BUTUAN CITY -- Being the partners in delivering social protection programs and services of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office Caraga, different Local Social Welfare and Development Officers (LSWDOs) were provided Technical Assistance and Resource Augmentation (TARA) through the conducted of the Consultation Dialogue for the 2nd round Service Delivery Capacity and Competency Assessment (SDCCA).

Conducted every three years, the SDCCA is an activity spearheaded by the department to assess the LSWDOs when it comes to the quality of services and intervention they provide for their constituents. DSWD is dedicated to improve the functionality of the LSWDOs to a higher level and this is achieved through guiding and providing appropriate technical assistance.

The 2-day activity was conducted per cluster. The following are the dates and venues: Agusan del Norte cluster – February 28-March 1, 2022 at the Grand Palace Hotel, Butuan City; Agusan del Sur Cluster – March 2-3, 2022 in the municipality of San Francisco; Surigao del Sur cluster – March 8-9, 2022 in the municipality  of San Agustin; and Surigao del Norte and Province of Dinagat Islands Cluster on March 10-11, 2022 in Surigao City.

On behalf of OIC-Regional Director Ramel Jamen, Assistant Regional Director for Operations (ARDO) Jean Paul Parajes officially opened the activity by delivering an opening message.

“This consultation dialogue is an opportunity for us to identify our gaps in the Service Delivery and to prepare for the upcoming assessment. Along with the implementation of the Mandanas Ruling, here, we can plan for the appropriate TA that you will need to arrive at the desired level of functionality specifically that the department is more on the steering functions, rather than the rowing which we used to be. Let this as well be a chance for us to facilitate constructive development,” Parajes said.

Part of the discussions were the presentations of the SDCCA baseline result 2019-2021, SDCCA tool, and presentation of Capacity Development Agenda based on the Devolution Transition Plan (DTP). The participants also had a workshop on identifying baseline result gaps which they presented on the 2nd day.

With this, the LSWDOs committed to continuously coordinate with the department for the provision of proper technical assistance to improve their services and functionality for their respective offices despite the recent destruction brought about by Typhoon Odette in several of the LGUs in the region. (Social Marketing Section/DSWD-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)