THE International Organization for Migration (IOM) is set to open centers that will cater to the needs of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families in four provinces by the first half of 2012.

The One Stop Resource Centers (OSRCs) that will bring agencies such as the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Association closer to OFWs and their families to assist in their migration or recruitment needs will be in Masbate, Antique, Maguindanao and Agusan del Sur.

IOM said OSRCs will be established with local government units (LGUs) and the national government. Migrant civil-society organizations and migrant family organizations will provide training and services in these centers.

“The centers will address the issues of migrants, their families, and in particular, the youth, by providing advice on safe and legal migration; local opportunities for migrant reintegration, savings, investment and entrepreneurship; financial literacy trainings; case management services; psychosocial counseling and paralegal services,” IOM said in a statement.

IOM is preparing for each province a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that will specify the commitments of the various stakeholders from the national government agencies, provincial government units, civil-society organizations and the local private sector.

The MOAs will be signed by the local governments and other stakeholders, with IOM signing as witness to the partnership, during the launch of the OSRCs tentatively scheduled during the first quarter of 2012.

The local governments of the four provinces have formally identified and provided locations for the OSRCs and physical construction will be implemented soon in all areas.

The centers, which form part of the Joint Programme on Youth, Employment and Migration under the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Fund, will have a coordinating committee composed of four subcommittees, namely, information education, research, networking and advocacy; psychosocial services; economic, savings and investment program; and migration and development initiatives.

IOM has begun to build their capacity by organizing exposure trips, seminars and trainings. A group of 38 representatives from the four provinces visited different migration-related government agencies in Manila; learned about the agencies’ programs and services; and, discussed the issues of their provinces with senior officials.

The IOM is also in the process of creating an OSRC client database management system that will assist in profiling clients and tracking the services provided to them. The system, which will be operational in the first quarter of 2012, will also collect and generate migration data needed by local communities.