FAQ

TLC is register to care for 34 children in our nursery between newborn and 7 years old. Upon admission to our home babies have to be under 3 years of age. Occasionally we will be able to care for a few extra little ones in our nursery if it is requested by the department. We also help to support about 30 other "TLC children" who, over the years, have been placed into the care of the TLC founding family. As they reach adulthood we work hard to support and encourage their independence as they gradually phase out of their dependency on the organisation.

TLC has always been a big believer in the innate value of each little human in our home. We have always championed quality care based on the pure expression of our shared and equal humanity. We have also come to appreciate an entirely new dimension to the value of quality care that was perhaps not overtly recognized but always intrinsic in our approach. Through our years of experience we have come to appreciate the value of the first 1000 days from conception in any human's life, and the severe impact that in-utero and childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences have on individuals all through their adult lives. With this knowledge we seek to implement quality, attachment based, trauma-informed care methodologies right from the start of a child's journey with us. We hope that in doing so we can limit any adverse experiences, that come from their rough beginnings. As we work to address each individual child's trauma we simultaneously seek to bolster their confidence and resilience for the eventual day that they leave our home and well into their future.

While we seek to offer the best care possible to each child we are sorely aware of the shortcomings of group care and the unavoidable institutionalized nature that causes it's own kind of trauma in babies and children. That being said, we acknowledge our integral value as a safe transitional space for babies between where they have come from and their placement into a forever family. Furthermore, it becomes increasingly difficult to find families for children the older they get. Needlessly delaying placements is a tragedy and grossly unfair to the families and babies in the system who are desperate to have their lives start together from as young an age as possible.

This is a heart breaking situation for us, and one that fans the flames of advocacy in our child-loving hearts. To us it is purely bureaucratic ineffectiveness that causes delays to the point that a child will "age-out" of our care, and completely unnecessary if the system wasn't so broken. The families are there and the children are waiting it's the process in between that is the failure. We find this very hard to accept. As a child gets older it becomes increasingly difficult to find them a family. In the past, with children that did not leave TLC by the time they turned 3, generally these children were placed into the founding Jarvis family. As the Jarvis family has grown and aged, however, this is no longer an option. TLC has now developed a policy where children "aging out" of their home are transferred to other children's homes that care for older children, on the strict condition that the home provides equal or better quality care than that of TLC. That being said, this is a situation we have fortunately not had to resort to much, but each time is too many. We continue to challenge the system and work to advocate for placements to happen as rapidly and responsibly as possible. Always seeking to serve the best interests of the child.

There is a hierarchical placement process that happens for each child at TLC - with our focus always being to push for placements happening as rapidly and responsibly as possible. Below we detail how this process is supposed to work in theory, although sometimes, with reasons unbeknownst to us and at the discretion of the social workers who work for child protection and adoption agencies or the government, this does not seem to always be the protocol. Firstly, all efforts in seeking to safely reunify the child with family are explored. Once this option is exhausted, or the parents explicitly sign the child up for adoption, then the option of local adoption is explored. If there is no success with this process they are then made available for international adoption. In certain situations, typically where there is a possibility of family reunification or the view to adopt, social workers will place a child into foster care.

Most of our funding is made up of contributions from individual donors as well as a handful of foundations and corporates. These generous individuals and organisations help to make sure we can continue our life-saving work for as long as we are needed. In addition to this TLC is also registered with the South African Department of Social Development who support us with 14% of our running costs on a quarterly basis. If you would like to contribute, we are always looking for partners in helping continue our valuable work.

Yes. We are able to provide our BBBEE certificate upon request.

3 Things: ONE - We need sustainability. This is the purpose of our Adopt-A-Cot monthly giving campaign. We encourage donors to rather give smaller, manageable amounts on a monthly basis as opposed to a once off donation (Although, of course, we are grateful for any support). This kind of help is vital in overcoming the financial uncertainty that typically comes when functioning in the social services, non-profit sector. TWO - We need ambassadors and cheerleaders! We know the cautious and even negative perception many regard charities with and, from some horror stories we've heard, we don't blame them. That's why we need our supporters to endorse us. We don't underestimate the value of having "word-of-mouth" recommendations and endorsements. This kind of support goes a long way in boosting our reputation and giving others the confidence to support us too. In our pursuit of sustainability having a broad base of passionate supporters is the only way we have made it this far! But we still have a significant shortfall each month and are always looking for ways to grow our pool of passionate, monthly supporters. Sharing about our home and the work we do is huge in helping us gain the trust of others to encourage them to pledge a small, monthly amount of support for our home. THREE - We need your belief. We completely appreciate that our donors have a right to prescribe how they want their donations to be spent - believing they are making the most meaningful contribution they can. However, assigned donations can make managing our daily needs a little tricky. Here’s an example: say for instance, we have been asked to use a specific financial donation for nappies only, but we’re having difficulty paying our electricity bill that month. This means we will have dry bums but may be changing nappies in the dark. Of course, we gratefully honour the requests of our financial donors (not to be confused with donations made in-kind where a donor generously gives what they have available). Sadly, when too many of our financial donors are rigorously prescriptive about their contributions keeping all our operational bases covered, while fulfilling the various needs of at least 34 little ones, does require some amazing feats of flexibility and high levels of anxiety… I’m sure you understand the difficulty? We’ve maintained a transparent financial record (that is available to anyone on request) and we are trusted by the many independent bodies that we work with. Your trusting our judgement with regards to how donations are spent means we can channel money to where it is most needed, at any point in time.