Table 3 Challenges in applying for the CSG reported by the participants

IDENTITY (ID) DOCUMENT for mother

ID document and proof of marriage for married applicants

Fathers ID for applicants with father’s name on child’s birth certificate

o Applicant has never had an ID

o Missing or lost IDfor primary caregiver

o Missing or lost ID for spouse/child’s father

First time ID applicants must be 16 years and above, and have a birth certificate, proof of address and must be accompanied by parent with their own ID book/smart card for the application.

If applicant or spouse/child’s father has lost his ID, they have to go to Home affairs to apply for re-issuing of the document and receive the Temporary Identification Certificate (TIC). The application process takes 14 working days and the TIC is available during that time.

Two participants did not have an ID (M10 & M15) and one father had no ID (M05)

No. I still have to apply for an identity document … then I can do a birth certificate for the baby and apply for a child support grant for her (M10_Post-delivery).

No, I have not yet applied for it because her father lost his identity book. So we are still waiting for her father to get a replacement identity document and then he will go and apply with it (M05_pre-work).

PROOF of INCOME

o Documents unavailable

o Lack of knowledge about application and documents required

o Lack of knowledge about application procedures for married applicants

o Father does provide documents

Applicants must prove they earn less than R4000 per month for single applicants or R8000 per month for applicants who are married or in a relationship. This requires bank account statements with the application (3 months).

If married or in a relationship with the father, the applicant needs to also provide father’s bank statements.

I went to the Grant Office and they gave me forms which I filled out and took to the police station to get them stamped. I then returned the forms and they asked for my bank statement (M14_Pre-work).

I have plans for it [applying for CSG] but I do not know if the application will succeed since I am married. They will ask about the child’s father because usually when you apply for a child support grant the assumption is that the child’s father is absent or does not support the child (M06_Post-delivery).

PROOF OF EMPLOYMENT OR UNEMPLOYMENT LETTER from the Department of Labour for applicant and spouse/ father of the baby

o Incorrect employment status registered on the Department of Labour system

Applicants need to include pay slips with the application.

Single caregivers: need to earn less than R48 000 per annum.

Married caregivers or those in a relationship with the father: need to earn less than R96 000 per annum as a couple.

If unemployed or informally employed, applicants need to include a proof of unemployment letter obtained from the Department of Labour.

Unable to provide proof of unemployment status despite being unemployed (M04 & M06)

When I got to the Department of Labour I was told that where I work I am registered as a permanent employee … They gave me a letter stating same. They said I must take that letter back to SASSA … When I got there the official said to me “you are registered as a permanent employee and you earn a lot of money, so you are not eligible for a child support grant” … I asked her where I work. I wanted her to tell me the name of the company that I work for. She said I must go back to the Department of Labour because she was not going to be able to give me any information, except what was written on the letter…The official had also told me that the grant that I was receiving for the other two children will be stopped (M04_Pre-work).

BIRTH CERTIFICATE for new baby and for older children who receive a grant

o Delayed issuing of birth certificate.

o Home affairs systems unreliable

o Applicant not South African

o Extra traveling costs to retrieve birth certificates of older children

Applicants need to get a letter from the hospital confirming the birth of the child. This is taken to Home Affairs Department to apply for a birth certificate. In some instance home affairs offices are at the hospital.

Delayed birth certificate (M07, M22, M18, M02)

M17 is not a South African citizen but the father of the child is South African. They both need to do DNA test to prove that they are parents before applying for birth certificate.

Her birth certificate has not yet been issued. I was at [name of hospital] yesterday and they said I must wait 10 days and then go and collect it from Home Affairs (M21_Post-delivery).

… they said you are not from this country. But father of the baby is from this country so you cannot [apply for birth certificate], you supposed to go to [name of hospital] to do Identity test [DNA test]. So identity test [DNA test] for the 3 of us is 2.2 [R2 200], father and child is 1.2 [R1 200] … So the father of the baby said he is looking for the money to go [name of hospital] to do identity test [DNA test] (M17_Return to work)

SCHOOL ATTENDANCE CERTIFICATE for older children receiving a grant aged between 7 and 18 years old

o Time and travel costs to retrieve school attendance certificates of older children

Applicants must include school attendance certificates of all children under her care who are receiving the CSG as part of the new application.

Has to go to another province to get school certificate for older children (M21 & M24)

Ok. I was going to apply for it at home [Eastern Cape]. The problem is that they wanted a letter. I have two children, right? The one that is at home goes to school. So now I will go home and ask for a letter from the school and then apply for a grant for the younger child (M24_Return to work).