Administration Of Children-At-Risk (CAR) In the Public Secondary Schools in Tarlac Province Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic Vis-À-Vis Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act Of 2006: Basis for Policy and Program Enhancement

AUTHOR(S)

QUENNIE ANN J. PALAFOX, LPT, DPA CHRISTOPHER C. MANTILLAS, PhD.

ABSTRACT

— This study investigated the management of Children-At-Risk (CAR) in public secondary schools within the Tarlac Province, examining policies, actions, and challenges before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study employed a convergent parallel mixed-method design, utilizing a survey questionnaire based on DepEd Order No. 18, s. 2025. Participants included 55 guidance counselors and teachers from various secondary schools. Key informant interviews were conducted with members of the Child Protection Committee (CPC) from four selected schools. Qualitative analysis involved documentary and thematic analysis, while descriptive and inferential statistics, including the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Findings revealed that physical bullying was the highest CAR cases before the pandemic, shifting to cyberbullying during the pandemic years. Incidents of child abuse, sexual harassment, and other forms of abuse by teachers and relatives remained undocumented and unreported. Based on the Wilcoxon test results, the roles of CPC varied significantly in information dissemination, identifying at-risk students, assisting parents, and upholding children’s rights before and during the pandemic. Correspondingly, variations were observed in strengthening youth organizations, parent-child integration, behavioral management, values formation, and student welfare promotion. In managing CAR cases, differences were seen in information dissemination, risk assessment, reporting, parental conferences, intervention planning, progress monitoring, restorative justice practices, counseling, and parental training. CAR cases were inadequately managed due to poor implementation of protocols outlined in DepEd Order No. 18, s. 2025. Key issues identified through interviews included problems in policy guidelines implementation, capacity building, case management, coordination, lack of implementation regarding intervention plans, profiling, and risk assessment. Keywords — Children-at-Risk, Administration, Case Management, Intervention, Covid-19