Social Welfare and Development Acting Secretary Celia Capadocia-Yangco (center) addresses day care workers during the National Day Care Workers Consultation Conference held recently at Bohol Plaza Resort and Restaurant.

With Acting Secretary Yangco are DSWD Assistant Secretary Florita R. Villar (left) and DSWD Field Office VII Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre.

Social Welfare and Development Acting Secretary Celia Capadocia-Yangco emphasized the vital role played by day care workers (DCWs) as surrogate parents to children in their formative years, during the National Day Care Workers Consultation Conference held  recently at Bohol Plaza Resort , Panglao Island.

“The stage at which children are entrusted to a day care worker is the most crucial period in their lives, since in essence, they are being pulled out of their comfort zone, thus, great care should be exercised to ensure that they are provided a nurturing environment to stimulate and kindle their natural curiosity and innate talent. The day care center should be regarded as a friendly and embracing second home,” Acting Secretary Yangco disclosed.

“DCWs are among the DSWD’s unsung heroes and should continue to upgrade their skills for their gigantic task ahead as the number of children enrolled in day care centers has increased,” Acting Secretary Yangco explained.

More than 50 federation presidents of DCWs and members of the Technical Working Group of the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD-TWG) all over the country attended the two - day consultation conference to share experiences in the implementation of day care service as well as discuss recent developments on ECCD.  The dialogue was funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The participants also discussed issues and concerns on the DSWD ECCD Information System, State of the Arts Review of the Day Care Center in the Philippines, ECCD Council Thrusts and Directions, and the National Early Learning Framework.

The DSWD was the main government provider of day care service before this was devolved to the local government units (LGUs). Through Republic Act 6972 also known as the Barangay-Level Total Development and Protection of Children Act,  the LGUs are mandated to establish one day care center in every barangay.

The DSWD monitors the implementation of the day care service program by the LGUs and provides appropriate technical assistance.

“Since the devolution, the number of day care centers in the country has   increased tremendously, making it more accessible and available to most children nationwide. There are currently more than 50,000 day care centers nationwide,” Acting Secretary Yangco narrated.

“The government’s commitment is to protect and support the growth of every Filipino child through the day care service which provides supplementary parental care to 0 to 4 year-old children whose parents have difficulty in fully taking care of their children because of work or other reasons,” Acting Secretary Yangco concluded. # (DSWD-Social Marketing Service) March 4, 2010