) and verified through Guba’s method of trustworthiness (Krefting, 1991). The services rendered to child-headed households (CHHs) through individual, group and community work were inadequate due to lack of resources including a shortage of social workers due to a general dissatisfaction with salaries. Participants suggested the need to build the capacity of the available staff through staff training and improved access to available resources in order to strengthen the nature of services rendered to CHHs.