By Junex Doronio
MANILA — To improve their knowledge, skills, and attitudes for providing effective and compassionate care to children, 38 house parents from various settings and residential care facilities participated in a training program.
These facilities are managed and operated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), local government units (LGUs), and non-government organizations (NGOs).
The training emphasized the latest trends and practices in child care, especially for children in need of special protection (CNSPs).
The DSWD, through the DSWD Academy, rolled out the first batch of training for house parents of residential care facilities from May 19 to 25 at the UP-University Hotel in Diliman, Quezon City.
“This training was conceptualized to improve and standardize the competencies of the house parents as the primary caregivers of the disadvantaged and vulnerable children in the residential care facilities whose roles are crucial to their lives, thus, needed to be capacitated to provide rights-based and child-focused parenting service,” Undersecretary for Standards and Capacity Building Group (SCBG) Denise FB Bernos-Bragas, MD, said in her opening message.
In her closing message, Assistant Secretary for SCBG Janet Armas emphasized the houseparents’ pivotal role in preparing CNSPs for reintegration into their families, placement in foster and adoptive families, and independent living.
“Nagpapasalamat kami sa mga house parents. ‘Yong mga practices and strategies, puwede ituro. Pero ‘yong pagmamahal na binibigay ninyo sa mga anak natin sa residential care facilities, hindi ito naituturo. Sa inyo galing iyan. Kaya mahalaga ang inyong papel,” Armas pointed out.
(el Amigo/mnm)
