Strengthening the local social welfare and development office after-care monitoring and support services for solo parent survivors of VAW
Marlene L. Kahano.
- 68 leaves : color illustrations
Public Management Development Program
This Re-entry Project will address the concerns of the women solo parents survivors of violence who were discharged from the Regional Haven for Women and those served by the community-based Social Workers of the DSWD and were reintegrated to their families, relatives, on independent living or placed in other alternative placements but were not provided with the needed after-care monitoring and support services by the Local Social Welfare and Development Offices (LSWDOs). The women solo parents survivors of violence are considered as one of the most disadvantages and vulnerable sectors who need due attention, thus, the scholar conceptualized a project that will address their need for continued after-care monitoring and provision of support services once they go back to their community to live with their dependent children. To materialize this project, partnership with the LSWDOs of Tacloban City and Palo, Leyte, involvement of the Regional Haven for Women and Community-based Social Workers of DSWD and the creation of the Re-entry Project team were done. Data gathering and case folders review using the existing caseload inventory and quarterly reports on Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances were done to come up with a profile of the specific target beneficiaries which has been inputted to the newly developed Excel database cum referral/monitoring system through the assistance of the IT personnel from the Regional Information and Communication Technology and Monitoring Unit of DSWD Field Office 8. The system is now functional and was tested and used by the Social Workers who are the exclusive users of the system. The Excel database will serve as a referral and monitoring tool to track the progress and status of the target beneficiaries over a period of time. Developed through Google spreadsheets, it allows users to create, update and modify spreadsheets, share the data online and chat through a built-in instant messaging program. It has also a security feature to preserve the confidentiality of the data and protect it from data tampering. Feedback from the system users was positive and they found this online system relevant, useful, functional, fast, in real time and accessible anytime in areas where there is internet connection. In this way, the target beneficiaries will be provided with fast and timely after-care monitoring and support services by the LSWDOs. To show the process from discharge to monitoring, assessment and referral of clients, a monitoring and referral flowchart was formulated. A report on the provision of technical assistance to Social Workers on Case Management of Solo Parents Survivors of VAW is also available and can be found in Annex 3. This is the "first of its kind project" which has been successfully implemented in partnership with the LGUs of Tacloban City and Palo, Leyte with the cooperation of the internal stakeholders who compose the Re-entry Project Team. Expansion of the project to other LGUs is part of the future plan for its sustainability. On the part of the DSWD Social Workers, the provision of Technical Assistance and Resource Augmentation (TARA) will be part of the Individual Performance Contract (IPC) and activities related to TARA shall be included in their monthly work plans. The full support of the Institution Partner, Faculty Adviser, the ReP Team and the partners from the LGUs have contributed a lot to the project completion. The ReP has also provided the opportunity for the scholar to develop and enhance her managerial competencies.