Development of technical guidelines for the social care homes consultant in the West Bank and the rehabilitation center in the Gaza Strip

Terms of Reference

Development of technical guidelines for the social care homes in the West Bank and the rehabilitation center in the Gaza Strip

Organization and Context background information

Terre des hommes (Tdh) is a leading Swiss child-relief agency with a strong mandate worldwide on restorative juvenile justice, which accumulates over 40 years of experience in the Palestinian context. Tdh is a well-recognized actor in Palestine with a long and fruitful collaboration vis a vis justice stakeholders and national institutions on the policy, capacity building and specialized service provision components, chiefly. The Access to Justice Program (AtJ) has been implemented in Palestine since 2010 including a specific and unique component focused on the application of the restorative justice for children in conflict with the law.

The AtJ Program’s Strategic Plan creates a comprehensive framework for action that combines axes on operations, advocacy and policy, research and quality and accountability, with a view to creating lasting and meaningful change in the lives of children in conflict and in contact with the law, where their rights are respected and upheld.

Within the AtJ Program in Gaza, a specialized programmatic approach focused in enhancing the application of the restorative justice approach for children in conflict with the placed in placed in placed in Dar Al Amal, Dar Al Fatayat and Al Rabee Rehabilitation Center, to ensure better reintegration for the children within their natural communities and to prevent them from recidivism.

Therefore, UNICEF and Tdh through the project entitled “Enhance Access to Justice for Children in the Gaza Strip and West Bank*”* aim to strengthen the child protection systems inside social care homes in the West Bank and rehabilitation center in the Gaza Strip through developing technical guidelines. In general, these social care homes and the rehabilitation center do not have written, unified, updated guidelines that ensure proper service provision.

The technical guidelines will be developed in alignment with the international convictions and standards related to children deprived of liberty who are placed in the social care homes and rehabilitation centers. It will also clarify the reintegration programs and approaches that will be applied in the social care homes and rehabilitation centers including case management, vocational trainings, family counseling, legal aid for the children and their families.

Rational of the assignment

In Palestine, UNICEF and Tdh have been implementing interventions to strengthen the justice system in Gaza, through providing services to children in conflict with the law inside Al Rabee Rehabilitation Center, including child protection case management, structured and non-structured psychosocial support services, and recreational activities. Additionally, UNICEF and Tdh have been implementing different restorative justice interventions, mainly family group conferencing and alternative to detentions, along with supporting the legal system through capacity building initiatives and developing child-friendly standard operating procedures for children in contact and in conflict with the law.

UNICEF and Tdh are currently running a child protection rapid assessment which aimed to explore the protection needs of children in light with the evolving situation in Gaza. The assessment highlighted the need of having a qualitative and comprehensive reintegration program for the staff and the children inside Al Rabee Rehabilitation Center in Gaza Strip.

Thus, Tdh Palestine counts with the concrete expertise and capacity to develop a Technical Guidelines for the benefit of Ministry of Social Development and its social care homesand rehabilitation centers in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. This will assist in enhancing the reintegration programs inside Al Rabee Rehabilitation Center, Dar al Amal center for children and Dar Al Fatayat (for girls’ cases in conflict with the law)[1] to build the capacities of the staff.

The technical guidelines will provide the social care homes and the rehabilitation centers staff, according to the international principles, with clear procedures, roles and responsibilities that will guide them from the first minute of the child arrival, to ensure that all of the rights of the children who are deprived of liberty are applied, respected and protected.

The consultancy will take place in the Gaza Strip, and it will be at the national level covering both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A consultation workshop will be conducted for social care homes and rehabilitation centers staff and key informants from MoSD in Gaza, and consultation workshops will be conducted in the West Bank.

Methodology of the assignment

Under this consultancy contract, Tdh requires the services of a specialized professional or team of professionals (national) consultants in close coordination with Tdh team at national and regional levels to develop and roll out technical guidelines for the social care homes and rehabilitation center in the Gaza Strip and West Bank to ensure that children in conflict with the law are better served through improved quality of service provision. The consultant should work closely and in coordination with the MoSD, Tdh and UNICEF technical teams.

Specifically, the technical guidelines should be based on:

• Reviewing the current practices of the social care homes that provide services for children in conflict with the law in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The review will include reviewing the records, admission process, existing services, existing protocols/procedures, etc).
• Conducting desk review for the national legislations/polices and international instruments and other related resources.
• Reviewing the safety, protection, and care of children in conflict with the law during their stay at the social care homes and the rehabilitation center
• Identifying the main support needed for children in conflict with the law need during the period of inquiry to the release
• Identifying the main protection services that could be provided after the release to prevent recidivism to ensure reintegrating children within their natural societies
• Conducting meetings, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions with the key professional parties’ staff who are working in the social care homes and rehabilitation center and who are managing the centers, in both Gaza and West Bank. The West Bank data collection will be done remotely.
• Conducting focus group discussions with the children inside the social care homes and rehabilitation center
• Developing detailed methodology including data collection tools
• Conducting consultation workshop on working guidelines for rehabilitation institution and key informants from MoSD in the Gaza Strip, and from the West Bank. Consultation workshops will be held in the West Bank.

Tasks and Key deliverables

For this consultancy, the following tasks and deliverables are sought:

• Develop an inception report following the gaps analysis, the due of the inception report is two weeks after signing the contractual agreement
• Develop the outline of the technical guidelines for discussion and review with MoSD and other technical partners.

Developing the technical guideline in English and in Arabic.

Submission of Expression of Interest

Interested consultants/ firms are expected to submit a detailed expression of interest (technical and financial proposal), explaining how they meet the required knowledge and skills set, with the following components:

• Proposed work schedule.
• Proposed budget in ILS, including income tax, the VAT is exempted.
• CV(s) of the individual(s) who will undertake the consultancy.
• Example of previous similar assignments, if any.

Timeframe

• Between 1 November 2022 and 1 January 2023, it is estimated the consultant will require between 15 to 20 working days to complete the entire assignment.

Requirements for the expert

• A post-graduate or equivalent qualification/degree, preferable master or Ph.D. in Law or, Human rights, Development Studies, Humanities, or any other relevant discipline.
• At least 6-9 years of prior work experience in dealing with social service and/or institutional administration.
• Proven sound experience on drafting similar deliverables (providing concrete examples and when possible excerpts/samples).
• Demonstrated experiences in conducting workshops and training sessions.
• Excellent written and speaking skills in English and in Arabic.

Ethical considerations

• The consultant/consulting agency must sign the Terre des hommes Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct and be willing to adhere to its principles and expected practices. If a breach of the policy or code of conduct takes place the consultancy will be terminated immediately without any financial burden on Tdh.

Disclaimer on copyright, data protection

All documents, project designs, drawings, data and information shall be treated as confidential and shall not without the written approval of Tdh be made available to any third party. In addition, the consultant(s) formally undertakes not to disclose any parts of the confidential information and shall not, without the written approval of Tdh be made available to any third party. The utilization of the report is solely at the decision and discretion of Tdh. All the documents containing both raw data/materials provided by Tdh and final report, both soft and hard copies are to be returned to Tdh upon completion of the assignment. All documentation and reports written as, and as a result of the research or otherwise related to it, shall remain the property of Tdh. No part of the report shall be reproduced except with the prior, expressed, and specific written permission of Tdh