New tool aids DSWD-7 in child protection

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Social Welfare and Development-VII, with its aim to further equip their social workers and other service providers, recently introduced the Modified Social Stress Model in managing Children in Need of Social Protection.

Jaybee Binghay, DSWD-VII information officer, said that around 40 social workers and service providers both in the government and non-government organizations were also oriented on the basic protocol on rescue operations.

They also updated the participants on the different laws for social protection programs.

Binghay said that according to the report of the United Nations Children’s Fund, there has been an increase in reported cases of children victims of abuse, sexual exploitation, child labor in hazardous conditions, children in armed conflict and children in conflict with the law.

She added that DSWD’s Social Technology Bureau introduced this new framework called MSSM as an assessment tool to know the individual needs and reasons why children engage in such conditions that are hazardous to their well- being.

Likewise, the social workers and other members of the intervention team can formulate rehabilitation plans responsive to the identified specific need of each child.

She added that DSWD-7 hopes to transfer technology on the use of MSSM to the other social workers and service providers from the different DSWD-operated and maintained centers and institutions, selected LGUs and licensed NGOs/NGAs and other technical persons.

DSWD-7 will also upgrade them on the different laws for social protection programs like clearance for Minors Travelling Abroad in order to mitigate human trafficking.—(FREEMAN)