RULES AND REGULATIONS IN THE ACCREDITATION OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND WELFARE SERVICES OF GOVERNMENT AND NON-GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

The following are the guidelines in the accreditation of social
development and welfare services of government and non-government
agencies.

I. RATIONALE

The Department in fulfilling its mandate to accredit social
development and welfare services of government and non-government
agencies recognizes:

1.         A unified and coordinated approach to social development
and welfare is needed. This approach will appropriately respond to the
specific needs and interests of the groups in especially difficult
circumstances as well as the general populace.

The groups in especially difficult circumstances are the: a) women,
b) children and youth, c) persons with disabilities, d) senior citizens,
e) victims of natural and manmade calamities f) families in the food
and poverty threshold, g) individuals and families whose functioning is
impaired due to psycho-social problems, h) communities in high risk
locations, i) communities which are unable to access and manage basic
services, resources and opportunities for growth and development
including the indigenous people, farmers and landless rural workers,
urban poor, fisherfolks, among others.

2.         Non-government agencies and other government agencies
play a significant role in the equitable and responsive accessing of
services and resources to achieve human development.

3.         The immensity, diversity and complexity of the needs and
problems affecting the disadvantaged population requires the meeting of a
set of standards by non-government and government agencies implementing
social work services.

4.         It is important to insure that resources intended for
social development and welfare services are used for the purpose. This
will protect the interests of the disadvantaged population as well as
the public and private supporters.

5.         Quality social development and welfare services are
necessary to promote the well-being of the disadvantaged groups and
enable them to join the mainstream of development.

II. PHILOSOPHY

The accreditation of social development and welfare services of
government and non-government agencies is guided by these principles:

1.         Every person has inherent worth and dignity.

2.         Every person has the right to opportunities towards the
fulfillment of his/her potentials. The society has the obligation to
assist its members encountering difficulties or hindrances in realizing
their full potentials.

3.         The coordination and sharing of resources, both material
and technical among agencies is necessary for effective service
delivery. Accreditation is a means by which the forging of partnerships
between the government and non-government agencies may be achieved with
the goal of human development.

III. LEGAL BASE

The Department draws its mandate to accredit social development and welfare services from:

1.         Republic Act 4373. “An Act to Regulate the
Practice of Social Work and the Operation of Social Work Agencies in the
Philippines and for Other Purposes.” (1967)

2.         Executive Order No. 123. “Reorganizing the
Ministry of Social Services and Development and Renaming it as the
Department of Social Welfare and Development.” (1986)

3.         Executive Order No. 292. “Administrative Code” (1987) (Title XVI, Section 3, Powers and Functions of DSWD)

IV. DEFINITION OF TERMS

1.         Social Work Agency. This refers to a person,
corporation or organization engaged in social development and welfare.
It obtains its finances from any agency or instrumentality of the
government and/or the community by direct or indirect solicitations
and/or drives, and/or private endowment. (RA. 4373)

2.         Government Organization (G.O.). This term refers
to an agency engaged in social development and welfare services that
obtains its finances from the government.

3.         Non-Government Organization (NGO) or People’s Organization (P.O.).
These terms refer to persons or agencies engaged in social development
and welfare, supported by funds from the community or private endowment.

4.         Registration or Licensing of Social Work/Welfare and Development Agencies.
This term means the satisfactory compliance of a non-government agency
as defined above with the requirements set by Republic Act 4373 to
operate as a social work agency. A certificate or license shall be
issued to this effect by the Department of Social Welfare and
Development. The guidelines in the process of licensing are contained in
Department Order 07, Series of 1995 (DSWD). The requirements for
licensing as provided for in Republic Act 4373 are:

4.1.   The applicant must be engaged mainly or generally in social work activity;

4.2.   The applicant has employed sufficient number of duly
qualified and registered social workers to supervise and take charge of
its social work functions in accordance with accepted social work
standards;

4.3.   The applicant must show a duly certified financial
statement that at least 60 percent of its funds are disbursed for direct
social work practice;

4.4.   The applicant keeps a record of all cases and welfare activities handled by it.

5.         Social Development and Welfare Program. This
term means the combination of services designed to promote the
development and welfare of a particular clientele group. These clientele
groups may be: persons with disabilities; senior citizens; neglected,
abandoned, abused, exploited children or those in especially difficult
circumstances; youth; victims of natural or manmade calamities; families
and individuals with psycho-social problems; families and communities
in high-risk or disaster-prone locations; families or individuals in
crisis; indigenous peoples; informal workers; landless farmers and rural
workers; urban poor; fisherfolks; families in the food and family
threshold and other disadvantaged groups.

