Department and social workers get a tongue-lashing from high court.
The Johannesburg High Court has ruled that adoption guidelines used by the Department of Social Development and its social workers to stigmatise and delay adoptions, apparently for “cultural reasons”, are unconstitutional.
The adoption guidelines used by the Department of Social Development and its social workers stigmatise and delay adoptions, apparently for cultural reasons, and are unconstitutional, a judge has ruled. While the department did issue a recommendation letter for Baby “L”, it subsequently launched review proceedings to set it aside.The birth mother of Baby B, in her affidavit before the court, said the father of the child wanted nothing to do with her pregnancy and disappeared. She gave birth in 2018 at Leratong Hospital. A social worker “interrogated” her about her plan for adoption and unbeknown to her, lodged a request for an investigation.
In all, the matter came before the Children’s Court 15 times between 2018 and 2020, with a social worker relying on the “guidelines” to support a recommendation that the child be placed with his grandparents “to maintain his culture”. The baby was placed with prospective parents and a letter recommending the adoption was issued by the department in November 2020. But the department told Judge Dippenaar that this had been issued “irregularly”.
The judge said voluntary consent to adoption by the biological parents was all that was required. There was no provision for any “investigation” or that family members must be consulted or give consent when the mothers were majors.“The department placed great emphasis on a section of the Act for a child to remain in the care of his or her parents, family and extended family culture or tradition…but the wording does not give any paramountcy to this.
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