Laguna 2nd district Rep. Ruth Mariano-Hernandez (Facebook)

Laguna 2nd district Rep. Ruth Mariano-Hernandez intends to establish a government scholarship program for deserving students who want to pursue social work as a profession in the country.

For this purpose, Hernandez filed House Bill (HB) No.6910 or the proposed Act establishing a social work scholarship program for deserving students, and qppropriating funds therefor.

The bill aims to establish a social work scholarship program (SWSP) for the beneficiaries under the auspices of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The envisioned program “shall comprehensively address the dearth of Social Workers across the country", the lady solon said.

In the explanatory note of HB No.6910, Hernandez said that there is “a shortage in the number of social workers urgently needed to provide dedicated service to the disadvantaged sectors and communities across the country".

Citing data from the DSWD inventory of its employees, there are 6,796 registered Social Workers across the country as of July 31, 2022. On the other hand, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) said there are 9,541 social welfare positions across the government bureaucracy.

Of this number, there are 2,010 positions that have yet to be filled as of June 30, 2022.

These posts include those for licensed Social Workers: Social Welfare Officer, Social Worker, Social Welfare and Development Officer, Provincial/City/Municipal Social Welfare Officer; and for non-licensed Social Workers: Social Welfare Assistant, and Social Welfare Aide, in National Government Agencies (NGAs) and local government units (LGUs).

Hernandez said the bill sees the SWSP program "as a long-term effort to ensure the stability of the DSWD programs and all current and future social welfare and development entities in the country. It likewise encourages deserving and qualified students to pursue social work and development and eventually enter into public service."

"The SWSP program opens up opportunities for students to engage in a fulfilling and purposeful profession, which would enable them to confront social and other socio-economic issues and thereby impact the lives of people,” she explained.

She said the social work scholarship program will help deserving students pursue social work education and training, with the aim of rendering qualified and licensed professional social work services at the DSWD Central Office, DSWD Field Offices, government hospitals, government residential care facilities, local government unit social work offices or institutions in their respective hometowns as part of their integration into the government social welfare service system.

The SWSP shall provide student financial assistance to include the following: free tuition, miscellaneous, and other school fees; allowance for prescribed books, supplies and equipment; clothing or uniform allowance; allowance for dormitory or boarding house accommodation; transportation allowance; on the job training fees and expenses, Social Work licensure examination review fees; Social Work License fees; annual medical insurance; and other education-related subsistence or living allowances.

“The bill will give those scholarship benefits to students who qualify and pass the entrance examination and complied with other related requirements for admission into a Social Work degree program in a public or private higher education institution, the requirements of the CHEd and DSWD," she said.

"Scholars in this proposed program will have to be full-time students, shall not incur grades below 80 percent, take the board examination within one year after graduation and render return of service in the social welfare positions in their home provinces,” Hernandez added.