6.         Social Development and Welfare Service. This
refers to the series of activities that are undertaken under a specific
social development and welfare program. These are designed to address
specific needs or problems of a particular group in especially difficult
circumstances. It utilizes any or an integration of the social work
methods. These methods are social case work, social group work and
community organizing.

7.         Accreditation of Social Development and Welfare Service.
This means that a specific social development and welfare service is
being implemented in accordance with accepted social work standards as
assessed and certified by the Department of Social Welfare and
Development.

V. WHO MAY BE ACCREDITED

Accreditation as referred to in this document covers the following:

1.         Social development and welfare service/s of non- government agencies licensed to operate by the Department;

2.         Social development and welfare services of government
centers, institutions, branches or units including those of the
Department.

VI. PERIOD OF ACCREDITATION

A licensed non-government agency has three years from the date of
issuance of its license to meet the minimum accreditation standards of
its social development and welfare service/s. Failure to achieve
accreditation of its social development and welfare service/s after
three years will result in the suspension of the license to operate. In
this case, the non-government agency will be given a one year grace
period to work for accreditation.

If after one year of grace period, the non-government agency still
cannot meet the minimum standards of accreditation, the Department will
revoke or cancel its license.

VII. WHY ACCREDITATION?

A non-government agency with accredited social work services will have the following benefits:

1.         Eligibility to purchase or subcontract projects and/or services from the Department.

2.         Technical assistance from the Bureau/s concerned upon
request or regularly as agreed upon. Technical assistance will be in the
form of:

*           Technical Expertise

*           Program Materials

3.         Subsidy for program implementation depending on the
availability of funds of the Department and the specifications of the
Bureau/s concerned.

4.         Human resource development or training assistance from
the Bureau/s concerned. Training assistance may be in any of the
following forms:

*           Subsidy in Training	*           Program Materials
*           Technical Resource Persons

5.         Linkage to national and international networks of social
work agencies by the Department for resource sharing and generation
among others.

6.         Invitation/Recommendation to national and international
conferences; consultations or dialogues regarding social work policies,
services.

7.         Recommendation by the Department as representative in
social work councils at the local, regional, national and international
levels.

8.         Indorsement by the Department to qualify for Official Development Assistance (O.D.A.) and international assistance.

9.         Indorsement for duty-free importation of goods pertinent to the accredited service/s.

10.       Recommendation to avail of the Subsidized Power Rate Program (SPRP) benefits.

VIII. THE ACCREDITATION PROCESS

The following activities will be undertaken in the process of
accreditation of the social development and welfare services of
government and non-government agencies:

1.         Notification on Required Accreditation. Upon the
issuance of a license to operate as a social work/welfare and
development agency, the DSWD Field Office concerned will notify in
writing the former that the next requirement for continuing operation is
accreditation. The notification will include these information:

1.1.   The First Step in Accreditation: Written Application for Accreditation to the Concerned Bureau
1.2.   Three Year Period For Accreditation
1.3.   Result of Non-Accreditation.

2.         Endorsement of Licensed Non-Government Agency. The Public
Affairs and Liaison Service of the Department will indorse the
non-government to the concerned Bureau for accreditation. This will be
done as soon as the license is issued. The indorsement will be supported
by these documents:

2.1.   Manual of Operation
2.2.   SEC Registration, By-laws, Articles of Incorporation
2.3.   Work and Financial Plan (Current and Incoming Year)
2.4.   Profile of Members of the Governing Board
2.5.   Profile of Employees
2.6.   Annual Report (Latest Year)
2.7.   List of Children Served, Status Thereat (For child/youth caring/placing agency)
2.8.   Audited Financial Report (Latest Year)

This step does not apply to government agencies, institutions, centers and other facilities.

