'n Bemagtigingsprogram vir kinderversorgers in privaatplekke van tydelike versorging
Abstract
Section A refers, amongst others, to the problem statement, research objectives and procedures followed. The research design is then discussed, as well as the limitations of the study, the definitions of key terms as well as an exposition of the research report. The problem statement can be summarized as follows:
Children in need of care and protection are often placed in private places of temporary safe-care by the court for their protection. Due to the maltreatment the children were exposed to earlier on, they often display deviant behaviour or signs of trauma. The child-care workers appointed to take care of these children often do not possess the skills or insight to meet the needs of the child and to act in their best interest. Child-care workers therefore need to receive the necessary training so as to meet the child‟s needs.
The problem statement gave rise to the research aim, as well as the research objectives of the investigation.
Aim: The aim of this study is to empower the child-care worker by means of an empowerment programme so as to act in the best interest of a child in need of care and protection.
Objectives:
To investigate the functioning of private places of temporary care in South Africa by means of a study of the literature pertaining to the aim formulated above.
To investigate the needs of child-care workers and social workers in private places of temporary care by means of a literature study and empirical investigation.
To investigate the content of an empowerment programme for child-care workers in private places of temporary care with a view to address the needs of the child and to act in the child‟s best interest.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the empowerment programme for child-care workers in private places of temporary care and to make the necessary recommendations.
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The intervention research model was adopted as the overarching research model. This model comprises six phases which are employed in this study. Both quantitative and qualitative data were used. A Literature study was performed regarding the functioning of private places of temporary care within the South African context.
Section B comprises four articles in which the objectives and outcomes of the research are discussed. The four articles formed part of the central aim, but were each dealt with as a separate entity, each with a specific research objective. The investigation was done on the basis of research methods that led to the data collection, the development of the empowerment programme as well as the implementation and evaluation of the programme. The manual for the empowerment programme is attached after Article 3.
Article 1: The functioning of private places of temporary safe-care in South Africa
Article one focused on a literature study that relates to the functioning of private places of temporary safe-care within the South African context. It was important to fully understand the functioning of private places of temporary safe-care so as to be able to define the phenomenon. The literature study gave rise to the compilation of norms and standards for private places of temporary safe-care.
Article 2: The needs of child-care workers and social workers in private places of temporary safe-care within South Africa
The aim of this article was to do a needs assessment among child-care workers and social workers involved in private places of temporary safe-care by using a self-compiled schedule. Nine child-care workers employed by the Help-Net Fund and four social workers were involved in the empirical investigation by employing the snowball- and purposive sampling method. The results of the investigation indicated that a huge need existed for child-care workers to receive training that they can apply in their task as child-care workers that are in need of care and protection. Possible topics that could be included in such a programme were identified as: important aspects to be considered for the child in need of care and protection; the influence of development and trauma on the child; medical care of the child; behaviour problems; bonding; discipline; the biological parents and self-care of the child-care worker.
Article 3: The development of an empowerment program for child-care workers in private places of temporary safe-care.
In the course of article three an empowerment programme was developed for child-care workers in private places of temporary safe-care so as to equip them with skills to act in the best interest of the children in their care. The programme was compiled on the basis of the needs assessment with child-care workers and social workers involved in private places of temporary safe-care. Article three therefore focused on the content of the empowerment
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programme for child-care workers. The manual for the empowerment programme is attached after Article 3.
Article 4: Evaluation and implementation of the empowerment programme for child-care workers of private places of temporary safe-care
The empowerment programme was presented to ten child-care workers involved at private places of temporary safe-care. The duration of the programme was three months and it included nine sessions. The programme was evaluated using a standardised measuring instrument, as well as a self-compiled schedule.
Section C is a summary of the findings and conclusions with reference to the entire research report.
Section D consists of the addenda, for instance the self-compiled schedules and measuring instruments employed.
Section E contains the combined list of references.
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