Department of Social Development addresses challenges in VAPO Programme

By Rejoice Shumba

The Department of Social Development’s Volunteer Assistant Probation Officer (VAPO) Programme, now approaching its second anniversary, is facing a number of difficulties. The Department has identified the problems and is taking appropriate measures to address them.

The Programme was launched on 29 October 2005 as a collaborative effort between the Department of Social Development, the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the Royal Netherlands Embassy. The VAPO Programme forms part of the National Youth Service (NYS) and one of its aims is to build the capacity of youth to enable them to enter the formal labour market. Prospective VAPOs need to be in possession of a Grade 12 certificate. All volunteers in this Programme are enrolled for the NQF Level 4 Certificate in Probation Work and the external moderation of the VAPOs is done by tertiary institutions.

The VAPO Programme forms part of the efforts of the Department of Social Development to reduce the number of children awaiting trial in prison and to provide the services to which the Department has committed itself in the policy underpinned by the Child Justice Bill. The main duties of the VAPOs are to:

• provide home-based supervision for high-risk children and those who have allegedly committed a criminal offence and are under the age of 18;
• render crime-prevention life skills to school and communities;
• assist probation officers with administrative tasks during the assessments of young people in conflict with the law; and
• assist with tracking families of young offenders.

Demands of Programme implementation
The VAPO Programme has experienced a number of challenges since its inception in 2005. There is a concern that the assessment of VAPOs is an additional task for probation officers. The officers complain that it is very time-consuming and adds an extra load to their work. In response to this challenge, a uniform structured programme for workplace assignments will be developed by assessors tasked by the Department of Social Development.

There is also a concern that not all volunteers are taking the training seriously and that they do not see the value of the Programme. Some of the VAPOS are of the opinion that they are not well-supervised and that they are being allocated insignificant tasks from which they learn very little. Melanie Kivedo is the VAPO Senior Manager for Children, Families and Social Crime Prevention. Speaking at the National Youth Indaba organised by the Department of Health in July 2007, Kivedo said that the Department of Social Development is looking at ways of addressing this problem and that district meetings are taking place to brief probation officers on their role in terms of workplace assignments.

VAPOs are given a small allowance to enable them to meet their basic needs. When the payments were delayed at the beginning of 2007, the VAPOs were demoralised and this led to a number of these young people resigning. The Department of Social Development is committed to securing the necessary funding to ensure the timeous payout of stipends and the continuation of the Programme.

The volunteers involved in the VAPO Programme serve for a period of 12 months and acquire credits for certification. It is thus important for the Department of Social Development to devise exit strategies for the VAPOs so that when they have completed their year of service they can be absorbed into formal employment. Plans are being made to place the graduate VAPOs in the NGO sector as well as in the Department of Social Development and other government departments where their skills may be needed.

In her presentation at the National Youth Indaba held in Kimberly in June 2007, Kivedo applauded the VAPO Programme because it addresses the issue of crime amongst youth and at the same time builds their capacity so that they can obtain the necessary qualifications to enter the formal labour market.