DAVAO CITY (PIA) – The centers and residential care facilities of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the Davao region continue to serve as safe havens, providing essential care for neglected and abandoned children, abused women, the elderly, and children in conflict with the law.
Guesting at the Kapihan sa PIA, DSWD Davao Region Innovations Division OIC Anne Y. Jickain highlighted that DSWD-XI currently manages five centers and residential care facilities across the region, housing around 477 clients.
These facilities include the Reception and Study Center for Children (RSCC) in Davao City, which provides care for abandoned and neglected children aged 0 to 6 years old; Angels Haven in Tagum City, which caters to children with special needs; and the Home for the Aged, also in Tagum City, which offers shelter and care for elderly individuals abandoned or neglected by their families.
The Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth (RRCY) in Davao City provides holistic rehabilitation and transformation for children in conflict with the law, while the Home for Girls and Women (HGA) in Davao City serves as a refuge for abused women.
Jickain explained that these centers are equipped with the necessary facilities and workforce to provide round-the-clock services, ensuring that the clients receive essential care and support.
“The centers are headed, of course, by the center head. We have these social workers, house parents, nurses, and doctors who are assigned, of course, to monitor the health condition of all our clients in that particular center. We also have our psychologists, psychometrician, and, of course, the admin staff who will provide support to our operations in the centers,” she shared.
Meanwhile, following the recent incident in Davao City, where a newborn baby was found abandoned inside a paper bag, DSWD-XI’s RSCC has been instrumental in providing temporary shelter and essential care for the infant.
Jickain affirmed that once the abandoned child is placed under the center’s care, the child receives the full support needed for their well-being and development.
“Pagma-abot na ng bata didtu dili na gyud ta mabalaka because we have the competent staff nga nagatan-aw, naga-monitor, nagap-rovide sa tanan nilang panginahanglan,” she added.
(When the child arrives at the center, we don’t have to worry anymore because we have competent staff who can watch, monitor, and provide for all their needs.)
Moreover, DSWD assistant regional director for operations Gemma Dela Cruz emphasized that, aside from providing shelter and essential care for abandoned children, they also help them find a new family through adoption, especially those who are legally declared free for adoption.
To facilitate the adoption process, Dela Cruz explained that they closely coordinate with the Regional Alternative Child Care Office (RACCO) to ensure that each child’s best interests are prioritized and that all legal and welfare requirements are met.
So far, Dela Cruz noted that most children legally declared free for adoption have successfully found loving and permanent homes with their adoptive families, giving them the opportunity for a better future.
“Only those children nga kadtong mga nay special needs (are in home findings longer) but those mga normal nato nga mga bata wala gyud tay naabtan og 18 years old (that are not adopted),” she shared.
(Only children with special needs tend to stay in the home-finding process longer. However, for children without special needs, we have never encountered a case where a child reaches 18 years old without being adopted.) (ASO/PIA XI)
