The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) assisted more than 12,000 child laborers from 2021 to 2024 through the Strategic Help desks for Information, Education, Livelihood, and Other Developmental Interventions (SHIELD) Against Child Labor Program.

Of the total, 3,887 minors have already been reintegrated into their families and communities, the DSWD said.

“Child labor is a serious concern that hinders the development of children. To address this problem, the DSWD implements the SHIELD Against Child Labor Program, which is a community-based program that taps the whole-of-society approach to provide holistic and immediate interventions to child laborers and their families,” Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said in a news release on Tuesday.

Dumlao noted that to strengthen the DSWD’s campaign to end all forms of child labor in the country, the agency held a four-day training of Field Office focal persons involved in the implementation of SHIELD in Malay, Aklan from July 1 to 4.

The training focused on upskilling the competencies of service providers on the provision of technical assistance to local government units (LGUs) by enhancing their knowledge, skills, and attitude in program implementation and case management processes.

“This is to ensure the sustainability of program implementation, particularly at the local level,” the DSWD spokesperson said.

The SHIELD Program, which is being implemented in all 16 regions of the country, aims to strengthen anti-child labor efforts at the local level, including the setting up of help desks and a local registry on child labor for referral and convergence of support services.

“In the establishment of barangay help desks, convergence of services will take place to respond to the needs of the child laborers and their families,” Dumlao said.

Barangay help desk services may include health support; rescue and recovery; counseling; skills training; legal facilitation, livelihood skills development; and educational, financial, and capital assistance.

The SHIELD Program works on raising the awareness of the parents not only on the laws against child labor, but also on the rights of their children and on how they can better provide for them.

“Parents are not prosecuted but are made to understand their roles as parents. The parents and communities are also organized to help in combating child labor,” Dumlao said. (PNA)