RECRUITMENT DRIVE FOR SOCIAL SERVICE PROFESSIONALS

Cuma Pantshwa

• The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is addressing the shortage of social service professionals by recruiting 347 Social Auxiliary Workers to improve psychosocial support for offenders and facilitate successful rehabilitation and reintegration.
• The current ratio of social workers to offenders is far below the prescribed standard, with only 16% of the offender population receiving adequate support, particularly in rural areas where resource sharing is challenging.
• Key stakeholders from government departments and organisations are collaborating to implement the approved strategy, with strong support from the Department of Social Development to lighten its workload and enhance service delivery across correctional facilities.

Following Cabinet approval for government departments to employ Social Service Professionals (SSPs), the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is now implementing this directive. The department is currently reviewing its social work structure and is poised to address the shortage of social service professionals within its facilities.

With 347 vacancies to fill, the DCS is actively recruiting Social Auxiliary Workers across South Africa. This initiative follows a recent workshop held by the Department of Social Development, where key stakeholders from government departments, non-profit organisations, and professional associations gathered to refine and implement the approved strategy for social service professionals.

The critical role of social service professionals within South Africa’s correctional facilities was underscored when Ms Anna Molepo, Chief Deputy Commissioner of Incarceration and Corrections at the Department of Correctional Services, highlighted their indispensable role. “Social Work Services are integral to DCS’s Programme 3: Rehabilitation and Programme 5: Social Reintegration,” Ms Anna Molepo stated. “They provide essential psychosocial support to offenders, parolees, and probationers, facilitating their successful reintegration into society and helping to reduce reoffending. This work is mandated by Section 41 of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998.”

As of June 2024, South Africa’s 243 correctional facilities housed 154,060 inmates, including 98,988 sentenced and 54,847 remand detainees. Additionally, Community Corrections, comprising parolees and probationers, includes 52,646 individuals. Despite the Service Level Standard (SLS) prescribing a ratio of one social worker per 240 cases, the current number of social workers allows the DCS to effectively manage only 16% of the offender population. Ms Anna Molepo emphasised the urgent need for additional Social Work Practitioners and Social Auxiliary Workers to address this shortfall, particularly in rural areas where distances between facilities often exceed 150 km, making resource sharing difficult and threatening the delivery of essential services.

“Current challenges include an imbalanced ratio of social workers to clients. Social workers deal with ‘lifers’—no lifer can be released on parole without being seen by a social worker. So, it is a requirement,” she added, stressing the importance of social service professionals in the rehabilitation process.

In support of the recruitment drive, Ms Lumka Oliphant, Acting Deputy Director General for Corporate Support Services at the Department of Social Development, shared her thoughts: “I welcome the commitment by Correctional Services to employ social service professionals. As stated at the workshop, this commitment truly eases some of the heavy burden on the shoulders of the Department of Social Development!”

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