Browsing by Author "Leatt, Annie"
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- ItemOpen AccessFacts about the up-take of the Child Support Grant(Children's Institute, 2006-01) Leatt, Annie
- ItemOpen AccessGranting assistance: an analysis of the Child Support Grant and its extension to seven- and eight-year-olds(Children's Institute, 2004-05) Leatt, AnnieThis paper focuses on the Child Support Grant (CSG), the biggest poverty alleviation mechanism targeting children. The extent of poverty and increased social security provision in South Africa are examined to contextualise the CSG. Since its inception in 1998, this grant has been available to poor children from birth to six years of age. At the beginning of April 2003, eligibility was extended to children under the age of nine as a first step in extending the grant to all poor children up to the age of fourteen. This paper considers the first year of this extension. Using administrative data from the Department of Social Development and relevant development literature, the paper assesses the reach of the CSG and its extension relative to the departments own targets, and absolute poverty lines. Provincial uptake rates are calculated with a view to identifying provinces where additional support is needed to increase uptake of the CSG. The remainder of the paper identifies administrative issues in the roll-out of the grant, highlighting the cases of children whose grants have lapsed due to the age limit, only to re-register a few months later, and concerns about the very low levels of the means test thresholds. The paper then looks at the demographics of beneficiaries of the CSG, including the gender, marital status, rural or urban location and relationship of caregiver to child. The author concludes that the department came close to reaching its own targets, and was successful in reaching very large numbers of children aged seven and eight in this first year of the extension. However, low uptake rates in the Eastern Cape Province in particular are highlighted, while problems in the administrative system are pointed out, as grants lapse because of the death of a caregiver or because of shifting age eligibility.
- ItemOpen AccessGrants for children: a brief look at the eligibility and take-up of the Child Support Grant and other cash grants(Children's Institute, 2006-06) Leatt, AnnieThe Child Support Grant (CSG) is a cash grant for children who are cared for by adults living in poverty. In 2003 the age eligibility of this grant was extended from children under the age of seven to children under the age of 14 in a roll-out that was implemented over three years. This paper analyses the take-up and administration of the Child Support Grant at the end of this roll-out period. It begins with a brief overview of the extent of child poverty in South Africa and the constitutional obligations of the South African state to provide social assistance to people living in poverty. It looks at trends in the take-up of the Child Support Grant and other cash grants for children. The Child Support Grant take-up is thereafter compared with government targets and the number of children eligible for the CSG, using a recent analysis by Debbie Budlender from the Centre for Actuarial Research at UCT. The section thereafter uses the administrative data of the Department of Social Development to examine which grants have been refused or lapsed and reasons for these. This helps to interpret the take-up rate, and gives an overview of the lessons learnt from this progressive expansion of a key government poverty alleviation programme. The paper ends with a conclusion about the take-up rate of the Child Support Grant as of the end of March 2006, and recommendations about the administration of the grant.
- ItemOpen AccessHow good is service delivery now?(Children's Institute, 2004) Leatt, Annie
- ItemOpen AccessThe Means to Live. Targeting poverty alleviation to realise children's rights(Children's Institute, 2009) Hall, Katharine; Leatt, Annie; Rosa, Solange
- ItemOpen AccessReaching out to children: an analysis of the first six months of the extension of the Child Support Grant(Children's Institute, 2003-11) Leatt, AnnieThe Child Support Grant is the South African government’s primary poverty alleviation mechanism targeted at children. From April 2003 eligibility for the grant was extended to children above the age of six who live in poverty. The South African Department of Social Development plans a phased-in extension to the age of 14. If they meet the means test and other criteria, children up to the age of nine are eligible to receive the Child Support Grant in 2003/4 as the first phase of the extension. This paper examines the first six months of the extension of the Child Support Grant from April to September 2003. An analysis was done by using administrative data from the department of Social Development, as well as a range of other supporting research. The author found that the extension is proceeding according to the department’s targets at a national level. Despite this, more than half of children living in poverty in this age category have yet to access the grant, and there are a number of administrative problems which, if resolved, would greatly improve access. In addition, the nine provinces are performing at very different levels in implementing the extension. The paper ends with a range of recommendations to the Department to ensure administrative justice for children and the realisation of children’s right to social security.
- ItemOpen AccessSouth African Congress on Early Childhood Development Submission on the Children's Bill(Children's Institute, 2004-07) Mohammed, Z; Leatt, Annie; Ntombela, Dumisani; Newman, MPresented to the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, 13 August 2004, Parliament.
- ItemOpen AccessTowards a Means to Live: targeting poverty alleviation to realise children’s rights(Children's Institute, 2005-12) Leatt, Annie; Rosa, Solange; Hall, Katharine