Speaker

Ms Dibolelo Ababio
Deputy Director
DSD

Enhancing South Africa’s Social Development programs through the National Integrated Social Protection Information System (NISPIS)

Abstract Narrative

“South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP 2030) accords a central role to social protection in addressing the critical challenges of eradicating poverty and reducing inequality. A role is assigned to social protection to contribute to ensuring that no-one slips below a minimum standard of living, as well as a more transformative and developmental role of moving towards a more inclusive growth path and to ensure more inclusive development outcomes. Currently, there is a multitude of systems used by different government departments to track activities and results emerging from services to vulnerable individuals and families. These are however stand-alone information systems that do not enable ease of tracking individuals across the social protection system value chain. Within the Department of Social Development (DSD), multiple systems that are not interconnected and used, which makes it difficult to see the overall response to the needs of targeted beneficiaries.

There is a demand to link the various services to children to ensure government achieves its constitutional mandate by rendering services to poor and vulnerable households and children. The NDP 2030 and the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2019-2024 recognize the value to integrate, link services and data. A key priority target in the MTSF and the 6th administration is the development of a National Integrated Social Protection Information System (NISPIS). There is currently no mechanism to systematically identify other vulnerabilities and needs among the 13 Million children that are currently receiving social grants, to track government’s response to these across the social protection value chain and to monitor their well-being outcomes.

Information management systems that provide real time data are vital as they enable identification of needs and tracking of the response at the lowest level of service delivery. The Real Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) which was recently developed through partnership between the National DSD, UNICEF and Strategic Analytics and Management (SAM), has been tested in multiple sites around the country and is emerging as an effective tool in addressing current information gaps. The RTMT is a multi-platform mobile application that enables production of real time data including children’s demographic information and their wellbeing status related to eight domains including, education, economic strengthening, childcare and protection (including violence and abuse), health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS and psychosocial support.

Evidence from the pilot demonstrates the value of the RTMT in enhancing integrated responses by community workers from different departments such as health and social development in supporting vulnerable families. This has provided great insights into possible ways that government can make inroads towards achieving the goals of NISPIS, stemming from use of a shared platform for gathering data from vulnerable individuals and households, and application of an integrated case management system with consequent relevant response to children’s needs.

Biography

Mrs. Dibolelo Ababio received her Master’s degree in Research Psychology from the University of the Free State. From 2001 to 2005 Mrs. Ababio was a researcher in a health systems research centre focusing in TB and HIV/AIDS research. She is currently a Deputy Director in Programme and Policy Evaluation Unit at the National Department of Social Development, South Africa. In her job she is involved in designing, commissioning and implementing the evaluation studies for programmes in the Department of Social Development. She has been involved in a variety of evaluations since 2006. These include evaluations in the following areas: Social Assistance, Early Childhood Development, Child protection & wellbeing, Community Development, Expanded Public Works Programme, Youth Development, Disability, Non Profit Organisations and Food & Nutrition Security. One of the achievements for Mrs. Ababio was successfully managing the first rigorous impact evaluation ever conducted in the Department of Social Development, which was the impact evaluation of the Child Support grant. In addition, Mrs. Ababio has been part of the team fostering integration of Social Protection data since 2008.

Ms Stephanie Miodus
Phd Student In School Psychology
Temple University

Leveraging Technology to Expand Mental Health Care Access in Jails and Prisons

Abstract Narrative

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a lack of access to services as well as exposed systemic barriers, especially for incarcerated populations. The use of technology to address these barriers has seen a recent increase, but this population is often left out of these considerations. Social development responses targeted for this population are critical to meet mental health needs and address human rights concerns. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (Bronson & Berzofsky, 2017), 14% of individuals who are incarcerated in prisons and 26% of those in jails met criteria for serious psychological distress, and 37% in prisons and 44% in jails had a history of mental illness. For individuals with serious mental illnesses, there is a greater risk of recidivism after their release (Baillargeon et al., 2010), resulting in jails and prisons serving as the primary source for mental health services for those individuals who spend more time in facilities than in the community.
Thus, access to high quality mental health services for individuals who are incarcerated is imperative (Kupers & Toch, 1999). Yet, mental health services in jails and prisons are not meeting the need (i.e., only 36% of those who met criteria for serious psychological distress in prisons and 30% of those who met criteria in jails were currently receiving treatment; Bronson & Berzofsky, 2017). Mental health needs are left unrecognized (Trestman et al., 2007) and unaddressed (Bronson & Berzofsky, 2017). Many barriers to adequate treatment exist due to the nature of jails and prisons (e.g., physically distant from populated areas; punitive environment).
This paper seeks to address this need through incorporating technology in jails and prisons as a social innovation approach. Telemental health, or the delivery of mental health services over technological platforms, can serve as one such resource to be leveraged to address these barriers and expand access to mental health care for individuals who are incarcerated. As the research in this area is limited, this presentation aims to serve as a framework for future considerations of the benefits and limitations of telemental health services as a tool for addressing the human rights crisis of mental health care in jails and prisons.
Telehealth addresses major constraints to care for individuals who are incarcerated, including the limited number of clinicians (e.g., Leonard, 2004) particularly for non-English speaking individuals, gaps in care between incarceration and reentry (Baillargeon et al., 2010), lack of resources for training clinicians in jails and prisons (Birmingham et al., 2000), and privacy concerns (e.g., Lexcen et al., 2006). The paper will also address potential drawbacks (e.g., cost; access to the necessary technology) as well as solutions to address these concerns. Overall, the considerations explored call for further examination of implementing telemental health care in jails and prisons. While our paper addresses incarceration in the context of the United States, the framework has the potential to be implemented globally. By leveraging this technology, jails and prisons can address human rights concerns of individuals who are incarcerated by meeting their mental health needs

