What Barangay Officials Can Do to Set Up a Child-Friendly Locality

Kumilos tayo para sa ikabubuti ng mga bata ngayon, huwag na natin itong ipagpabukas. Ang bawat bata ay habilin sa atin ng Maykapal. Siya ay ating Hiram na Kinabukasan.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyos Keynote Speech

Say Yes for Children Launch

24 May 2001

Print ed with the assist anc e of:

Table of Contents
Foreword ................................................................................................. 3 What is a Child-Friendly Barangay? ............................................... 5 What can Barangay Officials do in order to fulfill these goals? ......................................................................... 6 Why is it important to set up a Child-Friendly Barangay? ..... 9 What are the local institutions that can attend to the needs and rights of children? .......................................... 9 What other institutions can be motivated to participate in advocating Child-Friendly commitments .................. 13 Why is it necessary to linkk up with civil society and the private business sector ? ...................................................13 What can be done immediately to respond to Child-Friendly commitments ? ..................................... 14 Assessment Instrument to Rate if the Barangay is Child-Friendly ...............................................................................14 Purpose of the Instrument...........................................................14 Why is it important to fill up this Instrument? ....................... 14 Who can accomplish this Instrument? ..................................... 16 Sources of information to answer the Instrument .................. 16 What the Instrument can measure ............................................ 17 Time frame to gather information ............................................ 18 How to compute the precentage for Form A ......................... 18 Table and Forms: Table 1. Child-Friendly Commitments ................................... 7 Form A. Standards to Rate the Families in the Barangay ..........................................................19 Form B. Standards to Rate the 4 Institutions in the Barangay .................................. 23 Form C. Form to Rate the Barangay on Sets A and B ..... 24

FOREWORD
In 1990, the Philippine Government ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Since then, it has translated this commitment to a number of initiatives such as the Philippine Plan of Action for Children for the 1990s under Proclamation No. 672 and Republic Act 8425 which institutionalized the Philippine Governments Social Reform Agenda and Poverty Alleviation Program. These initiatives recognized children as a basic sector distinct from the youth and students. The Minimum Basic Needs approach made local governments aware of a set of 33 basic needs of a family, including childrens needs in particular. This list of needs now serves as reference of municipalities and barangays in local development planning in keeping with RA 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991. To help implement the programs, local subcommittees for the welfare of children were created. The Department of Social Welfare and Development also launched its Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS) Program. In year 2000, the Philippines renewed its commitment to the CRC through the Philippine National Strategic Framework for Plan Development for Children, or Child 21. Developed by the Council for the Welfare of Children, the document outlines the goals and strategies to realize the vision of the Filipino Child within the first quarter of the 21st century. This vision pictures the Filipino Child as healthy, happy, curious, confident, cooperative and able to develop his or her full potential and faculties. Significantly, Child 21 recognized current disparities in the treatment of boys and girls and prescribed ways to address these. Furthermore, it strengthened the Philippines commitment to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in combating the trafficking of and violence against women and girls and in ensuring gender-responsive policies and programs. Along with the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (19992004), Child 21 binds national and local governments to synchronize development plans and operations with the child as the focal beneficiary.

Since 1998 the Council for the Welfare of Children has conducted the Search for Child-Friendly Municipalities and Cities to recognize the important role of local government units in promoting and protecting childrens rights to survival, development, protection and participation. The annual search supports a broad-based Child-Friendly Movement towards the realization of child rights in the Philippines. This Movement will actively involve children, families, communities, the government, non-government organizations, the private sector and other members of civil society. The Fifth Country Programme for Children (CPC V) 1999-2003, a program of cooperation between the Philippine Government and UNICEF, supports this movement at all levels of Philippine society. The underlying objective is to make legislators, local and national executives, the judiciary and program implementers child-sensitive and thus effectively address the priority needs of children. We hope that this booklet would serve as a useful guide in creating child-friendly communities that will help realize the vision of the Filipino child in the 21st century.

Dr. Dante B. Canlas Secretary Socio-Economic Planning and NEDA Director-General

Hon. Jose D. Lina, Jr. Secretary Department of Interior and Local Government

What is a Child-Friendly Barangay?

A barangay is Child-Friendly when it is able to assure that the following rights and needs of children are realized: health and nutrition education protection participation

Mr. James Marty L. Lim National President Liga ng mga Barangay

Dr. Terrel M. Hill Representative UNICEF, Philippines

Hon. Corazon Juliano-Soliman Secretary Department of Social Welfare and Development and Chair, Council for the Welfare of Children

In the Philippine National Strategic Framework for Plan Development for Children formulated by the Council for the Welfare of Children, a total of 24 goals have to be fulfilled in order to achieve the above needs and rights. Table 1 shows a list of requirements/standards to attain health, nutrition, education, protection and participation of children in socio-cultural and development activities. 7

What can Barangay Officials do in order to fulfill these goals?

