Majority of street children belong to the age bracket of 12-14 years old or old or 42.50 percent. 25 percent or 10 street children belong to the age bracket of 9-11 yrs. Old; 17.50 percent or 7 street children belong to the age bracket of 15-17 yrs. Old and 15.00 percent or 6 street children belong to the age bracket of 6-8 yrs. Old.
As to gender, 55(%) percent of the street children are males and 45% are female.
As to Religion of the Street Children, 91 percent of the street children belong to Roman Catholic 6 percent of the street children belong to Iglesia ni Cristo and 3 percent belong to Born Again.
As to educational level of the street children it shows that 63 percent or 24 street children belong to elementary level; 34 percent or 13 street children belong to high school level and 1 or 3 percent is an elementary graduate.
As to average income of the street children, 15 street children or 41 percent have the average daily incomes ranging from P 20.00-40.00 followed by P 41.00-60.00 with 32 percent; 11 percent both have the average daily income ranging from P 81.00-100.00 and P 101.00-120.00 and 5 percent have the average daily income ranging from P 61.00-80.00.
As to Family background of the street children, 79 percent of the street children live with the parents and 58 percent of their parents are married with the average income earner ranging from P 50.00-100.00 per day (76 percent).
The social services as perceived by the street children are generally not available with the overall weighted mean of 1.47.
The problems encountered by the street children in the City of Dagupan are generally not serious with AWN of 1.68
Conclusion
In the light of the foregoing findings, the following conclusions are drawn:
- That social services existence in helping the street children are not visible or not felt by the street children
- Children may somehow are not familiar with these social services
- That the street children have their own daily income not enough for their expenses
Recommendation
Based on the conclusions, the following are recommended.
- Improved implementation of detailed street children monitoring to minimize street children
- It is recommended for the DSWD officials to talk with the parents of the caught street children and have a written agreement between them not to allow again their children in the street
- There should be a penalty for the parents in case their children are caught in the street begging, snatching and other circumstances
- Adopt a foot patrol visible in all areas of Dagupan City responsible in monitoring and minimizing street children
