The Children’s Institute (CI) has once again reviewed the adequacy of the 2011/12 provincial budgets to provide the services contemplated by the Children’s Act No 38 of 2005. The total budget allocated for the Children’s Act services in 2011/12 across the nine provinces is between R 3.9 and R 4.4 billion.

For child care and protection services, there is a provincial average increase of 6% compared to the 2010/11 budget year. However, two provinces – Limpopo and the Western Cape’s budgets – have reduced the available funds for these services. The care and support for families programme has seen an average increase of 5% for 2011/12. The HIV and AIDS programme has seen an average annual increase of 6%. However, in the Western Cape there is a 5% decrease. Crime prevention and support has been reduced by 2% across the provinces in 2011/12.

Overall there has not been an adjustment in the equitable share from national Treasury to provincial governments to accommodate the growth in the obligatory services brought about by the implementation of the Children’s Act in 2010. Consequently, the provinces have not been allocated a higher budget and are not receiving adequate funds to implement the Children’s Act, Older Person’s Act and the Child Justice Act. Therefore it is not surprising that the 2011/12 budgets are wholly inadequate to implement these acts.