Barangay officials can achieve these commitments by ensuring that: local institutions are set up that are consistent with the needs and rights of children basic services are delivered to respond to the needs and rights of children
Table 1. Child-Friendly Commitments

Goals
Health

Requirements/Standards
1. All children are registered at birth 2. All infants are exclusively breastfed up to about 6 months 3. All children are fully immunized against tuberculosis, diphtheria/ pertussis/tetanus, polio and measles. 4. All children 0-2 years old are weighed monthly 5. All children are well nourished 6. All children 1-5 years old are given Vitamin A Capsules 2X a year 7. All births are attended by trained personnel 8. All pregnant women get at least four complete pre-natal check-ups 9. All mothers are fully immunized against tetanus. 10. All pregnant/lactating mothers are given sufficient doses of Vitamin A and iron. 11. All pregnant women who are at risk get emergency obstetric care 12. All pregnancies are spaced at least 2 years apart 13. All children 3-5 years old attend early education programs 14. All children 6-17 years old are in school and finish their schooling (both in elementary and high school)

Maternal Health

Education

Why is it important to set up a Child-Friendly Barangay?

Goals

Requirements/Standards
15. All children graduating in elementary and high school pass the achievement tests 16. All out-of-school children are given alternative education 17. All illiterate parents/caregivers are enrolled in functional literacy program

This is because like any adult, children have rights to live a decent life. Then of course, children are the ones most affected in case calamities occur, both natural (i.e., floods, earthquake, volcanic eruption) and manmade (i.e., wars). They are the most vulnerable sector but are often left out in development projects. And yet, children are the most in number and are supposedly, the hope of the future generation. It is important, therefore, for all sectors family, government and civil society to take into consideration the needs and rights of children.

Protection

Participation

18. All children are removed from exploitative and hazardous labor, prostitution and pornography 19. All cases of physical and sexual abuse and violence are eliminated in the home and community 20 All children 12-17 years old participate in socio-cultural and community development activities 21. All families have safe drinking water 22. All families use only iodized salt. 23. All families use sanitary latrine 24. All fathers and mothers share in the care and rearing of children.

What are the local institutions that can attend to the needs and rights of children?
These include the: Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) Barangay Development Council Sangguniang Pambarangay Sangguniang Kabataan or the youth council Katarungang Pambarangay Barangay Health Station Child Care/Day Care Centers Primary/Secondary Schools

Family Practices

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What can each of the local institutions do to ensure that ChildFriendly Commitments are fulfilled? BARANGAY COUNCIL FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN
Promote the best interest of the children Prepare an annual action plan focused on children, involving the participation of this sector Prepare an annual investment plan Monitor closely the compliance with laws and ordinances on children Prepare an annual progress report on the situation of children Document meetings held at least once a month Install a local information system on childrens condition using the set of standards in Table 1 or tap existing systems (like Minimum Basic Needs Information System) Ensure the inclusion of child-focused action and investment plan in the comprehensive development plan to be submitted to the local Sanggunian Ensure the implementation of childfocused development plan Ensure that an annual progress report is prepared by the BCPC Be trained on legislations regarding children and in handling children victims/offenders Be able to conform with international standards on justice for children Install a monitoring system to track increase/decrease in cases pertaining to children offenders and those victimized 12

Document activities on the progress of cases received Prepare an annual progress report on the cases affecting children Be able to pass legislations that are consistent with Child-Friendly commitments Ensure that budgetary allocations for activities catering to childrens needs are attended to Be able to help in monitoring the situation of children and work with the barangay Be able to initiate activities that build selfesteem and promote participation among children and youth

SANGUNIANG PAMBARANGAY

SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN

LOCAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

BARANGAY HEALTH STATION

KATARUNGANG PAMBARANGAY

Train volunteers on Child-Friendly commitments in health Provide basic resources for health management and service delivery i.e., weighing scale, thermometer, BP apparatus, basic supplies for growth monitoring and health information materials, micronutrient supplements, oresol, drugs for deworming, iodized salt and immunization Have an updated data on newborn, malnourished and sick children Have an updated data on pregnant and lactating mothers Set up health and nutrition posts for every cluster of 20-30 households

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CHILD CARE/DAY CARE CENTERS

Set up a multisectoral team (which includes parents/caregivers) to prepare and implement an action plan for child care and development Have the team monitor the progress of plan implementation Have the multisectoral team prepare a progress report Be trained on effective delivery of childcare requirements Ensure the availability of story books, toys and other materials using local resources Have a play area, weighing scales and utensils Ensure that teachers and school personnel promote child rights/needs, childcentered learning and active learning methods Set up a program to attain classroom ratio of one teacher to 40 students, with desks and textbooks for each child Ensure that local schools have the basic amenities (i.e., clean toilet, water facility) Link up with information centers to provide access to children Coordinate with local Parents-Teachers Organization to determine the needs of students Tap the PTA to formulate the local plan for children Link with District Supervisors of DECS to advocate the needs of pupils

What other institutions can be motivated to participate in advocating Child-Friendly commitments?

