National Consultancy: Support the Reform of the System of Closed Institutions

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I Background

In 2019-2020 UNICEF provided technical support to the Government of Uzbekistan in implementing the Presidential Resolution #4342 ‘On Reforming the Specialized Educational Correctional Institutions’. This Resolution envisages the closure of two out of four closed institutions, increase of the admission age to the institutions from 11 years to 14 years as well as assigning new functional responsibilities to existing state bodies to strengthen the prevention of placement of children to these facilities.

The joint efforts of the Government and UNICEF resulted in building capacities of more than 900 district nd community level specialists to develop, implement and monitor individual reintegration plans for of 531 boys and girls leaving Specialized/Republican educational correctional institutions (closed institutions) and their families all over the country. As of today, more than 400 children benefitted from reintegration services and yet more than 200 children face problems in their reintegration.

Nevertheless, monitoring of the process of reintegration of children from the closed institutions into families and communities reveal that there are systematic gaps in addressing the needs of the most vulnerable groups of children and their families. In addition, strong and coordinated mechanisms inter-agency cooperation based on social work approaches are required for timely identification, referral and responding to the needs of children at risk groups to prevent their placement to the remaining closed institutions.

UNICEF will continue supporting the Prosecutor General’s Office, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Public Education  and other governmental and non-governmental partners to reform the system of juvenile offending, help to reduce the intake of children to closed institutions and facilitate the reintegration of children into families and communities.

II Objectives

 The main objectives of the current consultancy are:

1. Support modelling of enhanced inter-agency cooperation to prevent placement of children and young people in contact with the system of prevention of juvenile offending in the closed institutions.
2. Improve the quality of reintegration services provided to children and young people leaving closed institutions and their families

III Tasks and deliverables

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

1. Support modelling of enhanced inter-agency cooperation to prevent placement of children and young people in contact with the system of prevention of juvenile offending in the closed institutions

Tasks:

1.1 Assist to international consultant in conducting assessment of 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 Co-facilitate together with international consultant 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
1.3 Provide a bi-monthly supervision to referral bodies and service providers in working with children and young people at risk groups to prevent their placement into the closed institutions
1.4 Document the process and results of modelling enhanced inter-agency cooperation in the selected regions and present the findings to national and regional stakeholders in at least two advocacy events

Deliverables and Timeframe:

1.1 Minutes of interviews and focus group discussions –  May-June 2021

1.2 Training materials, hand-outs, pre and post-training questionnaires – July-August 2021

1.3 Regular reports with up-dates – September 2021-April 2022
Minutes of supervision sessions

1.4 Report with detailed description of the process, achievements and lessons learn of the modelling – April 2022
Presentations/briefing notes

2. Improve the quality of reintegration services provided to children and young people leaving closed institutions and their families

Tasks:

2.1 Conduct a bimonthly supervision and on-job training for staff of two Republican educational correctional institutions on conducting rehabilitation work with children and young people and prepare them for reintegration into families and communities
2.2 Conduct at least two on-job trainings for 100 district level specialists of the Ministry of Mahalla and Family Support on how to supervise community specialists in provision of reintegration services to children and young people coming from the closed institutions
2.3 Develop a guidelines for district level specialists of the Ministry of Mahalla and Family Support on how to supervise provision of reintegration services to children and young people returning from the closed institutions
2.4 Conduct at least two workshops for the Secretaries of the Inter-Agency Commissions of Minors from 7 regions on implementation of individual reintegration plans for 200 children and young people who returned from the closed institutions
2.5 Monitor the implementation of individual reintegration plans for 200 children who returned from the closed institutions
2.6 Document the process and results of implementation of individual reintegration plans for 200 children and young people who returned from the closed institutions

Deliverables and Timeframe:

2.1 Bimonthly reports on supervision conducted –  May 2021-April 2022

2.2 Training and supervision materials and hand-outs – August 2021-December 2021

2.3 Guidelines finalized based on the comments of UNICEF and the Ministry – May-June 2021

2.4 Workshop materials, handouts – October 2021-February 2022

2.5 Regular monitoring reports – May 2021-April 2022

2.6 Final report with data on reintegration of children – April 2022

IV Timeframe: From 15 May 2021 to 15 April 2022 (11 months)

V  Funding Source and Budget: UNICEF Regular Recourses

VI Payment: Payment will be made upon presentation of the above listed deliverables in four instalments. Payments might be partially or fully withheld in case of unsatisfactory performance of duties or failure to provide the deliverables by the agreed deadline.

• First installment – for provision of deliverables related to activities 1.1 and 1.2.
• Second installment – for provision of deliverables related to activities 2.2 and 2.3.
• Third installment- for provision of deliverable related to activities 2.4 and 2.5.
• Fourth installment – for provision of deliverables related to activities 1.3 and 2.1.
• Fourth installment – for provision of deliverables related to activities 1.4 and 2.6

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

VIII Required qualifications and areas of expertise: 

• University degree in social sciences, a degree in social work will be an asset;
• At least 5 years of professional experience in social protection of children, social work or child protection (verified by records of work experience);
• Knowledge of national legislation related to child rights, social protection of children and families, child care, functional responsibilities of state bodies and self-governing bodies dealing with child protection in Uzbekistan (verified through interview);
• Experience in cooperating with national, regional and district stakeholders on children and families in difficult life situations (verified by records of work experience on conducting at least two training on social work);
• Excellent presentation and communication skills (verified by records of work experience on participation in at least three events related to the issues of child protection and social work);
• Excellent written and spoken command of English, Russian and Uzbek languages (verified by the interview);
• Previous work experience with UN Agencies will be an asset (verified by records of previous work experience).

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:

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.