Supporting Document

Biography

Stephanie Miodus, MA, MEd is a third-year PhD student in School Psychology at Temple University. Clinically, she is interested in working with children with autism and youth in juvenile detention. Her main research interest is the school to prison pipeline for children with autism and alternatives to harsh disciplinary practices in schools that push children out of classrooms and into the justice system.

Dr Noreth Muller-Kluits
College of Cape Town

Developing social work service delivery to persons with disabilities and their families: findings during the COVID-19 pandemic (Tagore’s Sriniketan Experiment in today’s context)

Abstract Narrative

The sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted various sectors in terms of everyday service delivery, including the social work sector. As lockdown restrictions were implemented, face-to-face interactions were limited to prevent transmission of the disease and the spread thereof. This also put a restriction on social service delivery as no home interventions were allowed and even in-office interventions were restricted. Social workers usually do various of their interventions within the communities of their clients, who also rely on these services. This paper is based on a doctoral, qualitative study done on the experiences of adults with an acquired physical disability on social work in a South African context. The study consisted of two cohort groups i.e., social workers and adults with an acquired physical disability. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on service delivery of social workers were explored as participants, both the service user and service provider, shared their challenges. The study consisted of participants from Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces in South Africa and came from different socio-economic backgrounds. Interviews were conducted according to COVID-19 restrictions through semi-structured interviews conducted using various technology mediums such as WhatsApp, Zoom and telephone calls. Service users indicated that they felt a lack of support in terms of the service delivery they were used to receiving whilst service providers indicated their concern for being restricted in service delivery to their clients and clients’ lack of access to technology or the so-called digital divide amongst different communities. An analysis on service delivery aligned with policies such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as well as the South African White Paper on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities were also discussed. Conclusions are aimed to summarise all these findings of both cohort groups’ experiences and recommendations aligned with policies. Conclusions also include recommendations for future service delivery and -planning, especially in terms of disaster situations such as the COVID- 19 pandemic to ensure that vulnerable clients, such as persons with disabilities and their families’ needs are being met. These recommendations include a bottom-up approach from grassroots level in planning service delivery to persons with disabilities and their families – “Nothing for us without us”.

Biography

As a person with a disability, social worker and disability professional, my research interests include disability inclusion and support, family caregiving, policies and legislation as well as community-based services.

Mr Maurice Sungu
Executive Director
Platform For Retirees – Kenya

Retirees and Sustainable Rural Development in Kenya

Abstract Narrative

The retirement age in Kenya is 60 years. At this age, many people feel like they are still at the peak of their physical and mental performance. For this reason many in Kenya have taken up different careers after retirement. Some have earned government appointments, some have gone into active politics, others have taken up active roles in Churches while others have also gone to farming. There is also a category of retirees who feel that they have rendered adequate service and therefore require a complete break from active service of any kind. Unfortunately, many in the latter category have become vulnerable and succumbed to age-related-diseases very early indeed. I am presenting an argument here that the retirees in Kenya constitute a constituency of human force with an immense potential to transform life in the rural backyard. Kenyans will keep retiring in their hundreds every year. With limited coping mechanisms for life in retirement and a paltry amounts in pension (for the few who earn it), the logical consequence is increased pressure on the little available resources, especially the health facilities. The retirees can become the solutions to such challenges and even more. When we synergise their skills, experience and wisdom; take advantage of their availability and sense of responsibility, we have a perfect recipe for sustainable rural development. It is needless to add that their active participation in physical activities eg. farming, and their involvement in intellectually and socially challenging scenarios like simply sustaining social networks, will mitigate their vulnerability to age-related ailments. This offers a perfect social security for them while guaranteeing rural transformation at the same time. Kenya, like many other countries in the developing world, cannot afford the luxury of keeping their aged in special homes. These elderly people are a fountain of wisdom and fulcrums of unity in their respective families and communities. They are the embodiments of cultural values and heritage, two vital instruments for inculcating peace and security among families and communities.

