A two-year-old Woodstock toddler has been removed from his mother’s care after CCTV footage of the mother feeding him alcohol emerged on Sunday 19 October.
The boy has since been placed in a temporary safe care in accordance with a Children’s Court order.
According to Yusuf Mohamed, Ward 57 councillor, the incident occurred just days after the toddler was returned to the mother, following a previous case in January this year when the woman allegedly dropped the child to the floor while intoxicated.
Mohamed said he was made aware of the footage captured on the U-Watch neighbourhood watch system, on Monday 20 October.
“We got some footage of a mother feeding her child alcohol on the Main Road in Woodstock. Once we received that footage, we shared it with all our safety stakeholders to try and figure out if we could find the mother or the child.”
He explained that an immediate search got underway.
“The new Neighourhood Safety Officers (NSOs) and I decided to visit the hotspots surrounding the location where the mother was found with the child.”
Mohamed said the toddler was taken to a place of safety.
“We then took the child safely to the police station to the victim support unit, where we waited for social development officials to come. They informed us that this mother already has a case of neglect against her.
Responding to enquiries on how the mother was assessed to regain custody of the toddler, the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) said if a child is removed by a social worker (whether from DSD or a Designated Child Protection Organisation DCPO) from a family environment, it does not mean that the child cannot or will never be returned to the family environment again.
“The goal at the end is family reunification, if it serves the best interest of the child. Preserving a child’s family structure is of utmost importance and if necessary, the goal is to divert any child away from the Child and Youth Care Centre system.”
According to the department, the mother was assessed 10 months before, it was recommended that the child be returned to her care.
“In this instance, the matter was handled by a DCPO. The mother was assessed according to the instructions made by the court and whether it was complied with and completed by the parent.”
The department explained that specific conditions were implemented when the child was returned to the mother.
“The return of the child to the biological mother’s care was reliant on certain conditions agreed upon by the biological mother, the social worker and the Children’s court.”
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