IN a bid to serve underprivileged parents, a center under the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Davao Region (DSWD-Davao) will provide temporary care to children for six months.
Social welfare officer Charito Blanco said the Reception and Study Center for Children (RSCC) under DSWD-Davao will have a six-month program that intends to help parents or guardians who are in a crisis situation and cannot care for children.
“The children will be reintegrated back after the local government unit (LGU) gives assistance to the parents or guardians,” Blanco said during an interview with the Davao city Disaster Radio on May 19.
“For example, mga solo parents na kailangan sa mag trabaho o makaipon then later kung pwede na niya makuha ang bata, mag coordinate lang siya sa local social worker then kami na mag confernce sa LGU para mabalik na sa parent ang bata (There are solo parents who need to work and save money and later on if they want to bring home their children, they will coordinate with a local social worker, then we will coordinate with the LGU so the children can be released),” she added.
Blanco explained that the six months may be extended depending the assessment made after the end of the program. If the parent still has no capacity to provide care, there is an option to put the child up for adoption.
Aside from the temporary care for children, RSCC also accepts abandoned, neglected, found, and surrendered children aged zero to six years old. Blanco said they advocate for the programs in order to reach parents and children who are in need of help.
“I-declare nato sila (the children) legally available for adoption but naa pa na siya proseso before sila pwede for adoption. Pag wala mag kuha na parent or guardian, i-process na namo para matagaan pud sila permanent family (The children will be declared legally available for adoption but there’s a process for that. If ever no guardian or parent will claim the child, we will process the adoption so they can have a permanent family),” Blanco said.
The qualified adoptive parents either be a local family or an international family.
The RSCC facility is located at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) Compound in Bajada, Davao City. ICM