A gauge into whether the child support grant (CSG) and the foster care grant (FCG) are serving their purpose to meet the basic needs of vulnerable children: a case study of Umbumbulu.

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of the Child Support Grant (CSG) and the Foster Care Grant (FCG) in South Africa. It explored whether the CSG and FCG are serving their purpose which is to meet the basic needs of vulnerable children in Umbumbulu and the extent to which the grants alleviate absolute poverty. This study also undertook to ascertain if there is any level of alternate use of the CSG and the FCG and explored how households benefiting from the grants actually use the grant and how the grants improve people’s lives. This research also investigated how the CSG and the FCG impact on employment seeking and whether they encourage people to engage in activities in the informal sector. The main findings of this study are that the CSG and the FCG play an important role in mitigating poverty amongst households of beneficiaries in Umbumbulu area. This research also established that the CSG and the FCG are not enough to meet the basic needs of households. It was also established through this research that the grants encourage employment seeking and engagement in the informal sector.