Social workers’ views of the implementation process of the Courage community engagement programme

Abstract

The South African child protection system seems unintegrated. This situation makes it difficult for the government departments and NGOs to combat child protection challenges and is it reported that child abuse and neglect are escalating in South Africa. The South Africa’s Child Care and Protection Policy (2018) and chapter 8 of the Children's Act (No. 38 of 2005 as amended) provide for the implementation and resourcing of primary prevention and early interventions. Implementation of programmes has been predominantly focussing, on reducing child poverty through social assistance programmes, especially the child support and foster care grants. Community-based interventions have potential to contribute significantly toward addressing maltreatment of children. The aim of this study is to explore and describe the views of social workers on the implementation process of the Courage Child Protection Community Engagement Programme. To achieve the aim of the study an evaluation of programme implementation was essential because without it, there are risks of not identifying or misinterpreting the meaning of negative results. A qualitative research approach was utilised to gain a better understanding on implementation evaluation through a literature review. The researcher also utilised telephone interviewing guided by an interview schedule that provided insight into the views of social workers who implemented the Courage Community Engagement Programme. The sample included 10 social workers who implemented the Courage Programme and are employed in the child protection field. The study therefore contributes to the existing knowledge and practices with regards to community programme implementation processes. It helps practitioners gain information regarding programme implementation that can be utilised as part of programme improvement. Section A of the dissertation focuses on the orientation of the research, which encompasses the background and aim of the research, the contextualisation, the problem statement, research methodology and ethical implications. Section B contains the literature review and the background of the Courage Programme. Section C is presented in the form of an article and the findings are critically discussed and substantiated through relevant literature. The last part of the dissertation focuses on the evaluation of the study, the limitations, recommendations and conclusion.