The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through its partnership with UNICEF and Miriam College facilitated the enrollment of 50 scholars from the DSWD, National Authority for Child Care (NACC), and Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) for the second batch of the Post Graduate Diploma on Child Protection cum Case Management (PGDCPCM). The PGDCPCM aims to strengthen the competencies of the social service workforce on implementing child protection in the context of the social welfare system. The graduates of this course are expected to serve as course developers, resource persons, coaches and mentors under the DSWD Academy and technical assistance providers to the local government units, social welfare and development agencies, and other intermediaries in implementing programs and services for children.
The onboarding of the scholars commenced on 4 March 2024 that included online registration and enrollment, student ID processing, and Miriam College Student Orientation. On 5 March 2024, an opening ceremony officially welcomed the scholars to the PGDCPCM with the officials of the DSWD, CWC, NACC, Miriam College and UNICEF providing inspirational messages to the scholars.
The PGDCP cum Case Management is a 21-unit graduate diploma course on Child Protection under the Master in Social Work in Miriam College is a practice-based, data-driven, policy-oriented and innovation-focused academic program designed for social work professionals who are currently or planning to specialize in the area of child protection work. It will be using face to face and online methodologies composed of lecture discussions, field applications, and capstone projects. The students are expected to devote 54 hours to earn a 3-unit course. It will have 32 hours for classes (online and offline using Google Classroom), 16 hours of writing time and 6 hours of individual presentation. The core components are (a) provision of training on Psychological First Aid and Psychosocial Support; (b) specialized course on child protection cum case management; and (c)special project/ capstone project.
On 29 July to 2 August 2024, the scholars had midyear onsite reporting at Miriam College where they worked out concerns for their capstone projects.
The final onsite on-boarding was conducted on 25 to 30 November 2024. The last day was devoted for the research conference, debriefing and graduation of the scholars. A total of 49 scholars graduated, with 37 scholars coming from DSWD. The closing ceremonies was attended by DSWD Officials, namely, Usec. Denise FB Bernos-Bragas and Atty. Justin Caesar Anthony D. Batocabe. Officials from the National Authority for Child Care, Council for the Welfare of Children and UNICEF were also present in the said event.