Preventing unnecessary family separation

Family separation in South Africa is largely driven by structural poverty, unemployment, exposure to violence, and weakened family support systems rather than a lack of parental care or commitment. Evidence from national and international child protection frameworks, including the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, affirms that children are most often separated from their families when caregivers lack the economic and social capacity to meet basic needs or access support services. The Community Family Empowerment (CFE) programme was therefore developed as a strategic response to prevent unnecessary family separation by addressing these root causes at household, community, and systems levels. Building on lessons learned from the Family Strengthening Programme, the CFE programme adopts a holistic, community-based approach that strengthens families’ economic resilience through sustainable livelihoods, enhances caregiving capacity, and establishes protective community systems such as child protection forums and incident management teams. By empowering families and communities to safeguard children and respond early to risks, the CFE programme seeks to ensure that children can remain safely within their families and communities, where they can grow, develop, and thrive.