Monitoring Survey for Secure Care Centres

A. VISIT DETAILS

1. Province*

2. Centre Name - Eastern Cape

2. Centre Name - Free State

2. Centre Name - Gauteng

2. Centre Name - Kwa-Zulu Natal

2. Centre Name - Limpopo

2. Centre Name - Mpumalanga

2. Centre Name - Northern Cape

2. Centre Name - North West

2. Centre Name - Western Cape

2. A) Centre Name (Other)

3. Classification of the centre*

Sentenced
Awaiting trial
Place of safety
Diversion
Other

3. A) Please Specify (Other)

4. Visit date*

5. Visit time*

: HH

MM

6. Name of interviewer*

Name Surname

7. Interviewer Position*

Please specify (Other)

8. Was the visit announced or unannounced?*

Announced
Unannounced

9. Were there challenges gaining access to the centre?:*

Yes
No

10. If yes, please elaborate on your observations?

B. CENTRE ADMINISTRATION AND STAFF POPULATION

11. Centre Manager Name*

12. Centre Manager Contact Details*

Phone Email

13. Approved staff establishment*

14. Total staff currently employed at the time of the visit*

15. Number of Child and Youth Care Workers*

Please enter a number from 0 to 1000.

16. Number of Auxiliary Child and Youth Care Workers*

17. What processes are in place at the centre to support auxiliary child and youth care workers to obtain the required qualifications and transition from auxiliary status to fully qualified child and youth care workers*

18. Number of Social Workers

19. Are there staff vacancies?*

20. If yes, number of vacancies

21. Positions Vacant*

Please specify (Other)

22. What is the Child and Youth Care Worker to child offender ratio at the centre?*

23. What is the staff gender distribution at the centre*

Male	Female	Total

24. Are there staff with disabilities?*

25. If yes, number of staff with disabilities

Male	Female

26. Were any disabilities a result of injury on duty?

27. If yes, please provide details on the circumstances which led to each staff member(s)’ disability? (if applicable)

28. What measures are in place to assist staff with disabilities (if applicable)

29. How many security officials are at the centre*

30. Have security officials at the centre been provided with training on how to interact with children in conflict with the law? If yes what training where they provided with?*

C. CHILD POPULATION

40. What is the centre’s total approved population of children?

40. A) Males

Sentenced	Awaiting trial	Diversion	Other	Total

40. B) Females

Sentenced	Awaiting trial	Diversion	Other	Total

41. What is the centre’s current grand total of children?

41. A) Males

Sentenced	Awaiting trial	Diversion	Other	Total

41. B) Females

Sentenced	Awaiting trial	Diversion	Other	Total

42. What is the total number of foreign national children incarcerated at the centre for contravention of the Immigration Act?*

Male	Female	Total

43. Is the centre overcrowded?*

Yes
No

44. Are there any children sentenced in terms of section 76 (3) of the Child Justice Act at the centre?*

(A child justice court that convicts a child of an offence referred to in Schedule 3, and which, if committed by an adult, would have justified a term of imprisonment exceeding ten years, may, if substantial and compelling reasons exist, in addition to a sentence to compulsory residence in a child and youth care centre, sentence the child to a period of imprisonment which is to be served after completion of the period determined in accordance with subsection (2) of the Child Justice Act.)

Yes
No

45. If yes, how many?*

Boys	Girls

46. Have there been any children sentenced in terms of section 76 (3) of the Child Justice Act who have been transferred from the centre to a correctional centre in the past three year?*

Yes
No

47. If yes, how many?

Boys	Girls

48. Are children at the centre housed according to their respective categories?*

Yes
No

49. Please elaborate on your observations.

50. Are children at the centre housed in separate units taking their age and physical development into consideration?*

Yes
No

51. Please elaborate on your observations.

52. Are there any children with disabilities at the centre?*

Yes
No

53. If yes, how many

Boys	Girls

54. What are the categories of disabilities?

55. Are children with disabilities incarcerated separately from other children?

Yes
No

56. If yes, where are they incarcerated?

57. What measures are in place to assist children with disabilities?

58. Are there any children who are mental health care users at the centre?*

Yes
No

59. If yes, how many?

Boys	Girls

60. Are any of the children who are mental health care users considered to be high risk to other children and/or staff?

Yes
No

61. If yes, are they incarcerated separately from other children for theirs or other children’s safety?

Yes
No

62. If no, what measures have been put in place to ensure that they are not a risk to other children and/or staff?

63. Are there any children who are part of the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual and others such as non-binary and pansexual) community at the centre, if known?*

Yes
No

64. If yes, how many?

Lesbian	Gay	Bisexual	Transgender	Queer	Intersex	Other	Total

65. Are there any LGBTQIA+ children incarcerated separately from other children at the centre for their own safety?*

Yes
No

66. What additional measures are in place to assist with the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of LGBTQIA+ children?

