Social security for children with disabilities in rural South African communities: family caregiver, health worker, civil society and policy implementer perspectives on access to and the use of the Care Dependency Grant in the Cape Winelands

The Care Dependency Grant (CDG) is distributed by the South African government to carers of children with disabilities after a medical assessment process. We do not know much about how families access or use this money and whether this is the most useful form of government assistance. There is minimal evidence available from civil society organisations, government agencies who implement this grant and doctors who assess eligibility. 

I will focus on rural communities in the Western Cape province. I will use participant observation and interviews to speak with key stakeholders and find out more about their understanding of the CDG. 

This work will lay the groundwork for future research to help the South African government improve communication to reach eligible caregivers, broaden the support it provides and perhaps reconsider the CDG assessment process.