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South Africa has one of the most progressive laws for children in the world.
The amendment bill before Parliament further strengthens the protection measures for children and aims to close the gaps in the child protection system.
This is a summary of the additional controls that are being introduced.
Some of the amendments refer to terminologies, to align the original Law with current practice of family and child law, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Some of the changes are more significant.
Single parents
The bill also provides for the rights of single parents.
Originally, a single father enjoyed full parental rights and responsibilities if he lived with the mother at the time of birth in a permanent life partner or consented to be identified as the father of the child, contributed to the child’s upbringing for a reasonable period and contributed to child support expenses for a reasonable period.
Section 21, which covers unmarried parents, has been amended to clarify that a father who is not married to the mother and who lived with her at any time between conception and the birth of the child automatically acquires full parental rights and responsibilities with regarding that child. .
An advocate for the family can issue a certificate confirming these parental rights and responsibilities. Children in need of care and protection The sections dealing with children in care or in need of protection have been strengthened and the interests of the child have been prioritized.
A child who has been abandoned or orphaned and does not have a parent or other caregiver to take care of him / her is considered a “child in need of care and protection.”
This definition extends to “a migrant child unaccompanied from another country”, “a victim of trafficking”, or a child who “has been sold by a parent or guardian”.
In addition, the bill clarifies the application of the Children’s Act to all children in South Africa, including non-citizens.
Extends the jurisdiction of the juvenile court to include “guardianship of an orphaned or abandoned child” and “unaccompanied or separated migrant child, or the child of an asylum seeker or refugee, as contemplated in the 1998 Refugee Act “.
The length of time allowed to place a child in safe foster care has been changed. A child cannot be placed in safe foster care for more than 72 hours without a court order, or for more than six months in a row.
If a child escapes from alternative care and is found and returned within 48 hours, they will no longer appear in juvenile court. Instead, your social worker will evaluate the child and try to establish the reason for the escape.
This recognizes that some children find care homes very stressful and are not necessarily delinquent or rebellious because they try to flee.
Read: Disgruntled IPR Practitioners Call For Parliament Reform
Child abduction
A new section has been added to the Children’s Act to speed up procedures when a child has been abducted. This is to ensure that the interests of the child are represented and protected by eliminating delays in the judicial process.
Children adapt and adapt quickly, and once the adaptation to the new environment has occurred, it may not be in the best interests of the child to return home, even if the abduction was illegal.
On the day of the request for the return of a minor, the Central Authority must submit the request to the presiding judge of the corresponding division of the Superior Court for the appointment of a legal representative of the minor.
Surrogacy
The changes to Chapter 19 of the Children’s Act, Surrogacy, are minor, but ensure that the court considers the health and age of both the commissioned parents and the surrogate mother before surrogacy can be confirmed.
Read also: ‘Reality for everyone is different’: ECD educators respond to Covid-19 security protocols
Early childhood development
Chapter six of the Childhood Act deals with early childhood development, long recognized as fundamental to the development of a child’s cognitive, emotional, social and physical potential.
The bill modifies the definition to include provisions for children with disabilities. It also obliges the government to develop a comprehensive national strategy aimed at ensuring an inclusive, coordinated, managed, and adequately resourced early childhood development system.
At the provincial level, MECs are responsible for ensuring that their provincial strategies are inclusive and serve children with disabilities and special needs.
A register of early childhood development programs registered in the province with specific mention of inclusive programs should be kept.
In addition, a MEC can prioritize funding for early childhood development programs in rural, underserved, or poverty-declared districts, to ensure adequate targeting of this vital service.
Adoption
Adoption is covered in depth, with particular attention to intercountry adoption and the adoption of a child of a child.
In summary
The bill has 102 clauses, many of which are “minor consequential amendments” to clarify.
However, some of the amendments significantly improve the protective environment for all children in South Africa, whether they are citizens or not.
We welcome these changes, which are summarized below:
1. Guarantee the right of children to privacy and protection of information.
2. To further ensure the rights of single parents; extend the jurisdiction of the juvenile court
3. Provide more funding for early childhood development programs.
4. Provide for the designation and functions of a Registrar of the National Child Protection Registry.
5.- Provide more attention to abandoned or orphaned children and other matters that may be regulated.
6. Also foresee regulations regarding care and protection procedures.
7. Also provide medical examinations to children in need of care and protection or adoption.
8. To address additional issues related to children in alternative care.
9. Also foresee matters related to adoption and international adoption.
10.To provide more information on matters related to child abduction
11.- Also foresee matters related to surrogacy.
12. To deal with matters related to it.
Posted to Parent24 by sdlaw.co.za
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