Social Development
With reference to his reply to question 29 of 3 October 2025: (a)(i) What alternatives exist for unaccompanied children who present at adult homeless shelters and (ii) how many children have been turned away since 2019, (b) what is the total capacity versus the demand for child and youth care centres (CYCCs) from 2019 to 2025, including (i) overcrowding, (ii) bed shortages and (iii) waiting lists, (c) why does his Department not keep separate statistics for children removed from the streets, (d) how many children referred from the street have been placed in ECD centres or schools since 2019 and (e) what mechanisms exist to track (i) dropout, (ii) attendance and (iii) reintegration for children previously living on the street?
(a)(i) An unaccompanied child that presents at a homeless shelter is entitled to the same legal protection as any child in South Africa in need of care and protection. These children are assessed and if found to be at risk are immediately placed with Safety Parents or in a Place of Safety. This is a temporary care position while further investigation is done to search for family of the child, and, in most cases an inquiry is opened by a social worker to determine whether the child is in need of care and protection. Based on the latter, if a court finds that the child is in need of care and protection, he or she will be admitted to a more permanent alternative care placement.
(ii) Three children asked for services at a homeless shelter and the referral pathway was followed to report the matter to a Child Protection Organisation/Department of Social Development Regional office.
(b)
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
DSD annual capacity Children’s Act | 2 920
| 3010 | 3155 | 3350 | 3390 | 3580 | 3880 |
Annual Demand | 3500 | 3720 | 3940 | 4245 | 4777 | 5010 | 5900 |
DSD annual capacity Child Justice Act: | 1901 | 1210 | 1177 | 1190 | 920 | 1040 | 990 |
Annual Demand | 3940 | 3250 | 3200 | 3220 | 3255 | 3990 | 4010 |
(b)(i) All placements of children in a Child and Youth Care Centre are managed strictly in line with each facilities registered capacity, ensuring that no overcrowding occurs.
(ii) DSD demand for alternative residential care in terms of the Children’s Act and Child Justice Act is above the available bedspaces and annual turn-over capacity. These children are on the waiting list and diverted to community-based services such as foster care, safety parents, support via the Rishia project, community-based diversion programmes and alternative sentencing options. DSD has registered two additional NGO CYCCs in March 2026 (Murraysburg and Grabouw) and is currently building a 250-bed secure care center for girls.
On a preventative level, DSD and its NGO partners have parenting support programmes, family preservation programmes and other services such as for substance treatment.
(iii) Currently DSD’s waiting list for children in need of care and protection in terms of the Children’s Act and placement in terms of the Child Justice Act are 2450.
(c) Any child who is dealt with in terms of the Children’s Act and placed within a CYCC are viewed as a child in need of care and protection and street children fall within that category. Each child has an individual background and although their case history is recorded on their file (including any time spent on the street), the nature of each case is not defined solely by the circumstances under which the child entered the child protection system.
(d) Early Childhood Development centers are manged by the Western Cape Department of Education, and this statistic is not available within DSD.
(e)(i)(ii)(iii) DSD keeps case files on all children in the child protection system, including any incidents involving their educational needs, or reintegration efforts. DSD keeps statistics of reintegration of children in need of care and protection, but does not separate out children who have lived on or frequented the streets as it is not a category used to identify children separately from other children in need of care and protection.
