DSWD seeks expansion of residential care facilities as centers face higher demand
At A Glance
- Currently, 77 center and residential care facilities cater to children in conflict with the law and other vulnerable sectors, including abandoned children, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and women in difficult circumstances.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is planning to expand its network of residential care facilities as increasing demand for services places pressure on existing centers nationwide.
Currently, 77 center and residential care facilities (CRCFs) cater to children in conflict with the law (CICL) and other vulnerable sectors, including abandoned children, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and women in difficult circumstances.
Last year, the DSWD served a total of 1,940 clients across its residential and center-based facilities.
By year’s end, active residents declined to 1,071 as many clients were successfully reintegrated into their communities.
“We hope to expand further, especially because we have a growing population that is getting older. And given that there are not that many facilities,” DSWD Center Development Office Director Kaye Sacapaño said in Filipino.
She added that the expansion push aims to ensure that no vulnerable client is turned away due to lack of available space.
Residents in CRCFs undergo assessment, counseling, and psychosocial support provided by teams of social workers, psychologists, and psychometricians.
They also receive basic education, life skills training, and vocational preparation.
“Our assistance does not stop here. We also aim to help them reintegrate and rehabilitate because in the long run, they will remember this—that they came from a place where DSWD helped them become successful in life,” Sacapaño said.
Among its programs is the Regional Rehabilitation Center for the Youth (RRCY), which handles minors in conflict with the law whose sentences have been suspended by trial courts under a restorative justice approach.
“Instead of penalizing them, we provide rehabilitation, so it is a restorative justice or restorative approach,” Sacapaño said.
“These are temporary shelters. As much as possible, we want to rehabilitate them so that when they are reintegrated into society or returned to their families, they are ready,” she added.
While the RRCY has a defined legal framework, the DSWD said many other residential care facilities operate without specific enabling laws, adding to the challenge of strengthening and expanding the system.