Of course, the family is a basic institution that should be able to provide a child-friendly environment. It is the duty of the parents and other members of the family to provide care and a nurturing environment for their children. Apart from the family, other institutions include civil society organizations composed of: nongovernment organizations professional clubs religious groups civic clubs community-based organizations childrens organizations

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

The private business sector may also be tapped to extend support to local projects to uplift the condition of children.

Why is it necessary to link up with civil society and the private business sector?
Civil society and private sector organizations may be able to: Offer a lot of talent, expertise and technical services in order to assist the barangay in its development initiatives for children. The lack of resources in the barangay can be supplemented by these groups. Participate in local development planning process since the Local Government Code of 1991 mandates that they constitute at least 25% of the members of the Local Development Council. These groups may be evaluated and recognized by the local sanggunian.

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What can be done immediately to respond to Child-Friendly commitments?

Be able to assess how the barangay rates in terms of Child-Friendly goals using the attached Assessment Instrument.

Re ligious G ro u p s

Priva t e S e c t or M edi a

Assessment Instrument to Rate if the Barangay is Child-Friendl y

Purpose of the Instrument
The attached instrument can assist local officials determine if their barangay is Child-Friendly.

Justice Syst em School

Why is it important to fill up this Instrument?

He a l th / Nu t r i t i o n Ag r i c u l t u r e

Filling up this instrument can help the barangay obtain the: Data about the situation of children, including their mothers/ caregivers, and the necessary support services and institutions to ensure the attainment of their basic needs and rights; Information to assist you in planning programs/services, to help formulate a child-focused development plan; Condition of children, if the tool is used regularly (at least once a year) to help formulate a progress report; and, Information on the barangays status regarding children to assist the municipality to determine the barangays priority needs. 17

Socia l Services

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Who can accomplish this Instrument?

Barangay officials can accomplish this instrument with the assistance of a Barangay Council for the Protection of Children Team, composed of the: Midwife Barangay Planning Officer Paralegal Workers Barangay-based Volunteers (i.e., Barangay Health Workers, Barangay Nutrition Scholars and Day Care Workers) Representative from the Sangguniang Kabataan

If there are no data available in the barangay, then it is about time for the locality to install its own information system to ensure that it is able to deal with the specific problems of children. Having these data will help the barangay: plan projects and activities for children objectively identify what activities can be given priority attention identify who among the children can be given priority support

What the instrument can measure

The instrument is made up of three parts: Form A (Standards to Rate the Families in the Barangay) assesses the services and impact of these services on the health, nutrition, education, protection security and participation in socio-cultural/development activities of your children. Form A shows the following: Column 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: Goals that the barangay has to achieve to be considered as Child-Friendly No Data Poor Indicates the percentage One Star of accomplishment of the Two Star barangay Three Star NA or Not Applicable, if there are no children in this age group or no pregnant/ lactating mothers

Sources of information to answer the Instrument

There are many sources of information to determine if the criteria mentioned here have been accomplished by each in your barangay. These are: A comprehensive one is the Minimum Basic Needs Information System applied in areas implementing the Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS) and other LGUs that initiated to implemented this system

Form B (Performance of the Institutions in the Barangay) assesses if the institutions in the barangay are set up to respond to the basic needs/rights of children. It shows: Existence of facilities and the standards pertaining to these facilities (Column 1) The situation in the barangay: if the standard is not fulfilled of Poor (Column 2) and if the standard is fulfilled or one diamond (t) (Column 3)

Other sources include the: Barangay Health Station for health data Social Welfare Officers for social welfare data Katarungang pambarangay, for cases filed against children Schools, for data on the profile of students achievements 18

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Form C aims to Rate the Barangays Performance on A and B.

Instrument to Rate if the Barangay is Child-Friendly

Form A. Standards to Rate the Families in the Barangay

Time frame to gather information

All the information being gathered pertain to a previous calendar year, to standardize the time frame for the assessment process. Direction: Encircle the column that represents the situation in your barangay. This can help you determine what indicator has to be given attention by your barangay.

