Twenty eight (28) social workers and 1 psychometrician from 17 partner residential care facilities (RCF) for children in the National Capital Region (NCR) were trained on the use of the Training Manual on House Parenting Standards last August 22-25, 2017 at Bali Village Hotel, Tagaytay City.
This activity is in line with the project “Ensuring Children’s Potential and Development Through Improved Residential Care Practices”, a capacity building project for social workers and house parents managed by ACTION, Inc. in partnership with Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The project aims to provide an opportunity for the child care service personnel to enhance their knowledge, skills and attitude to become more responsive to the needs of children in residential care facilities (RCF).
ACTION, together with its major partner, the DSWD Field Office-National Capital Region (DSWD FO-NCR), co-implemented the training to representatives coming from 6 DSWD-run facilities (Elsie Gaches Village, Haven for Children, Marillac Hills, Reception and Study Center for Children, Jose Fabella Center and Nayon ng Kabataan), 4 Non-Government Organizations (Tulay ng Kabataan, Manila Children’s Home – Extreme Response International, Saklolo at Gabay ng Ina at Pamilya, and SOS Children’s Villages), and 6 Local Government Units (Valenzuela, Manila, Makati, Pasay, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa).
The training mentored the participants on the content of the Training Manual on the House Parenting Standards which includes 10 key areas such as Child’s Rights Perspective, Self Awareness, Organizational and External Awareness, Custodial Care, Behavioral Management, Problem Solving, Crisis Intervention, Safety and Security, Record Keeping, and Program Maintenance. The activity likewise provided the participants the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of utilizing the training modules and likewise equipped them with basic skills on training management. This will enable them to become resource persons and effective members of the training team in implementing the Training on House Parenting Standards. Furthermore, by training the social workers/psychometrician from partner residential care facilities, the continuity of learning among house parents may be sustained.
Seven (7) key officers from DSWD FO-NCR, together with ACTION staff, served as resource persons during the training. They generously shared their expertise which resulted to rich discussions, exchange of learning and significant realizations on the part of the participants as to the importance of their role in meeting the purpose of this project which is to improve the house parenting practices in residential care facilities for children.
At the end of the activity, participants shared that through the training, they learned that the house parents play a vital role in their facilities. Thus, it is important that the house parents are well equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitude on house parenting in order to ensure the development of children under their care. And as the trained trainers, it is their responsibility to help the house parents acquire these competencies.
By:
Evangeline Grace J. Balais
Project Officer
