Section 7Sec./Art. 7

Implementing Arrangements and Operational Structures. -

(a) Responsibilities of the ECCD Council. - The ECCD Council shall be responsible for establishing national standards, developing policies and programs, ensuring compliance thereof, and providing technical assistance and support to the ECCD service providers in consultation with the coordinating committees at the provincial, city, municipal, and barangay levels.

The ECCD Council shall meet in an annual workshop every first quarter of the fiscal year to prepare work and financial plans that will coordinate their technical assistance and support for the ECCD programs. They shall observe existing implementing guidelines that ensure consistency in integrated service delivery within the ECCD System, as follows:

(1) The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall ensure that all local government units (LGUs) are implementing the ECCD System and complying with the provisions of this Act. It shall include capacitating the LGUs in implementing the ECCD System and delivering the ECCD programs and services;

(2) The DepEd shall recognize early childhood education as the foundation of the learning continuum and shall promote it for all children below five (5) years of age;

(3) The DILG, the DepEd, the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the National Nutrition Council (NNC) shall provide continuing professional development program support, supplementary learning materials, reference materials, supplemental nutrition, and healthcare services; and

(4) The DepEd, the CHED, the TESDA, and the LGUs, through the DILG, shall coordinate on the promotion of early childhood education careers to senior high school students and graduates. They shall also facilitate the assessment of graduates for certification as CDWs, and ensure their seamless progression to employment.

(b) Responsibilities of Local Government Units. - LGUs, through its ECCD Offices as provided under Section 11 of this Act, shall be primarily responsible for the implementation of the ECCD System, including programs and services in their respective jurisdictions. LGUs shall include allocations from their Special Education Fund (SEF) and Gender and Development (GAD) Fund in addition to other local funds to fulfill this primary responsibility. Specifically, LGUs shall:

(1) Aim to achieve universal ECCD access by identifying young children, including the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized, and supporting their parents or parent-substitutes within their respective jurisdictions;

(2) Submit their respective roadmaps to the ECCD Council, to be updated every three (3) years, towards the achievement of the goal of universal ECCD access;

(3) Issue and implement policies based on national policies formulated by the ECCD Council, and ensure compliance with the minimum requirements for the establishment of center-based and home-based modalities, and other alternative modalities that provide innovations;

(4) Provide the facilities and resources for the effective delivery of the programs and services under the ECCD System. They shall establish or convert existing day care centers to CDCs and maintain them according to standards and specification set by the ECCD Council: Provided, That the LGUs shall ensure that there is at least one (1) CDC in every barangay. They shall also implement home-based modalities and other alternative modalities that provide innovations, conforming to the needs of their respective barangays;

(5) Create plantilla positions for CDTs and CDWs;

(6) Recruit, hire, and ensure the professional development of ECCD service providers, including but not limited to CDTs and CDWs, in coordination with the CHED, the Department of Labor and Employment, the TESDA, and other relevant government agencies;

(7) Supervise the service providers and monitor the delivery of the ECCD programs and services;

(8) Administer the recognition and accreditation of private ECCD programs;

(9) Conduct data collection, maintenance, and harmonization of the existing databases relevant to ECCD, in accordance with the parameters or metrics given by the ECC Council, The submission of reports to the ECCD Council shall be done annually;

(10) Endeavor to augment their local funds from private sources, both local and international, for the implementation of the ECCD System;

(11) Implement in coordination with the DSWD, feeding programs for children below five (5) years of age, in accordance with the parameters or metrics given by the ECCD Council. The submission of reports to the ECCD Council shall be done annually;

(12) Formulate and implement a localized comprehensive emergency program for young children during disasters and other emergency situations, prioritizing the needs of pregnant women, and young children and their parent-substitutes, in accordance with Republic ct No. 10821 or the "Children's Emergency Relief and Protection Act";

(13) Develop innovative arrangements and partnerships with private ECCD service providers through supporting the operations of community-based, home-based, and other alternative modalities of ECCD service delivery;

(14) Engage parents, parent-substitutes, government agencies, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders in the delivery of the ECCD programs and services;

(15) Promote ECCD programs to stakeholders through information, education, and communication campaigns, with the aim of increasing the attendance of children below five (5) years of age in such programs;

(16) Provide for the training of parents and parent-substitutes, as well as barangay health workers and nutrition scholars, on early stimulation, care, growth, and development, especially for children below three (3) years of age, consistent with the programs on health and nutrition under various laws which include Republic Act No. 11148 and Republic Act No. 11037; and

(17) Attend meetings called by the ECCD Council.

(c) Responsibilities of Families and Communities. - Families and communities shall support the local ECCD programs by participating in various community-based projects such as, but not limited to, health, nutrition, early childhood education, and social development projects for the overall development of their children below five (5) years of age.