This research investigates the impact of the Child Support and Foster Child grants in South Africa on children’s care. It examines the effect of these grants on the quality of children’s care and on decisions about who will provide care to children. It also exploresimplementation issues regarding both grants and proposes options for making support more effective and efficient. This research is part of a wider study on the linkages between social protection and children’s care in Sub-Saharan Africa, and further research has been completed in Ghana and Rwanda. The research in South Africa was led by the Children in Distress Network (CINDI) in collaboration with Family for Every Child and the Centre for Social Protection (CSP) at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) in the United Kingdom (UK). The Child Support Grant (CSG) is a modest monthly cash transfer for children living in poor households. It was introduced in 1998 to alleviate poverty and improve nutritional and other outcomes amongst South Africa’s children, and has served as an example for similar programmes across the continent and beyond. The Foster Child Grant (FCG) is a relatively generous monthly cash transfer for children in formal foster care to provide financial support for carers providing foster care. Receipt of the grant goes hand-in-hand with regular monitoring and supervision by social workers, and placement reviews by the courts every two years, as part of the wider foster care system.