How to compute the percentage for Form A

To determine the percentage of each criterion in Set A determine the incidence per criterion then divide by the total number of families/persons referred to in the item, then multiply by 100, thus: % = number of cases per criterion total number of families/persons in this category
Indicators Pertaining to Families No in the Barangay Poor Data

NAP

1. Children 0-17 years old are registered at birth

<90% <75% <89%

90% 75% 80%

95% 85% 90%

100% 100% 100%

X 100

2. Infants are exclusively breastfed up to 6 months 3. One year old children have immunization for tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio and measles 4. Children 0-2 years old are weighed monthly

Example: % of pregnant women with 4 prenatal check-up = = 5 pregnant women with 4-prenatal check-up 20 pregnant women who gave birth 25 %

<89% <70% <75%

80% 70% 75%

90% 80% 90%

100% 100% 100%

X 100

5. Children 0-6 years old are well-nourished 6. Children 1-5 years old are given Vitamin A tablets 2X a year (200,000 IUs each) 7. Births are attended by trained personnel 8. Pregnant women get at least 4 prenatal check-up (Include only those who gave birth last year)

<75% <80%

75% 80%

85% 90%

100% 100%

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Indicators Pertaining to Families No in the Barangay

Poor Data

NAP

Indicators Pertaining to Families No in the Barangay

Poor Data

NAP

9. All pregnant mothers are immunized against tetanus (Include only those who gave birth last year) 10. Pregnant/lactating mothers are given Vitamin A ( 1 capsule of 10,000 IUs 2x a week starting on the 4th month until delivery; 1 capsule of 200,000 IUs within 1 month after delivery) 11. Pregnant/lactating mothers are given iron (1 tab. of 60 mgs. elemental iron + 400 mcgs. of folic acid daily for 6 mo. or a total of 180 tabs for pregnant women; 1 tab. daily starting after delivery for 3 months or total of 90 tablets) 12. Women who gave birth last year had two years apart from the previous childbirth 13. Children 3-5 years old are in daycare centers or other early education classes

<70%

70%

80%

100%

14. Children 6-12 years old are in elementary school 15. Children 13-17 years old are in high school 16. Children in elementary school who enrolled 6 years ago complete their education 17. Children who graduate in elementary school pass NEAT 18. Children who graduate in high school pass NSAT 19. Out-of-school children are given alternative education 20. Illiterate parents caregivers of children attend functional literacy classes 21. Children engaged in exploitative and hazardous labor, prostitution and pornography no longer experience these during the assessment period 22. Cases of violence/ abuse involving children are resolved within a year

<95% <70% <77%

95% 70% 77%

97% 75% 80%

100% 100% 100%

<70%

70%

80%

100%

<50%

50%

75%

100%

<70%

70%

80%

100%

<50%

50%

75%

100%

<60%

60%

75%

100%

<50%

50%

75%

100%

<75%

75%

80%

100%

<50%

50%

80%

100%

<50%

50%

75%

100%

<50%

50%

75%

100%

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Form B. Standards to Rate the Institutions in the Barangay

Indicators Pertaining to Families No in the Barangay Poor Data NAP

23. Families have access to safe drinking water 24. Families use sanitary latrines 25. Families use iodized salt 26. Children 9-17 years old are engaged in socio-cultural and community development activities 27. Fathers participate in child-rearing responsibilities

<50% <60% <80% <20%

50% 60% 80% 20%

75% 75% 90% 40%

100% 100% 100% 60%

Direction: Encircle the answer to represent the situation in your barangay. This can help you determine what institution needs mobilization at your level.
Institutions in the Barangay Poor

Yes Yes Yes Yes

1. 2. 3. 4.

The BCPC is functional in your barangay There is a development plan focused on children The child-focused plan was formulated with the participation of childrens organizations Katarungang pambarangay has updated information on cases involving children Katarungang pambarangay has resolved at least 80% of the cases concerning children in the last year Updated health and nutrition posts exist for every 20-30 households. Daycare Centers serve at most 40 children per class A communication system focused on children (i.e., data board, radio program, etc.) is in place Legislation are passed to address the plight of children

No No No No

<20%

20%

40%

60% 5.

No No No No No

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

6. 7. 8. 9.

10. More children participate in socio-cultural/ development activities during the assessment year, compared to the previous year

No

Yes

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C. Form to Rate the Barangay on Sets A and B

Di r e c t i o n :Check the appropriate cell to describe your barangay.

How to Rate Your Barangay The Barangays Situation

if you have at least 80 stars in Form A with at least 7 diamonds in Form B if you have 65-79 stars in Form A with at least 6 diamonds in Form B if you have 50-64 stars in Form A with at least 5 diamonds in Form B if you have less than 50 stars in Form A and less than 5 diamonds in Form B

CWC

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To be born, to have a name and nationality To have a family who will love and care for me To live in a peaceful community and a wholesome environment To have adequate food and a healthy and active body To obtain a good education and developmy potential To be given opportunities for play and leisure To be protected against abuse, exploitation, neglect, violence and danger To be defended and given assistance by the government To be able to express my own views.

Promote the Convention on the Rights of the Child towards building a Child-Friendly Communities

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