67. Are there any children who are pregnant at the centre?*

Yes
No

68. If yes, how many?

Please enter a number from 0 to 1000.

69. Are pregnant children incarcerated separately from other children for their own safety?

Yes
No

70. What procedures are in place to ensure that pregnant children are not discriminated against?

71. Does the centre have a mother and babies’ unit for children who have babies?*

Yes
No

72. How long is a child allowed to stay with her baby at the centre?

D. INCIDENTS AND SAFETY

73. Have there been any deaths at the centre in the past 3 years?*

Yes
No

74. If yes, how many?

2025	2024	2023

75. What were the circumstances surrounding the deaths at the centre? (if applicable).

76. Have there been any cases of assault at the centre in the last 3 years?*

Yes
No

77. If yes, how many?

Child on Child	Child on Staff	Staff on Child	Staff on Staff	Total

78. Have there been any escapes at the centre in the last 3 years?*

Yes
No

79. If yes, how many?

2025	2024	2023

80. What were the circumstances surrounding the escapes at the centre? (If applicable)

81. Have there been any suicides or attempted self-harm at the centre in the last 3 years?*

Yes
No

82. If yes, how many?*

2025	2024	2023

83. What were the circumstances surrounding the incidents of suicides or attempted self-harm? (If applicable).

E. NUTRITION, FOOD HANDLING AND PREPARATION

84. Does the centre have a kitchen?*

Yes
No

85. If no, where does the centre obtain food for the children? (if applicable)

86. If yes, is all the equipment in the centre kitchen working?

Yes
No

87. If no, which equipment is not working? (if applicable)

88. Was the kitchen clean at the time of the oversight visit?

Yes
No

89. If no, please elaborate on your observations.

90. Does the kitchen have cold and dry storage?*

Yes
No

91. Please elaborate on your observations.

92. Are children provided with an adequate diet according to a prescribed menu?*

Yes
No

93. If yes, add picture of menu

94. What time of the day are children served their meals?*

Breakfast	Snack (if applicable)	Lunch	Snack (if applicable)	Dinner	Snack (if applicable)

95. Are religious and therapeutic diets provided for?*

Yes
No

96. Does the kitchen have a Certificate of Acceptability at the time of the visit?*

Yes
No

97. If yes, add picture of menu

98. Did the kitchen have UV light fly traps at the time of the visit?*

Yes
No

99. If the kitchen did not have UV light fly traps please indicate which pest control measures are used

100. Have the defaults in the equipment been reported?*

Yes
No

101. Does the kitchen keep food samples of children’s meals?*

Yes
No

101. A) Were food samples available at the time of the visit?

Yes
No

101. B) Please eloborate on your observations

102. If yes, how long are food samples kept for and where are they kept

F. LAUNDRY SERVICES

103. Does the centre have a laundry?*

Yes
No

104. If no, where does the centre do the children’s laundry? (if applicable)

105. If yes, is all the equipment in the centre laundry working?

Yes
No

106. If no, which equipment is not working? (if applicable)

107. Have the defaults in the equipment been reported?

Yes
No

108. How often do children change clothes at the centre*

109. How often are children’s bedding and blankets washed*

110. Are children provided with clothing taking seasonal considerations into account?*

Yes
No

110. A) Please eloborate on your observations*

G. PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES

111. Does the centre have a hospital/clinic unit?*

Yes
No

112. If no, what measures are in place to assist children who require medical assistance?

113. If yes, does the centre’s hospital/clinic unit have all the required equipment and/or medication which make it fit for purpose?

