NATIONAL CONGRESS 2024
Building a LeaGUe of AMPON Heroes for Children
As provided in Republic Act 11642, otherwise known as the “Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act”, one of the key functions of the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), is to provide the necessary support and technical assistance to Local Government Units (LGUs), especially the Local Council for Protection of Children (LCPC), who are among the first responders to cases of child abandonment and voluntary commitment, on matters related to alternative child care processes and engage them during the pre-adoption process.
The National Congress on Adoption and Alternative Child Care represents the NACC's commitment to its local partners. With the theme, Building a LeaGUe of AMPON Heroes for Children, the LGUs are recognized to play a crucial role in helping children in need of adoption and alternative care belong in a safe, loving and supportive family and community where they can thrive and become productive citizens.
The National Congress aims to provide an avenue for meeting, discussing, networking, building linkages and partnerships to effectively and efficiently implement RA 11642 and carry out adoption and alternative child care programs and services for the benefit of children in the local community. This includes the promotion and dissemination of information on the new law simplifying the adoption process (RA 11642), advocacy for better adoption and alternative child care policies, definition of the LGUs' roles in these programs, establishment of networking opportunities for stakeholders, collaboration among LGUs, designation of social workers for adoption and foster care cases, engagement in Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) with the NACC for the Philippine Foster Care Program, allocation of funds for its implementation, and identification of support services for LGUs to satisfy the Child-Friendly Local Governance Audit (CFLGA) criteria under the sub-indicator and rating system for Adoption and Alternative Child Care programs.