Social Welfare office to pilot test CICL reintegration

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) announced Monday that it will pilot test a new program that will reintegrate children in conflict with the law (CICL) to the community.

Darlene Ruz Darcen, planning officer of the Social Technology Bureau of the DSWD, said they will pilot test the Supervised Independent or Group Living Arrangement (Sigla) in five regions of the country, namely: National Capital Region (NCR), Cagayan, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, and Davao.

She said Sigla aims to facilitate smooth reintegration of discharged CICL to the mainstream society, especially those who under such circumstances where family reunification or alternative family care placement are no longer possible.

She said they are targeting 24 CICLs for the Sigla program, of whom, two will be from Cagayan, two from Calabarzon, five from NCR, five from Davao Region, and 10 from Western Visayas.

She said the CICL will undergo three stages under Sigla program, which include transition, supervised living arrangement, and independent living.

In the transition period, CICL will stay within a center for three months to prepare them in their reintegration to the community. In the supervised living arrangement, CICL will be returned to the community.

"CICL will be under the supervised living arrangement for six months. In this period, CICl will be provided with clothing, toiletries, linen, eating utensils, and educational materials," she said.

In the independent living, she said the CICL will be expected to live on their own.

Baby Dimakiling, social welfare officer 4 of the DSWD-Davao, said they are still identifying the possible respondents of the Sigla program in Davao Region.

The CICL will undergo stages of transitional living outside the center independently or as a group.

While the CICL is undertaking the transitional independent living period, social workers and the local government unit (LGU) will closely monitor the clients through constant home visit.

The department will only include those CICL aged 15 to 18 years old, or older up to 22 years old who have completed the rehabilitation program.

These CICL will be those who have suspended sentence and cases dismissed in court; without families or relatives by reason of death or abandonment of parents; with parents/relatives who are not prepared to accept CICL; or parents have no capacity to attend the needs of the CICL because of financial constraints.