Parenting in the Social Welfare System (Philippines) Update September - November 2022

Reporting by Judith Valdes

September/October 2022
 

September and October were a busy two months for the Parenting for Lifelong Health - Philippines (PLH-PH) team! We were pleased to be involved in the Department for Social Welfare and Development’s 30th National Family Week, where we conducted a “Masayang Pamilya Para sa Batang Pilipino Program (MaPa) Session” for the DSWD employees and parents on September 28. The session aimed to enhance the parenting skills of the DSWD employees and parents as well as to practise effective and non-violent strategies to manage the negative behaviour of children.

Our team was also pleased to present  four papers in an organised symposium during the 58th Annual Convention of the Psychological Association of the Philippines on 22 September.  The symposium, titled "Scaling Parenting Support amid a Pandemic: Integrating the Masayang Pamilya Program in the Philippine Government's Conditional Cash Transfer Program", presented findings from the evaluation of community service providers' and beneficiaries’ parenting behaviours and well-being after they have received the facilitator trainings and modules, respectively.

PLH-PH continues its collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to rapidly deliver and scale-up MaPa parenting resources to support family relationships in the wake of Covid-19.

Recently, PLH-PH worked with DSWD Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program’s (4Ps or the country’s conditional cash transfer program) National Program Management Office (NPMO) for the integration of Masayang Pamilya (MaPa) in the 4P’s Family Development Sessions through the eFDS conducted in 2021-2022. The eFDS-MaPa modules covered six topics–  (1) One-on-One time with your Child, (2) Talking about Feelings and Managing Stress, (3) Positive Directions and Praise, (4) Household Rules and Routines, (5) Managing Negative Behaviours, and (6) Problem Solving. These were delivered to all 4Ps beneficiary families through different modalities: social media cards posted online, small group neighbourhood discussions, house visits, text messages, and phone chats, by trained 4Ps municipal and city links. 

MaPa Facilitator training with the CDD

PLH-PH  also worked jointly with the DSWD Program Management Bureau’s (PMB), Adoption Resource and Referral Division (ARRD) and Center Development Division (CDD). The ARRD facilitates processes related to foster care, while the CDD manages the Department’s centres and residential care facilities. Given the two division’s different needs, two MaPa programs with corresponding materials were developed – one for the foster care social workers and subsequently, the foster parents who are responsible for the Foster Care Program, and one for the social workers and house parents who are in charge of the Residential Care Service. The MaPa programs and materials for both programs were adapted to ensure that the contents are appropriate in the specific contexts and needs of the end users. 

For the collaboration with ARRD, training for social welfare officers and focal officers was held online in July 2022. The three-day training produced 40 national MaPa facilitators from the DSWD-ARR field offices. The PLH PH-ARRD team is currently finalizing the details for the implementation of the MaPa program under the Foster Care Program in four (4) selected regions. The MaPa program implementation will be deployed early 2023 and will be monitored and evaluated.  

For the collaboration with CDD,the in-person training of MaPa facilitators in three Residential Facilities in the National Capital Region took place from 24-27 October at Ateneo de Manila University. The training included social workers and PLH-PH team members. We were pleased to host Director Maricel Deloria (Director of Program Management Bureau, DWSD), Liane Alampay, PhD (Principal Investigator of MaPa), Jess Far and Joy Perez of UNICEF, and Jocelyn Mercado (Division Chief of CDD) at the training as well.

October 2022

In October, the PLH-PH team took part in two major events. The 14th Ako Para sa Bata Conference titled “The Beginning, the Building, and the Institution of Child Protection in the Philippines” took place on 3 October. PLH-Philippines presented at the sixth webinar in the conference series with a presentation titled “Paano Magkaroon ng Masayang Pamilya? Parenting as Prevention: Scaling Up Community-based Parenting Programs”. This webinar was presented by the Child Protection Network Foundation and UNICEF in cooperation with Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation.

You can watch the webinar below:

Secondly, Parenting in the Social Welfare System PI and PLH-PH programme directorJennel Reyes presented alongside Moniq Reyes (PLH-PH Research Coordinator) at theAteneo EDGE: Parent’s Health Talk on 26 October. The in-person event was for the benefit of parents who have students enrolled in Ateneo EDGE, in the Ateneo de Manila University. The team presented on parental and child mental health and the relevance of positive parenting practices to child and parental well-being as well as some modules and a background of the Masayang Pamilya (MaPa) or Happy Family Programme.