“The hand (out) that rocks the cradle”: Enabling or disabling the rural shift from ill-being to well-being? - The case of the South African Child Support Grant.

This study aims to focus on the Child Social Grant (CSG) program in South Africa which has been categorised as one of the social grant pillars that represent recordable success in terms of its high uptake. It ventures into propelling that a reliance on this social cushion (in isolation from other income generating mechanisms) to enhance the economic position of the caregiver ‘the hand’ is self-defeating. The caregiver as the recipient holds the decision making power that determines how resources are cascaded at the level of the household therefore in implementation of social protection interventions of this nature, the policy focus should not exclusively be directed at the children but also at those who are responsible for the care of the children. In predominant situations of vast unemployment and lack of sources of income and provision, the CSG becomes a source of sustenance for the entire household, to all intents and purposes it meets only the most basic needs. It then becomes hardly surprising that even though there is a high take up of Child Support Grants, the majority of South African children continue to experience poverty in the form of both income and material deprivation. The findings of this study will allow concerned stakeholders including government and civil society to critically assess and adjust polices on how to best maximise the benefits of social assistance within the South African historical and current context. It is envisioned that some recommendations that have emerged will contribute to the debate ensuing around the structural and institutional mechanisms that should shape social protection in South Africa. It would be of utmost relevance to assess how the system of social protection drives or influences vulnerability of benefactors and care givers.