Yes
No

114. If no, what equipment or medication does it require for it to be fit for purpose?

115. Does the centre have a pharmacy?*

Yes
No

116. If no, where does the centre obtain its medication for the children?

117. What are the challenges faced by the centre’s hospital/clinic unit/pharmacy?

118. What are the top 5 ailments amongst the children at the centre?*

119. Does the centre have a doctor?*

120. If none, how does the centre assist children who need to see a doctor

121. Does the centre have nurses?*

Yes
No

122. If yes, number of nurses

123. Type of nurses

124. Does the centre have psychologists?*

125. Does the centre have a psychiatrist?*

126. If the centre has a sessional psychiatrist/psychologist when does he/she attend to the centre?

H. EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL PROGRAMMES

127. Do children at the centre have access to formal schooling?*

Yes
No

128. If yes, is it main stream schooling or ABET

128. A) Please elobarate on your observations

129. Is the school programme accredited by the Department of Education?*

Yes
No
Unknown

130. Number of educators at the centre*

131. Number of children attending schooling at centre*

132. Does the centre provide vocational training programmes?*

Yes
No

133. If yes, what vocational programmes are offered?

134. Are recreational or sporting activities available for children?*

Yes
No

135. If yes, what activities are provided

I. FAMILY CONTACT AND REINTEGRATION

136. Are children allowed to receive visits from family members?*

Yes
No

137. How often are family visits permitted?

138. If other, please elaborate

139. Are children allowed to communicate with family members via telephone or other means?*

Yes
No

140. Are family reunification or reintegration plans developed for children?*

Yes
No

J. BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT PRACTICES & COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES

141. Does the centre have a complaints procedure which can be utilized by children?*

Yes
No

142. If yes, please provide a summary of the complaint’s procedure

143. Does the centre have a written behaviour management policy?*

Yes
No

144. If yes, please provide a summary of the disciplinary procedure

145. Does the centre use isolation or separation as a disciplinary measure?*

Yes
No

146. If yes, under what circumstances is separation used

147. Have there been any reported cases of physical punishment of children in the past three years?*

Yes
No

148. If yes, how many

2025	2024	2023

149. If yes, please provide details

K. SEARCH PRACTICES

150. Are children searched upon admission to the centre?*

Yes
No

151. What type of searches are conducted?

Please specify (Other)

152. Are searches conducted based on a risk assessment?*

Yes
No

153. Who conducts the searches?

154. Under which circumstances are children searched and how

L. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

155. Do the centres dorms and grounds get fumigated as a pest control measure?*

Yes
No

156. If yes, how often are they fumigated?

157. Is the centre’s firefighting equipment serviced up to date?*

(SANS 1475 states that the service and maintenance of extinguishers, fire hose reels and above-ground hydrants shall be carried out annually with the additional requirement that powder, foam, water and water based extinguishers be pressure tested every 5 years and CO2 extinguishers every 10 years.)

Yes
No

158. When last was a fire drill conducted at the centre?

159. How often are the centre’s dorms cleaned*

M. SAFETY AND SECURITY

160. Does the centre have CCTV cameras?*

Yes
No

161. If yes, are they all functioning?

Yes
No

162. If no, what are the reasons for them not functioning?

163. Does the centre have body scanners?*

Yes
No

163. A) If yes, where are the body scanners located

164. If yes, are they all functioning?

Yes
No

164. A) Please elaborate on your observations

165. Is the centre experiencing any security related challenge*

N. STAFF WELLNESS

166. Are staff at the centre provided with regular debriefing as when they need it?*

Yes
No

167. If yes, who provides it and under which circumstances?

168. What the challenges are faced by staff at the centre?*

O. CENTRE CHALLENGES

169. Please provide information on any challenges being experienced by the centre*

P. RATE THIS CENTRE

170. Centre Rating*

Monitoring Survey for Secure Care Centres

A. VISIT DETAILS

B. CENTRE ADMINISTRATION AND STAFF POPULATION

C. CHILD POPULATION

40. What is the centre’s total approved population of children?

41. What is the centre’s current grand total of children?

D. INCIDENTS AND SAFETY

E. NUTRITION, FOOD HANDLING AND PREPARATION

F. LAUNDRY SERVICES

G. PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES

H. EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL PROGRAMMES

I. FAMILY CONTACT AND REINTEGRATION

J. BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT PRACTICES & COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES

K. SEARCH PRACTICES

L. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

M. SAFETY AND SECURITY

N. STAFF WELLNESS

O. CENTRE CHALLENGES

P. RATE THIS CENTRE

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