Dario Froli, chairman of the society, was happy that their finances have improved over the past year.
He says their vision to lead in the achievement of a safe and caring environment for children is something he takes to heart.
Their mission is to reduce the risk of children by finding, mobilising, directing and developing resources towards care, protection, education and prevention.
The services at child welfare are professional and are aimed at strengthening family life by focusing on family preservation.
“There has been an alarming increase in drug abuse among school children and we would like to work towards minimising this increase and to assist parents and children on how to cope with depression,” says Froli.
Sanet van Moerkerken, the society’s project manager, says when she prepared her report she sometimes finds it difficult to positively influence her staff due to the challenges they face.
“Willingness to co-operate stems from relationships that develop between employees and the employer,” she says.
Afrikaans speaking social workers have become a challenge, but they have recently appointed someone who will be able to assist in Afrikaans.
There is a foster care backlog which is of great concern to the social workers‘ already heavy caseloads.
“Due to allegations of child trafficking against Springs police members who assisted the organisation with drug tests, they have not been able to do so anymore.
“This complicates matters as we don’t have the means to purchase the tests,“ says van Moerkerken.
She went on to say more and more children with conduct disorders have been identified and the lack of resources for these difficult behaviours and physical challenges make service delivery increasingly difficult.
“We focus on the need to shift even further to preventative strategies. This requires a support network far beyond the mere scope of the organisation,“ says van Moerkerken.
She believes hope changes everything.
