Socially Transformative or Status Quo Engagement with Children and Families in Social Work? Pointers from a Critical History

The Johannesburg Child Welfare Society (JCW), established in 1909, has operated through epochs of colonialism, British dominion, Apartheid, and postapartheid neoliberalism. Our textual analysis of JCW’s annual reports between 1909 and 2024 is situated in a critical contextual social work framework and was conducted methodologically through the theoretical approaches of critical historiography and Foucault’s history of the present. Our findings suggest that what has been sustained through the decades is “child protection” as an instrument of governance and social control, rather than the purported care of children, families, and their communities. We allow historical discourse to speak into the present. These discourses of crisis and benevolence, underpinned by subdiscourses including Whiteness and claims of innocence, have been propagated through coloniality and professional imperialism and implicate JCW in ongoing harms such as oppression, discrimination, and subjugation especially of racialized and poor sectors of society. We reveal that even as service has expanded dramatically since the organization’s inception, the Child Protection model has (mostly) failed to effectively address needs, mirroring the inadequacy of this approach elsewhere. This critical historical analysis thus interrupts conventional (Northern Anglocentric) assumptions regarding Child Protection. Although the research primarily highlights JCW’s active depoliticization, it also reveals moments of resistance and possibilities of social transformation which inform our recommendations. We propose that child welfare organizations, especially in contexts of inequality and poverty, engage in socially transformative and critical developmental efforts. These should address universal access to resources, strengthen (extended) family capacities, build communities, and engage collectives. Transformation should be led by affected children, families, and communities. We thus recommend an entire reimagining of both the purpose and practice of responsive social work with children and families.