The socio-economic contexts in which children live, their
families, households and relationships with others impact
on their need for social assistance and their access to it.
Child grants are paid to adults on behalf of children, so it is important
to consider children’s household contexts and care arrangements
in order to ensure the effectiveness of social assistance. This essay
looks at where and with whom children live, and the implications
for social assistance.
The essay addresses the following questions:
• How is the child population distributed across South Africa?
• What are the patterns of child poverty?
• With whom do children live?
• How does gendered poverty affect children?
• What do children’s households look like and how are they
changing?
• How mobile are children and what does this mean for targeting
grants?