Question & AnswerQ&A (DSWD DEPARTMENT ORDER NO. 01, S. 1996)
The primary mandate of the DSWD according to this order is to accredit social development and welfare services of government and non-government agencies to ensure quality service delivery to disadvantaged groups.
Groups in especially difficult circumstances include women, children and youth, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, victims of calamities, families in poverty, individuals with psycho-social problems, high-risk communities, and marginalized sectors such as indigenous peoples, farmers, urban poor, and fisherfolks.
A Social Work Agency is a person, corporation, or organization engaged in social development and welfare, obtaining finances from government, community, or private endowments, which operates social work services in accordance with RA 4373.
The applicant must be mainly engaged in social work activity, employ sufficient qualified and registered social workers, disburse at least 60% of funds for direct social work practice, and keep records of cases and welfare activities.
Accreditation covers social development and welfare services of licensed non-government agencies and government centers, institutions, branches, or units implementing social development and welfare services.
A licensed non-government agency has three years from the date of license issuance to meet the accreditation standards. Failure to do so leads to suspension and possibly revocation after a grace period.
The agency will face suspension of its license after three years, with a one-year grace period to comply. If still unmet, the license to operate will be revoked and the agency closed.
Benefits include eligibility to subcontract projects from DSWD, technical and training assistance, subsidies for programs, linkage to social work networks, endorsement for official development assistance, duty-free importation, and recommendation for subsidized power rates.
Key steps include notification of requirement, endorsement to concerned Bureau, formal application for accreditation, accreditation assessment visit, assessment result feedback, issuance of certificate if accredited, and monitoring/renewal.
Minimum standards require at least 30 points out of 40 in administration and 50 points out of 60 in service delivery, totaling at least 80 out of 100 points to achieve accreditation.