Vision
To take the lead in integrating the disadvantaged, vulnerable and excluded in mainstream of development
Mission
To work in partnership with individuals, families, groups and communities to improve their social wellbeing through their active participation in promoting development with equity.
The Social Welfare and Community Development Department exists to:
- facilitate the mobilization and use of available human and material resources to improve the living standards of individuals, groups, families and communities within an effectively decentralized system of administration.
- prevent and respond to social exclusion and mal adjustment within the context of national and sub national development efforts
Specific Objectives
- Assist the Assembly to formulate and implement social welfare and community development policies within the framework of national policy.
- Assist and facilitate provision of community care services
- Assist to maintain specialized residential services in the districts
- Facilitate the registration and supervision of non-governmental organizations and their activities in the district
- Assist to organize community development programme to improve and enrich the socio – economic lives of the populace
- Train community groups in employable skills to improve their income levels
- Collaborate and network with governmental and non-governmental Institutions
General Functions and Responsibilities of Department
- Justice administration – assist children and adults in contact and conflict with the law;
- Register and supervise early childhood development centers;
- Assist to organize community development programmes to improve and enrich standard of living through:
- Organize literacy and adult education programmes
- Mobilize voluntary contributions and communal labour for the provision of facilities and services such as water, schools, library, community centers and public places of convenience
- Teach deprived women in home management, child care
- Offer employable and sustainable skills training for the youth.
- Promote and provide alternative livelihood empowerment skills for the deprived in the communities
- Promote entrepreneurial skills, business support services and linkages to financial institutions to beneficiaries of skills training programmes
- Mobilize and train voluntary leaders and community-based organizations as change agents in the communities
- Support extension services to governmental and non-governmental organizations
Functions Related to Community Development Section
- Organize literacy and adult education programmes
- Mobilize voluntary contributions and communal labour for the provision of facilities and services such as water, schools, library, community centres and public places of convenience
- Teach deprived or rural women home management and child care
- Offer employable and sustainable skills training for the youth.
- Promote and provide alternative livelihood empowerment skills for the deprived in the communities
- Promote entrepreneurial skills, business support services and linkages to financial institutions to beneficiaries of skills training programme
- Provide avenue for other institutions to implement community development programmes
- Mobilize and train voluntary leaders and community-based organizations as change agents in the communities
Specific Responsibilities of the Community Development Section
- Undertake community entry processes for programme initiation, monitoring and evaluation;
- Organize weekly adult education programmes
- Hold community briefing sessions on the role of the Assembly and its Departments with key stakeholders and community members;
- Identify, maintain and update data on various groups in the community;
- Conduct community needs assessment;
- Conduct community surveys and compile profiles
- Assist in the mobilization of resources for community development interventions;
- Mobilize community members for communal labour and self-help projects
- Teach women home management, child care and entrepreneurial skills
- Organize community members for the collection of inputs for the preparation of budget and Medium-Term Development Plan
- Provide technical support to development partners
- Compile activity, quarterly and annual reports
- Prepare work plans and budgets
Functions Related to the Social Welfare Unit Section
- Support families and individuals in the handling of Non – Child Maintenance cases, Child abuse, Custody, Paternity and Family Reconciliation;
- Facilitate the implementation of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) activities;
- Supervise and monitor the setting up and operations of residential homes;
- Conduct and write social investigation report for the purposes of licensing and compliance of the National standards for residential homes;
- Handle domestic violence cases and spousal abuse
- Supervise, monitor and facilitate the registration of Day Care Centers
- Supervise and monitor the implementation of Social Intervention programmes eg. School Feeding Program;
- To intervene in cases of children in Worst Forms of Child Labour
- Remove, Rehabilitate and Reintegrate Street Children
- Rescue, Rehabilitate and Reintegrate victims of Trafficking in Persons (TIPs)
- Provide alternative care for children without parental care such as foster care and adoption
- Identify and Register Persons With Disabilities (PWDs)
- Conduct physical, medical and psychosocial need assessments
- Facilitate livelihood empowerment programmes for PWDs
- Offer psycho-social counseling to affected persons with disabilities and HIV-AIDS etc
- Provide hospital welfare services
- Undertake sensitization and social education on social problems
- Undertake probation and prison after care services
- Make representation at the juvenile and family courts
- Prepare and submit social enquiry reports
- Identify, register and keep update data on Persons with Disabilities
- Engage in need assessment of PWD and their significant others
- Assist in the rehabilitation of PWDs and promote job placement
- Offer general counselling services to PWD and their families
- Advocate and lobby for the social inclusion of disadvantaged individuals and groups including children, women, elderly, PWDs, PLWHAs
- Engage in Juvenile and family court sittings
