FAMILY TRACING, REUNIFICATION AND REINTEGRATION CONSULTANT

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR FAMILY TRACING, REUNIFICATION AND REINTEGRATION CONSULTANT

Duty Station: Addis Ababa/Ethiopia and to work in five other regions (Addis Ababa, SNPR, Oromia, Amhara, Harari, Dire Dawa)
Duration: Six months
Closing date of application: 02 Feb 2011
Start Date: Feb 2011

Reporting to: UNICEF, ADPH section, co reporting to National alternative care inter-ministerial technical working group, under the coordination of the Ministries of Women, Children and Youth Affairs and Ministry of Justice

SCOPE OF WORK

Under the technical guidance of the Child Protection Specialist, ADPH Section, the consultant shall work with the national alternative care inter-ministerial technical working group to facilitate the deinstitutionalization of children currently living in 45 child care institutions. The consultant will also train counterparts in the appropriate use of family tracing, reunification and reintegration tools developed.

OBJECTIVES:
a. Provide technical leadership and support to Government of Ethiopia (GOE) partners in their FTRR efforts;
b. Responsible for all aspects of establishing and running a comprehensive FTRR program in five regions in Ethiopia;
c. Apply best practices and lessons learned in the area of FTRR;
d. Coordinate the efforts of the respective Bureaus working in child protection/FTRR activities to move the process forward effectively and practically in the best interest of children;
e. Ensure quality control as well as consistency throughout the project cycle, so the program is technically sound;
f. Develop and carry out trainings (using materials and plans that are already in place) for case workers;
g. Monitor the quality of case management

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

TASKS END PRODUCTS/DELIVERABLES TIME FRAME - SIX MONTHS
• Provide technical assistance to GOE counterparts and partners to review and validate the draft FTRR tools. 1. FTRR forms validated and submitted for printing to MoWCYA Month 1
• Train 50 social and Para and professional social workers and relevant personnel on the use of the assessment tools 2. 50 social and Para and professional social workers trained in FTRR processes and proficient to carry out FTRR activities in the respective regions Month 1
• Lead the assessment and documentation of all of the children in child care institutions in the five regions, including the 900+ children in institutions marked for closure using the new assessment tools 3. An estimated 900+ children documented and their profiles entered into the Alternative care databases Month 1
• Provide technical assistance to GOE partners to conduct a census/profile exercise in target centres and map service providers in target return areas 4. All basic social service providers in target return areas in four regions for children identified and documented Month 1-2
• With participation of all relevant stakeholders, design and assess an effective referral mechanism, including clear referral pathways and procedures, as well as a complementary training programme for government social workers, and community duty bearers 5. A case plan for each children in 45 child care institutions developed and shared with child and family to be reunified Month 1-2
• Develop and facilitate the validation of SOP/protocol on tracing, reunification and reintegration 6. SOP/protocol on tracing, reunification and reintegration developed Month 1-2
• Conduct family tracing, reunification of all children in the 45 identified institutions, including home study for all documented children 7. Families and children with positive tracing for reunification prepared for reunification
8. For negative tracing cases, identify credible institutions that could absorb remaining children until tracing or foster care placement is successful or temporary best fit accredited families
9. All profiles of children in 45 institutions and information on child care institutions verified are entered into the database and periodically updated
10. Reports of children’s profiles and progress on Family Tracing, Reunification and Reintegration activities available
11. Updated reports on child welfare institutions available Month 2-4
• Use developed guidelines and SOP on foster care, to facilitate the recruitment of an estimated 300 foster families/60 each in six regions and develop a foster care families directory for each region 12. 300 foster families/60 each in six regions recruited and a foster care families directory for each region developed Month 1-2
• Facilitate the training of 300 foster careers /families trained in child rights, contract agreement between GOE and foster careers/ families, good parenting skills and psychosocial support to children 13. 300 foster careers /families trained (60 in each region) trained in child rights, contract agreement between GOE and foster careers/ families, good parenting skills and psychosocial support Month 3-6
Together with child, family and community, develop reintegration and follow up plan for each child/family 14. Reintegration case management for each child/family developed and social cash transfers, incl. Foster care grants, provided to vulnerable and ultra poor households with reunified and placed children in family community based care foster care arrangements. Month 2-6
Conduct follow up, monitor and supervise the implementation of the FTRR plan 15. Monitoring plan including project indicators developed and agreed with all stakeholders
16. Supportive supervision to GOE counterparts and partners provided and tracking of progress documented
17. Monthly progress report on FTRR plan submitted Months 1-6

CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT
Remuneration

a. Consultancy fee – Negotiable
b. Payment schedule:

20% upon signature
40% upon completion of eight deliverables
40% upon completion of remaining eight deliverables and submission of final summary consultancy report

Conditions of work

a. Consultant is not entitled to payment of overtime. All remuneration must be within the contract agreement.
b. Daily Subsistence Allowance will be paid to consultant as per UN prevailing rate, including travelled outside Addis Ababa for official mission in accordance to the applicable rate.
c. The consultant will be based in the UNICEF office and will have access to the Ministries of Women, Children and Youth Affairs and Justice offices for the period of the consultancy and is authorized to have access to transport and work station in UNICEF upon request.
d. The consultant shall also be expected to visit six regional administration offices of BOLSA/BOWCYA in Addis Ababa, SNNPR, Oromia, Amhara, Harari, Dire Dawah
e. No contract may commence unless the contract is signed by both UNICEF and the consultant or Contractor.

Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required:

a. University degree in social sciences, public administration, social work or related field.
b. At least five years of working experience with social work/social service management, including within governmental setting.
c. Familiarity with and understanding of child protection issues.
d. Previous Family Tracing and Reunification work in at least one emergency
e. Demonstrated management and organisation skills and excellent analytical skills with a good vision to create strategies
f. Experience with on-the-job training and designing/conducting training/mentoring.
g. Computer literate – Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint at a minimum. Knowledge on database software and data management skills a plus.
h. Ability to develop partnerships, network and coordinate
i. Fluency in English
j. Knowledge of child protection database required, good knowledge of the IMS preferred.

Confidentiality and Copyright

a. All documents and reports and other such outputs and information submitted to Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs and UNICEF under the terms of this agreement shall not be disclosed to any third or other party by the Consultant. For greater certainty, without limiting the generality of the foregoing sentences, the Consultant hereby assigns to Ministries of Women, Children and Youth Affairs, Justice and Charities and Socities agency (CHSA) all worldwide copyrights in the outputs of this contract.
b. The Consultant shall not disclose or use the reports, documents or information to and for the benefit of any other party for purposes unrelated to the present agreement.
c. All outputs, including the source code prepared by the Consultant under this contract shall become the property of Ministries of Women, Children and Youth Affairs, Justice and CHSA to be used for its purposes, as it deems appropriate.

Quality Control

The national alternative care inter-ministerial technical working group shall make the final determination about the quality of the Consultant’s outputs/deliverables.
Penalty
a. If deliverables are not achieved on the agreed due dates, the Consultant shall be liable to a penalty of 5% of the monthly payment rate for every week of delay.
b. The total of each penalty specified above however, shall not exceed 10% of the contract

View the original article here