REHABILITATION SERVICES FOR CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW IN BAGUIO CITY

Abstract

The primary purpose of the study was to determine the services of the Bahay Pag-Asa (BPA) in Barangay Irisan, Baguio City, in terms of the available programs and activities, the challenges encountered during implementation, and the strategies that were employed to counter these challenges. The study made use of a qualitative descriptive design. An interview guide was utilized to collect the data. As part of the Juvenile Justice System, the selected participants were the members of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children(BCPC), the social workers working as house parents in the Bahay Pag-Asa, and the law enforcers in the Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD)in Baguio City Police Station 9. The members of the BCPC and the WCPD police officers were selected because they are the primary stakeholders in the handling of the cases of Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL) at the barangay level and the law enforcement level. In addition, the house parents working inside the BPA are the best source of information as they are immersed in implementing the intervention and rehabilitation programs.The challenges faced by the three duty bearers share three common themes regarding CICL: broken homes, uncooperative parents, and implementers experiencing work-related stress with the respondent coming from the WCPD experiencing mental stress. At the same time, the respondents from the BCPC experienced problems in the monitoring of repeat offenders. Lastly, the respondents from BPA experienced challenges, including handling tantrums and violations of the residents.As to the strategies used by the three duty bearers in handling the challenges and combating stress, they have commonalities. Specifically, the law enforcer from the WCPD identified support of the family as a helping factor in law enforcement involving CICL while the members of the BCPC identified maximum tolerance and continuous monitoring of the CICL as their strategy. On the other hand, the house parent from the BPA takes care of the residents like his or her own children as well as being flexible in the implementing consequences.