International Consultant on Reforming the System of Prevention of Placement of Children in the Closed Institutions

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I Background: 

Since 2017, UNICEF has been working closely with the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on reforming the specialized educational correctional institutions for children with difficult behaviour (closed institutions).The work had started with assessing the situation of girls in two closed institutions and extended to de-institutionalization of two closed institutions in 2019-2020.

In May 2019, the Presidential Resolution #4342 ‘On Reforming the Specialized Educational Correctional Institutions’ – a key policy document on reforming the system of closed institutions was adopted. The Resolution envisages the closure of two out of four closed institutions, increases the age for admission to the institutions from 11 years to 14 years as well as assigns new functional responsibilities to existing state bodies to strengthen the prevention of placement of children to these facilities. To support the implementation of the above-mentioned Presidential Resolution, UNICEF provided technical assistance to the Government of Uzbekistan in building capacities of more than 900 district level and community level specialists to conduct assessment of the situation of 531 children in four closed institutions and their families and to develop individual plans for reintegration of children into families and communities. As of today, reintegration support was provided to more than 400 children who left the closed institutions.

However, still more efforts are needed to reduce inflow of boys and girls into existing closed institutions as the placement of children into these institutions is not used as a matter of last resort. These efforts will include strengthening mechanisms available at the community, district and regional levels to identify and to respond to the needs and vulnerabilities of children at risk in order to prevent their placement into the closed institutions. Capacity building of inspectors of the bodies of internal affairs responsible for prevention of juvenile offending, school psychologists, secretaries of the Inter-Agency Commissions of Minors, criminal court judges and other professionals and improvement of algorithms of the inter-agency coordination and cooperation will be among main strategies to strengthen the system of prevention of placement of children into closed institutions. To ensure sustainability of these interventions, cooperation with pre-service and in-service institutions responsible for preparation of cadres in the area of prevention of juvenile offending and working with children at risk will be established and enhanced.  

II Purpose:

The purpose of the current consultancy is to continue to provide technical assistance to the Government of Uzbekistan in strengthening the system of prevention of juvenile offending with a focus on prevention of placement of children in the closed institutions. The consultancy will cover the following main directions:

1. Strengthening mechanisms to prevent placement of children and young people into the closed institutions.
2. Strengthening capacities of training institutions in designing and delivering pre and in-service training curricula based on child rights standards and principles for service-providers working with children and young people in contact with the system of prevention of juvenile offending.

III Tasks and Deliverables:

The international consultant will perform the following tasks and provide the following deliverables during the given timeframe:

1. Strengthening mechanisms to prevent placement of children and young people into the closed institutions

Tasks:

1.1 Develop a methodology for assessing a legal mandate and actual practices and approaches of inspectors of the bodies of internal affairs in working with children and young people in contact with the system of prevention of juvenile offending
1.2 In cooperation with national consultant, to conduct the assessment of a legal mandate and actual practices of the inspectors of the bodies of internal affairs and produce a report with findings and recommendations
1.3 Develop the guidelines for inspectors of the bodies of internal affairs in working with children and young people in contact with the system of prevention of juvenile offending based on the findings of the assessment
1.4 Develop a model for enhanced inter-agency cooperation among community specialists, inspectors of the bodies of internal affairs, school psychologists and school leaders, secretaries of the Inter-Agency Commissions of Minors and Centers of Social and Legal Support of Minors under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and criminal court judges to prevent placement of children and young people in contact with the system of prevention of juvenile offending into the closed facilities
1.5 Conduct capacity building activities for community workers, inspectors of the bodies of internal affairs, school psychologists and school leaders, secretaries of the Inter-Agency Commissions of Minors and Centers of Social and Legal Support of Minors under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and criminal court judges to test out the model of enhanced inter-agency cooperation to prevent placement of children and young people in contact with the system of prevention of juvenile offending into the closed institutions in at least two regions of Uzbekistan
1.6 Conduct a 3-day training for social workers and psychologists of the Ministry of Interior on provision of rehabilitation and reintegration services for children and young people in contact with the system of prevention of juvenile offending

Deliverables and Timeframe:

1.1 Outline with a methodology of the assessment – 1 day home-based in June 2021

1.2 Report with findings and recommendations of the assessment – 3 days home-based in June 2021

1.3 Final guidelines presented and discussed with UNICEF and national stakeholders –  4 days home-based, including 1 day for online discussion in June 2021

1.4 Concept note on modelling the enhanced inter-agency cooperation –  4 days home-based,  including 1 day for online discussion in  June 2021

1.5 Final guidelines on modelling the enhanced inter-agency cooperation presented and discussed with UNICEF and national stakeholders
Training materials, hand-outs, pre and post-training questionnaires –  7 days home-based in July 2021 and 15 days in-country in August 2021

