Care dependency grants in a south African township: an assessment of access, challenges and contradictions in Bophelong, Gauteng.

Abstract

The condition of disability has been part and parcel of many societies, yet the attention given to the issue has been minimal. Most focus on social and economic intervention has been directed on the person living with disabilities and largely ignoring the role played by the caregivers who are involved in the day to day upkeep of the disabled. This has left the caregivers with challenges that remain largely unexplored. The care dependency grants that are offered by the government have been helpful but insufficient. Most families raising children living with disabilities are unemployed thereby shifting their financial dependency to the caregiver grant. This compromises the quality of life of the intended beneficiary. It is against this background that this study assesses factors affecting access to care dependency grant by children with disabilities, from the perspectives of the caregivers. Data were collected using a mini survey of 19 caregivers (of children with disabilities) in Bhopelong Township, in-depth interviews, an FGD and non-participant observation of how research participants navigated the challenges of caring for children with disabilities against the backdrop of deep poverty. The study found that some of the children with disabilities remained poverty stricken and without access to care dependency grant. The study further revealed that access to care dependency grant was impeded by factors such as lengthy application process, lack of awareness among some caregivers about the existence of care dependency grant, physical distance to the relevant offices of the Departments of Home Affairs and Social Development, which made it difficult for people to apply for relevant grants. There was the further problem of whole families depending for their survival on the little grant money that was specifically meant for the welfare of the child with disability. The study concludes from these findings that children with disabilities – and those caring for them - are disadvantaged in quite intricate ways and that only a more rigorous and socially sensitive design of care dependency grant can ameliorate such disadvantage.