Exploring the systemic barriers faced by alternative caregivers in the child protection system in South Africa

Systemic challenges within South Africa’s child protection system place alternative caregivers in precarious positions, compromising care for vulnerable children. Despite policy frameworks, limited research has examined how alternative caregivers experience systemic barriers when caring for children who have experienced interpersonal trauma. This qualitative descriptive exploratory study, guided by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, used semi-structured interviews with fifteen caregivers across Gauteng Province, including foster care, Child and Youth Care Centers, and temporary safe care placements. Findings indicate that caregivers operate within fragmented and under-resourced systems, where delays in placement, limited support structures, restricted decision-making authority, and a lack of trauma-informed services increase caregiving demands. These challenges occur across multiple system levels, often shifting responsibility onto caregivers without adequate structural support. Strengthening caregiving capacity requires coordinated, ecosystemic responses, including improved service integration, formalized support systems, and greater alignment between policy and practice to better support caregivers and enhance outcomes for children.