1.6 Training materials, hand-outs, pre and post-training questionnaires –  2-days home based  in September 2021 and 3 days in-country in November 2021

2. Strengthening capacities of training institutions in designing and delivering pre and in-service training curricula based on child rights standards and principles for service-providers working with children and young people in contact with the system of prevention of juvenile offending

Tasks:

2.1 Develop a training program for school psychologists and school leaders (etackchi) on working with children demonstrating difficult behavior
2.2 Conduct a training for trainers on working with children at risk for 30 master trainers of the Republican Center of Professional Orientation and Psychological Diagnosis of Pupils (Tashkhis Center)
2.3 Support the Academy of the Ministry of Interior (MOI Academy) in developing and introducing training modules on pre-service and in-service training for inspectors of the bodies of internal affairs working with children and young people in contact with the system of prevention of juvenile offending
2.4 Conduct a training for trainers for the staff of the MOI Academy in delivering pre-service and in-service trainings for inspectors of the bodies of internal affairs working with children and young people in contact with the system of prevention of juvenile delinquency and neglect
2.5 Support the Academy of the Prosecutor’s General Office in developing a training module for prosecutors on ensuring the rights of every child to family environment

Deliverables and Timeframe:

2.1 Training materials, hand-outs, pre and post training questionnaires – 3 days home-based in September 2021

2.2 Training materials, hand-outs, pre and post training questionnaire – 5 days in-country in November 2021

2.3 Outline of training modules, training modules (guidelines for teachers and a handbook for students) – 10 days home-based in July 2021

2.4 Training materials, handouts, pre and post training questionnaire – 5 days in-country in August 2021

2.5 Training module (guidelines for teachers and a handbook for students) – 3 days home-based in October 2021 and 2 day in country in November 2021

IV Timeframe:

The assignment timeframe is 67 working days in the period of from 1 June 2021 to 1 April 2022 (10 months) and will be based on home-country consultancy (37 working days) and two visits to Tashkent, Uzbekistan (30 working days). The visits are planned in August and November 2021. Subject to new developments, one more additional visit will be required in February-March 2022.

The consultant will be paid against deliverables in accordance with the payment schedule indicated below:

• 35 % of payment upon providing deliverables related to tasks: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5.
• 35 % of payment upon providing deliverables related to tasks: 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5.
• 30 % of final payment upon providing deliverables to tasks: 1.6, 2.1 and 2.2.

V Funding Source and Budget: Regular Resources

VI Payment: Travel expenses within Uzbekistan for project purposes (terminal expenses and local air fare) as well as DSA in Uzbekistan in amount of USD 50 per day will be funded by UNICEF and according to its rules and procedures. Two times return international flight expenses will be also covered against UNICEF. 

VII Management: International consultant will work under the direct supervision of Child Protection Specialist. All interactions with national and regional partners will be facilitated by the Child Protection Officer and National Expert on Social Work.

VIII Required qualifications and areas of expertise:

• Advanced university degree (Masters or PhD) in social sciences, decree in Psychology and Social Work will be an asset;
• At least 7 years of professional experience in the area of social work, child protection and justice for children (verified by records of work experience);
• Knowledge of social work case management standards (verified by records of work experience);
• Experience in developing reform concepts and workplans addressing the issues of children at risk, juvenile offending and children deprived of liberty (verified by records of work experience in writing at least two concepts or workplans);
• Experience in developing training programs on social work, child protection, justice for children (verified by records of work experience in developing at least three training programs);
• Excellent analytical and writing skills (verified by examination of evidence from previous assignment deliverables);
• Excellent presentation and communication skills (verified by records of work experience in delivering speeches or presentations on a topic related to justice for children);
• Excellent written and spoken command of Russian and English (verified by examination of previous written work and interview).

IX Procedures and working conditions: Travel expenses within Uzbekistan (terminal expenses, DSA, local air fare) will be funded by UNICEF and according to its rules and procedures

X Reservations: UNICEF reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory, if deliverable(s) incomplete, not finalized or for failure to meet deadlines.

UNICEF will reserve copyright of all developed materials and own primary data collected through this assignment. The materials cannot be published or disseminated without prior written permission of UNICEF. UNICEF will be free to adapt and modify them in the future. The contractor must respect the confidentiality of the information handled during the assignment. Documents and information provided must be used only for the tasks related to these terms of reference.

The United Nations and UNICEF undertake no liability for taxes, duty or other contribution payable by the consultant on payments made under this contract. No statement of earnings will be issued by the United Nations or UNICEF to the consultant. National consultant is personally responsible for payment of all taxes related to consultancy.

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UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.