Children’s Institute is a child policy research unit based at the University of Cape Town with the explicit intent to contribute to policies, laws and services that promote equality and realise the rights of all children in South Africa. The Institute is conducting a project with the theme: “Including the excluded children: Identifying and addressing barriers to birth registration, social grants and education.” The project is aimed at addressing systemic barriers to birth registration and related exclusion from services where identification is a gateway, including grants and education. Working with paralegals and social service practitioners, they document cases as families try to apply for late registration of birth for their children, social grants and admission to school. The Institute engages with relevant government agencies at national, provincial and district levels, as well as local service centres, advice offices and key role-players within the specific sites, to review the obstacles identified in the cases, identify possible solutions and implement them.

For more information refer to http://www.ci.uct.ac.za/.