Children’s Amendment Bill gets last public hearing

By Ilhaam Hoosain
13 September 2007

Responding to numerous requests for more public involvement, the National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Social Development will on Tuesday, 18 September conduct its last public hearings on the Children’s Amendment Bill in Parliament.

The Committee has concluded its successful hearings in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Eastern Cape provinces.

The upcoming hearings will be attended by various stakeholders and all the members of the public that forwarded their written submissions to the Committee, but never had a chance to attend in the provinces; they will get an opportunity to present their views before the Committee in Parliament.

The Children’s Amendment Bill aimed at providing for partial care of children; to provide for early childhood development; make further provision regarding the protection of children such as child headed household and abolish corporal punishment; provide for children in alternative care; provide for foster care, child and youth care centres and drop-in centres; create certain news offences relation to children; facilitate consensus on who constitutes children in need of care and ensure access to child services for disabled children.