Former Minister of Social Development, Patricia De Lille, declared that an amnesty period would be given to unregistered daycare facilities in the Cape Town from 1 February 2011 until 31 July 2011. Read the former Minister's official press release.
There are currently more than 1 500 unregistered crèches in the province and the amnesty period represents an opportunity for government, crèche owners and operators, as well as parents, to start complying with the Children's Act, which has been put in place to protect and nurture South Africa's children. All daycare facilities must register by 31 July 2011.
What is the Registration Process?
To register, daycare centres will need to fill out a registration form. These forms can be found in libraries, clinics and sub-council offices, as well as the Department of Social Development's local offices and head office, and can also be downloaded from this website.
For more information, you can call the following toll-free numbers.
The application forms must be submitted to a Department of Social Development local office or the head office. Data verification will take place, and the department will then send the application to the City of Cape Town.
The city's Social Development unit will confirm that they have received the application.
The application is forwarded to the city's Planning Department to process the land use application.
If necessary, the application will then be forwarded to the city's Building Development Management unit to process the building plan submission.
The application will then be forwarded to the city's Health and Fire departments for the environmental health and safety inspection.
The application is then sent back to the Department of Social Development for inspection, assessment and a developmental plan for the facility and programme.
Pending the outcome of the above steps, the department will then formally register the facility and issue a certificate to that effect.
The provincial Department of Social Development maintains a database of all registered daycare facilities in the province. This information is made available to the public and especially to parents who want to ensure that their children's daycare facility is registered.
You can request this information at your local Department of Social Development office or at the nearest municipal office, clinic or library.
Daycare centres that fail to comply and register within the amnesty period will be considered illegal, and the Department of Social Development will shut down these facilities immediately.