EMPOWERING REHABILITATION: THE VITAL ROLE OF SOCIAL WORKERS IN CORRECTIONS

By Cuma Pantshwa

• Corrections Week, observed from 15 to 21 September, highlights the importance of rehabilitation over punishment in addressing offending behaviour, emphasising the essential role of community and family involvement in the Department of Correctional Services’ daily operations.
• Social workers are crucial to the Department’s mandate of maintaining a just and safe society by contributing to rehabilitation and reintegration programmes, assessing offenders, and providing needs-based services to aid their adjustment and social functioning.
• With a growing inmate population and an increased focus on rehabilitation, there is an urgent need for more skilled social workers in South Africa’s correctional facilities, as discussed in a recent Department of Social Development workshop. 

Corrections Week, observed from September 15th to 21st, emphasises the importance of rehabilitation rather than punishment in correcting offending behaviour. It also highlights the critical role of family, community, and societal involvement in the Department of Correctional Services’ daily rehabilitative and reintegration efforts. Skilled social workers are central to this focus on rehabilitation and reintegration.

The Department of Correctional Services is legally mandated to maintain a just, peaceful, and safe society by ensuring humane treatment and promoting social responsibility. Social Work Services are essential in achieving this goal, significantly contributing to both rehabilitation and social reintegration programmes as outlined in Section 2 of the Correctional Services Act (Act 111 of 1998). The core function of Social Work Services in corrections involves assessing offenders and delivering needs-based programmes to improve their adjustment, social functioning, and reintegration into the community.

Social Work Services support DCS Programme 3, which focuses on rehabilitation, and Programme 5, which addresses social reintegration. Social workers offer needs-based psychosocial services to offenders, parolees, and probationers, equipping them with social and mental well-being skills necessary for successful reintegration as law-abiding citizens, as stipulated in Section 41 of the Correctional Services Act. Additionally, these professionals facilitate access to rehabilitation programmes to improve reintegration and reduce reoffending. They also play a crucial role in tracing crime victims, facilitating victim-offender dialogue, and initiating restorative justice.

As of 30th June 2024, the inmate population across South Africa’s 243 correctional facilities was 154,060. The country employs 23,561 social service professionals, with 18,948 working for the Department of Social Development and 4,613 in other government departments and NGOs. Given the increasing inmate population and the growing focus on rehabilitation, there is a pressing need for more skilled social workers in corrections.

Despite progress in increasing the number of social workers in correctional services, the rising social challenges and prison population demand further attention. This was highlighted during a recent Department of Social Development workshop focused on implementing strategies to increase the employment of social service professionals in corrections. It was highlighted that staffing shortages and high turnover rates threaten the delivery of essential services. Ms. Anna Molepo, from DCS presented the figures and lay of the land.  There are currently 602 social workers at DCS but said the proposed resources requirements indicates the need for an additional 347 Social Work Practitioners at both Correctional Centres, Community Corrections offices and Social Auxiliary

Workers. She said, “Social workers deal with ‘lifers,’ there is no lifer who can be released on parole before he or she can be seen by a social worker. So, it is a requirement,” further stressing the importance of social workers in rehabilitation.

Minister Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe also stressed that employing more social service professionals is crucial. She emphasised that promoting and employing these professionals is a collective responsibility and that ongoing collaboration with partner organisations is essential to achieving Vision 2030, as outlined in the National Development Plan.