The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the region is spearheading the week-long event from February 1-9, 2020 to raise awareness on foster care and adoption.
Anchoring this year’s theme “Pagmamahal Palaganapin, Legal na Pag-aampon Ating Gawin (Spread Unconditional Love through Legal Adoption),” the DSWD aims to promote legal adoption as an expression of support toward children who are abandoned and neglected. The theme also encourages families to undergo legal adoption to protect the welfare of adopted children.
Legal adoption is the permanent placement of a child in a qualified family while foster care refers to a short-term or temporary placement of a child.
The government agency prepared various activities, such as conferences, radio guesting, consultations, regional orientation, and establishing help desks on different malls in Davao to further explain the process of adoption and foster care.
Raquel E. Nuñez, DSWD XI assistant director for administration, said the process of adoption is now shorter taking only nine months provided that the person or the couple presents all the needed documents.
Meanwhile, Lolita I. Roble, head of the Adoption Resource and Referral Section XI, added that in 2019 at least half of the 48 children issued with Certificate Declaring A Child Legally Available for Adoption (CDCLAA) are now legally adopted. Yvette Balayon and Diana Losis/ UM Intern
