Question NW1087 to the Minister of Social Development
25 April 2022 - NW1087
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Social Development
(1)Noting that many children’s homes have announced that they have matched children to adoptive parents, but that they are waiting for her department to confirm the placements before the specified children can go to their new homes, what (a) are the full, relevant details of the total number of placements that her department is currently processing and (b) is the reason for the backlog; (2) whether her department has any action plan to speed-up the placement issue; if not, why not; if so, what is the (a) timeline and (b) action plan for the resolution of the specified issue?
Reply:
It is important for the Honourable Member to note that adoption is regulated in terms of the Children’s Act (Act No. 38 of 2005), which outlines which processes must be followed to protect the best interest of the child. The Department has to follow all the regulations to comply with the provision of the Act.
1. (a) It should be noted that there is no backlog for adoption applications. The total number of adoption cases that the department is currently processing is 41, with provincial breakdown as follows:
|
Province |
Number of applications being processed currently |
|
Eastern Cape |
10 |
|
North-West |
8 |
|
Mpumalanga |
6 |
|
Northern Cape |
4 |
|
Free-State |
0 |
|
KZN |
13 |
|
Gauteng |
0 |
|
Western Cape |
0 |
|
Limpopo |
0 |
|
TOTAL |
41 |
(b) Not applicable as there is no backlog
2. (a) Refer to (b)
(b) Refer to (b)