An Exploratory Study on the Challenges Encountered  and  Strategies Employed  by the Philippine Child Caring Agencies Amidst COVID-19: Social Work Administration in the New Normal

Glennie Marie Sina-on; Hazel  Cometa-Lamberte; Diadem Rose  Camba-Jontarciego

doi:10.58671/aswj.v10i2.12

Authors

Glennie Marie Sina-on College of Social Work and Community Development, University of the Philippines, Philippines
Hazel Cometa-Lamberte Department of Social Work in the University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus, Philippines
Diadem Rose Camba-Jontarciego Iloilo Doctors' College, Philippines

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58671/aswj.v10i2.12

Keywords:

children-in-care, child caring agencies, children in care, pandemic, child welfare, social work administration, orphanages, residential care

Abstract

This paper presents the experiences of Child Caring Agencies (CCAs) in the Philippines that offer free residential care services for Children in Need of Special Protection (CNSP) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It discusses the challenges encountered and strategies employed in managing and operating the residential care facilities for children. The results show implications for the conduct of social work administration and the delivery of social welfare and services in residential settings.

Author Biographies

Glennie Marie Sina-on, College of Social Work and Community Development, University of the Philippines, Philippines

Lead Author: Glennie Marie M. Sina-on

Glennie Marie M. Sina-on is a Registered Social Worker and an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Work at the University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus. Before joining the faculty in 2016, she used to do direct social work practice in the private and public sectors. She has worked with children in a child sponsorship organization as well as with departing Overseas Contract Workers (OCWs) in a national government agency that caters to migrant Filipino workers. She has also done supervisory work in the country's biggest social protection program which is known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (or 4Ps), Philippines' conditional cash transfer (CCT) program. She became a Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Fellow in 2018. She was a Cheung Kong Endeavour Australia Scholarship awardee in 2010, which gave her the opportunity to do her undergraduate Social Work Field Education at the University of South Australia. She holds a Master in Family Life and Child Development which she also took at the University of the Philippines.

Hazel Cometa-Lamberte, Department of Social Work in the University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus, Philippines

Hazel Cometa-Lamberte is a Registered Social Worker and an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Work in the University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus. Before joining the academe, she worked for advocating for child protection and had extensive experience in residential care facilities for children for two decades. She formerly served as member of the Inter-country Adoption Board (ICAB) Placement Committee, the Philippine central authority on inter-country adoption, representing the social work profession, for six years. She also worked as a hotline and rescue social worker for three years. She co-produced and anchored a multi-awarded community radio program called "Sikhay Kilos Radio" at DZUP 1602 that features issues and challenges on social development including child welfare and protection. She authored and co-wrote local and international publications and presented papers on children on both international and local conferences. She is a PhD candidate of the Philippine Studies program of the University of the Philippines, specializing in socio-cultural field.

Diadem Rose Camba-Jontarciego, Iloilo Doctors' College, Philippines

Diadem Rose C. Camba-Jontarciego is a Registered Social Worker and an Assistant Professor at the Iloilo Doctors' College, Philippines. An advocate of women and children's rights as well as human rights and has a wide range of experience in residential care for children ranging from physically and sexually abused, neglected, malnourished, CICL (Children In-Conflict with the Law) and children in armed conflict. Her expertise includes gender-based issues especially sexually exploited women and children, counseling of women victims of sex trafficking in Metro Manila and in South Korea. She is also the founder of Durebang Empowering the Marginalized, Inc. (DEMInc), an NGO helping and empowering marginalized women and children in Iloilo City and Pavia, Iloilo. She is a graduate of Master of Theology major in Systematic Theology from Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea. Currently, she is pursuing her Ph.D. in Education major in Psychology and Guidance at West Visayas State University, Lapaz, Iloilo City.

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