Child welfare underfunded

Child Welfare South Africa-Edenvale is faced with what seems to be a never ending financial crisis.

The organisation’s lack of funding has threatened the facility with closure on a number of occasions.

The newly elected chairperson, Mr Pieter Le Roux, said community support would assist with the functioning of the organisation.

“Edenvale Child Welfare is going through a rough patch financially. If anyone in the community can make a monthly donation, it would be greatly appreciated,” he said.

The ward 18 councillor, Clr Heather Hart, said Edenvale Child Welfare started as a charity in 1951 in order to help families of Edenvale and has provided services for 64 years.

“Most of its work is not visible and cannot be advertised to gain sympathy, and thus guilt funding. It has also grown enormously in that time, extending its services into primary schools where it provides early interventions with children or families at risk, apart from mandated responsibilities which include supervision of foster and adoptive homes,” said Clr Hart.

She said it costs the organisation roughly R140 000 a month to operate and the government provides roughly half of the amount.

She said the organisation is no longer sustainable and relies on the goodwill of churches and corporates, although they are understandably few and far.

According to Clr Hart, in order to properly understand the current funding crisis affecting social services in general and Edenvale Child Welfare in particular, one needs to understand where it all began.

She said prior to 1994, the Department of Welfare provided most of the social services to communities.

“After 1994 it was decided that those NGO’s that were delivering local services, self-funded through fundraising at that point, would be co-opted into the service by being appointed as agents to deliver mandated services, in return for post funding,” she said.

She said it was inadequate because it did not cover costs and as a result, the NGOs still had to raise funds which made it difficult to fulfill their mandates.

In addition, Clr Hart said (National Lotteries Commission) the Lotto was then designed, as per original advertising and promotion, to alleviate NGOs (charities) from having to do their own fundraising.

“Citizens could contribute to a central fund which would be distributed to charities and stand a chance of winning millions while they did this,” she said.

Clr Hart said in the early 2000s, Lotto worked well and funding was predominantly to the charity sector and mostly project or programme funding.

She said after the first operator’s contract ended in the mid 2000s, payments were suddenly delayed and the funding mandate was both broadened to extend to sports, arts and culture.

“At the same time, it became more prescriptive in terms of what they would fund in the charities sector,” said Clr Hart.

The NEWS requested comment from the Department of Social Development and the National Lotteries Commission by November 13 at 10am.

At the time of going to print, no comment was received.