Perspectives of South African caregivers in receipt of Child Support Grants: Implications for family strengthening interventions

Cash transfers have delivered measurable benefits for poor and vulnerable children in low- and middle-income countries. However, on its own, a cash transfer is insufficient to promote holistic child well-being. In the quest for appropriate complementary family support services, known as ‘cash plus’ programing, this qualitative study sought to explore the perspectives of a group of South African caregivers, all of whom were in receipt of a Child Support Grant (CSG), in relation to their own caregiving and family functioning. Critical areas of support to families were identified to further scale up the already positive impacts of the CSG, such as mental health services, social supports for caregivers, decreasing levels of poverty and growing caregiving knowledge and skills. Key conclusions are that improving the quality and integration of public services and developing culturally appropriate and evidence-based family strengthening programmes are critical to complement and boost the positive impacts of the CSG.