3.         Application for Accreditation. The licensed
non-government agency will confirm its readiness to be accredited in
writing to the Bureau concerned within one year from the issuance of a
license. The application will be acknowledged within five working days
after receipt by the Bureau. The acknowledgment will include the
proposed schedule of the accreditation visit by Bureau staff.

In the event that a licensed non-government agency does not apply in
writing to the concerned Bureau within one year, the latter will reach
out to the former. The process of reaching out will include among others
reiterating in writing the implication of non-accreditation. In
addition, the non-government agency will be informed of the availability
of technical assistance so that it can meet the accreditation standards
within the three-year period of accreditation.

Government centers, institutions, branches, units implementing
social development and welfare service/s will not apply in writing for
accreditation. Instead, the Bureau/s will write the
center/institution/branch/unit within their respective program/service
concern to schedule the accreditation visit/s.

4.         Accreditation Assessment. The accreditation
assessment visit will be conducted as per schedule confirmed by the NGO
or government center/branch/unit. The assessment will be through the
following activities:

>    Administration of interview schedule with: supervisors, implementors, beneficiaries and collateral informants
>    Review of program records
>    Review of administrative records
>    Program implementation site visit
>    Actual observation on the operations of child/youth facilities

5.         Minimum Standards for Accreditation and Rating System.
The minimum standards and the corresponding point rating set in order
for a social work service delivery may be accredited are:

Areas	Total Points	Minimum Points
Administration	40 points	30 points
Service Delivery	60 points	50 points
Total	100 points	80 points

6.         Accreditation Assessment Results. The concerned
staff will give an initial feedback on the results of the assessment
conducted to the agency visited. The confirmation of the assessment
results and recommendations will be sent to the agency within one month
after the visit. The result of an accreditation assessment may be a
recommendation for:

6.1.   Accreditation — An agency with service/s which meet/s the
minimum standards will be recommended for the issuance of a Certificate
of Accreditation particular to the service.

6.2.   Technical Assistance:

6.2.1.   Where an agency needs to improve its standards in service
delivery based on the assessment results, technical assistance will be
negotiated with the concerned Bureau. After the technical assistance has
been provided, the concerned agency will have six months to upgrade its
standards.

6.2.2.   Six months after the official recommendations were
provided to the agency, a validation visit will be conducted by a Bureau
staff. The purpose of the visit will be to look into action taken to
upgrade operations based on the technical assistance provided.

The results of the validation visit will be communicated in writing
within one month after the validation visit. The communication will
inform the agency whether there is a need for continuing technical
assistance, what areas have to be improved upon, if there are; or
whether the agency has met the minimum standards for accreditation.

6.3.   Suspension of License to Operate — An agency unable
to meet the standards of accreditation within three years after the
issuance of its license will be suspended from continuing operations.
The standards of accreditation depend on the specifications of each
particular service. These are formulated through a continuing process of
consultation with the non-government agencies concerned by the
different Bureaus of the Department.

The notice of suspension will be in writing and signed by the Secretary of the Department.

Suspension will be for one year. This is the grace period for the
agency to upgrade its standards in accordance with those set by the
Department.

6.4.   Closure — An agency which does not meet the minimum
accreditation standards even after the grace period of one year will be
subject for closure. Its license to operate as a social work agency will
be revoked.

The notice of revocation of license or closure of operations as a
social development and welfare agency will be in writing and signed by
the Secretary of the Department.

7.         Issuance of Accreditation Certificate. An agency
with social development and welfare service/s found to have met the
minimum standards for accreditation based on the accreditation
assessment and validation will be issued a certification to the effect.
The certificate will specify the service that is being accredited. It
will also state the three year-period of effectivity. It will be signed
by the Department Secretary.

8.         Monitoring and Technical Assistance. The Bureaus
and the Field Offices will monitor and provide technical assistance to
their respective agency/service areas based on a schedule negotiated
between the parties concerned. The recommended frequency of monitoring
and technical visits is once a quarter.

9.         Renewal of Accreditation. Accreditation is
subject to renewal every three years. The agency will apply in writing
to the concerned Bureau for renewal of accreditation. The Bureau will
also notify the agency to renew their accreditation before it expires.

For strict compliance.

Adopted: 14 Feb. 1996

(SGD.) LINA B. LAIGO
Secretary