National Authority for Child Care (NACC) Undersecretary Janella Ejercito Estrada and Assistant Secretary Rowena Macalintal show the signed partnership agreement with the representatives from some local government units (LGUs) of the Visayas regions.| Shannah Rose Pardo, UP Cebu Intern
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Children in orphanages will have more chances of having one-on-one care after the National Authority for Child Care (NACC) has partnered with local government units.
This is according to NACC Undersecretary Janella Ejercito Estrada when the NACC’s first national congress concluded on Thursday, June 27.
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Estrada reiterated that it would be vital that the NACC partner with LGUs because it would ensure the NACC’s success in their campaigns and initiatives at the grassroots level.
Through the collaboration between LGUs and the NACC, the programs and initiatives will have a bigger impact on helping children who will need families.
Estrada said that because many children would be placed in orphanages, it would be harder for a limited number of social workers to attend to each child’s needs.
She said that this lack of one-on-one care would lead to developmental delays like speech delay, so NACC would aim to place them in foster families to have one-on-one care under the Philippine Foster Care Program (PFCP).
Through the PFCP, children in orphanages would not just be the ones who will be the focus, especially the aging out children who would have a hard time being adopted by families, but also those rescued from cases of abuse or child trafficking.
With the signing of the partnership agreement for the PFCP, LGUs can help in developing at least 20 foster families or parents in each LGU to make sure that in emergencies, they can immediately place them with foster families.
These foster families would have the necessary training in caring for children especially children who were trafficked or abused.
Facilities would not be a requirement, but Estrada said that they would also be looking for LGUs to donate lots for the construction of facilities under NACC, with the training of foster families being the responsibility of NACC.
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In an interview, Toledo City Mayor Marjorie Perales said that there would be a big impact on the children who would be recipients of the PFCP.
“We can take care of more children who lack parental love…they lack affection, they lack love, they lack care from their real parents. Now, if we give these children to grow with love and care, dili guro ni [sila] maghatag ug labad sa ulo sa society nato (they then would not give our society headaches),” Perales said.
“These kids will also teach us to value life and to value love,” she said.
This partnership agreement between the NACC and LGUs was signed by NACC Undersecretary Janella Ejercito Estrada, the NACC Assistant Secretary Rowena Macalintal, and the representatives from 23 LGUs across the Visayas regions, particularly regions 6, 7, and 8.