The Lund Committee on Child and Family Support was
convened in December 1995 and submitted its report and
recommendations to Cabinet in August 1996. The main
recommendation, for a child cash benefit, was rapidly accepted,
and on 1 April 1998 the first applications for the Child Support
Grant were taken. This is breakneck speed for
the design and implementation of a nationallevel
social policy reform.
It is a pleasure, 20 years later, when millions
of children are receiving the grant, to have
been asked by the Children’s Institute to
reflect on the policy process and on challenges
that remain. The policy reform gained in three
critically important ways from the context of
transition itself. First, then-President Nelson
Mandela had committed to “First Call for
Children” – his palpable love for children was
backed by a team of people who understood
the crucial significance of nutrition and
support for cognitive development in the first
few years of a child’s life