Research 

'This is the seventh annual assessment of the extent to which the nine provincial departments of social development are allocating the funds necessary to implement the Children’s Act (No 38 of 2005). By the end of 2013/14, the year on which this year’s assessment focuses, the Children’s Act will have been in full operation for four years, while some aspects of the Act will have already been operative for seven years. This year’s assessment largely follows the approach adopted in previous years, using similar methods and with a focus on the same aspects of the budget as assessed previously. In addition to the standard analysis, we continue with last year’s analysis into four key issues, namely transfers to non-profit organisations (NPOs) that deliver Children’s Act-related services; the rollout of the Isibindi project, which focuses on provision of community-based care, prevention and protection services primarily for children affected by HIV and AIDS; expansion of early childhood development (ECD); and the reform schools and schools of industry that were meant to be transferred from the provincial departments of education to the provincial departments of social development by April 2012. The fifth area that we covered as a special focus area in last year’s analysis, the expanded public works programme (EPWP), is this year covered in the discussion of the HIV/AIDS budget sub-programme.' [Introduction] 

Research report