Abstract
M.A.
Child migration in society today appears to be escalating at a very high rate. The influx of child migrants has put an enormous strain to social workers in terms of rendering family preservation and reunification services. In most cases families are not available to enable social workers to render family preservation and reunification services. International Social Services (ISS) assist in tracing families of across the border child migrants but the service does not extend beyond reunifying the child with family. There are no monitoring and tracking systems to prevent the child from migrating again.
The aim of this study is to identify and describe the challenges faced by social workers in rendering family preservation and reunification services to child migrants. The objectives of the study are as follows: to conduct a literature study on family preservation and reunification services and the child migrant; to determine social workers’ strategies used in family preservation and reunification services to child migrants, and the challenges they are experiencing; to obtain social workers’ views on effective strategies that can be implemented in rendering family preservation and reunification services to child migrants and to make recommendations that will assist social workers in rendering family preservation and reunification services.
A qualitative study of two focus groups consisting of 15 social workers each from Department of Social Development Johannesburg Region was conducted. The research findings revealed the need of coming up with strategies for family preservation and reunification services to child migrants. Presently social workers have no strategies but processes only.