Biography

Mr. Maurice Omolo Sungu holds a BA in Philosophy from the Pontifical Urban University, Rome and an MA in Philosophy from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi. He has been teaching Philosophy at various universities and university colleges in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda from 2002 to 2019. He is the founding Director of Platform for Retirees – Kenya (PfR-K), a registered a non-profit NGO in Kenya. PfR-K is founded on the principle that retirees are capable of contributing so much to the society and are the ideal agents for sustainable rural development.

Dr Zoheb Khan
Head of social economy research at Intellidex and research associate at CSDA

Innovative financing for social development: Social Impact Bonds and the role of the private sector

Abstract Narrative

“Social Impact Bonds (SIB) are results-based financing tools for social development. In SIBs, investors provide upfront working capital to implementing agents, typically NGOs, to provide needed social services. If the NGO successfully meets predefined outcome targets – such as providing high-quality early learning services to a set number of pre-grade R children, or placing a certain number of young work-seekers into jobs – outcome funders, typically government entities, repay the investors. If unsuccessful, outcome funders do not pay the investors.
SIBs have proliferated in the global North since the first SIB was launched in the United Kingdom in 2010 to reduce recidivism rates. Proponents argue that they bring a more efficient orientation towards results that all too often is missing from public services, which are typically paid for on an input basis. For example, prisons are funded on the basis of the costs of correctional staff, constructing facilities and housing inmates, usually without regard to whether prisons rehabilitate people and reintegrate them into society. The first UK SIB aimed to change that with investor financing of an innovative rehabilitation programme. Exceeding the target for reduction in reoffending rates among inmates who had been through the programme led the Ministry of Justice to repay those investors. Proponents argue that despite having to repay investors (their capital plus interest), the SIB has led to net savings for the Ministry which does not have to pay to re-imprison inmates, and of course to wider savings to society (less crime, more taxpayers, etc).
South Africa – which is no stranger to public services that do not bring about the desired outcomes – saw the implementation of two SIBs beginning in 2018; two of the first SIBs in the global South. These are the Impact Bond Innovation Fund (IBIF), which aimed to demonstrate how to deliver high-quality early learning services to pre-grade R children on the Cape Flats, and Bonds4Jobs, which similarly aimed to demonstrate how to provide effective employability training and job matching to excluded youth in Gauteng. Intellidex, sponsored by the Standard Bank Tutuwa Community Foundation (an investor in both SIBs), has written reports detailing the performance of these SIBs along financial and social dimensions. They have earned decent returns for investors and have been successful socially as well: they have (mostly) met their outcome targets and provided rigorous evidence about what works in early learning and employment services that could be implemented more widely.
But concerns remain. For example:
• Some argue that the risk profiles on the SIBs were unbalanced. In other words, that the outcome targets which service providers had to reach, and which triggered payments from the outcome funders to investors, were set too low. This implied minimal risk of investors not being repaid, and large probability that the outcome funders (the DSD and Jobs Fund, respectively) would have to pay.
• Rather large payments were made for services that reached relatively few beneficiaries, even if these services were demonstrably successful for the beneficiaries.
• Getting information out of the intermediaries who manage the SIBs as well as the investors has not been particularly easy, which is consistent with international trends. Given the fact that investors are paid with public money, this is a worrying trend.
• The results-orientation and trend to quantification is worrying for some. Some work is not easily quantified (indeed the wellbeing of human beings is almost always difficult to measure), and most NGOs, which are small and poorly resourced, would probably be unable to orient their operations entirely towards results despite doing important work in their communities.
• Finally, the SIBs’ costs are not adequately quantified (particularly the costs of lengthy contracting and negotiation) which makes it difficult to assess whether the benefits are really worth the returns to investors. And should investors be earning returns at all?
The performance of the two SIBs, the concerns mentioned above (among others) and what the future potential of SIBs are in South Africa are the subjects of the proposed paper/workshop. SIBs are enjoying a surge of popularity in the private sector, but remain relatively unknown outside of it. I think that participating in the conference and getting the views of academics, practitioners and the NGO sector would be invaluable for shaping a research agenda in this area and thinking through how best to marshal the private sectors’ resources in tackling South Africa’s substantial social developmental problems. I am open to suggestions re how to frame this and whether the organisers think a paper or workshop would be more suitable.