The implementation of the white paper for social welfare : a ten-year review

Abstract

The social welfare sector’s response to the country’s transformation to a genuine democracy is embedded in the White Paper for Social Welfare, which was adopted in 1997. This article reviews the success of the White Paper for Social Welfare over the past ten years. The implementation has been effective in reshaping welfare policy. There is now a much clearer understanding of developmental social services in relation to traditional social welfare and social development. Social welfare is firmly established and reflects a rights-based approach and, there is significant evidence that the sector has made a shift to the evelopmental approach. The key priority is to fast-track the social welfare sector’s delivery on socio-economic goals in order to impact on the deep-seated poverty and inequality in which South Africa’s social crises are entrenched.