[Section 155(1) substituted by section 7 of Act No. 17 of 2016]
[Section 155(2) substituted by section 7(a) of the Children's Amendment Act, 2022, Notice No. 1543, GG47828, dated 5 January 2023 - effective 8 November 2023 per Proclamation 142, GG49615 dated 8 November 2023]
| (3) | The designated social worker must report the matter to the relevant provincial department of social development. |
| (a) | If, after an investigation contemplated in subsection (2), the designated social worker finds that the child is not in need of care and protection, he or she must indicate the reasons for the finding in the report, which must be submitted to the children’s court for review. |
| (b) | The designated social worker must where necessary indicate in the report the measures recommended to assist the family, including counseling, mediation, prevention and early intervention services, family reconstruction and rehabilitation, behaviour modification, problem solving and referral to another suitably qualified person or organization. |
| (5) | If, after an investigation contemplated in subsection (2), the designated social worker finds the child to be in need of care and protection, that child must be brought before the children’s court for a hearing upon which such court must make a determination. |
[Section 155(5) substituted by section 7(b) of the Children's Amendment Act, 2022, Notice No. 1543, GG47828, dated 5 January 2023 - effective 8 November 2023 per Proclamation 142, GG49615 dated 8 November 2023]
| (6) | The children’s court hearing the matter may— |
| (a) | adjourn the matter for a period not exceeding 30 days at a time; and |
| (b) | order that, pending decision of the matter, the child must— |
| (i) | remain in temporary safe care at the place where the child is kept; |
| (ii) | be transferred to another place in temporary safe care; |
| (iii) | remain with the person in whose care the child is; |
| (iv) | be placed in the care of a family member or other relative of the child; or |
| (v) | be placed in temporary safe care. |
[Section 155(6) substituted by section 7(c) of the Children's Amendment Act, 2022, Notice No. 1543, GG47828, dated 5 January 2023 - effective 8 November 2023 per Proclamation 142, GG49615 dated 8 November 2023]
| (7) | If the court finds that the child is in need of care and protection, the court may make an appropriate order in terms of section 156. |
| (8) | If the court finds that the child is not in need of care and protection, the court— |
| (a) | must make an order that the child, if the child is in temporary safe care, be returned to the person in whose care the child was before the child was placed in temporary safe care; |
[Section 155(8)(a) substituted by section 7(d) of the Children's Amendment Act, 2022, Notice No. 1543, GG47828, dated 5 January 2023 - effective 8 November 2023 per Proclamation 142, GG49615 dated 8 November 2023]
| (b) | May make an order for early intervention services in terms of this Act; or |
| (c) | Must decline to make an order, if the child is not in temporary safe care. |
| (9) | When deciding the question of whether a child is a child in need of care and protection in terms of subsection (1) the court must have regard to the report of the designated social worker referred to in subsection (2). |
