Protection to ensure compliance and capacity to respond to children at risk, in need of care and protection and those in conflict with the law.

Transcription

1 TERMS OF REFERENCE Consultancy Services to Produce Legally compliant Operational Guidelines and Procedures for the Department of Probation and Child Protection Services to Manage Youth, At Risk, in need of Care and Protection and in Conflict with the Law.

2 TERMS OF REFERENCE Consultancy Services to Produce Legally compliant Operational Guidelines and Procedures for the Department of Probation and Child Protection Services to Manage Youth, At Risk, in need of Care and Protection and in Conflict with the Law BACKGROUND Based on Agreements between the OECS Commission and USAID, children and youth are identified as a priority group deserving of support. More precisely the discussions focused on the existing Juvenile Justice Systems of the Six (6) independent Member States and to strengthen the same through the application of reforms measures applied both nationally and sub-regionally. The Juvenile Justice Recovery Project Phase 2 (JJRP2) is supported by the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) which is a Presidential Initiative indicative of a shifting paradigm of United States Cooperation with the Caribbean region. In May 2010 the Caribbean-USA Security Framework and CBSI Declaration of Principles were adopted geared to provide resources to the Caribbean on issues relating to citizen safety and security. Through the OECS/USAID Juvenile Justice Reform initiative, the Commission seeks to support reform in the six (6) independent Member States and aims to help accelerate a national juvenile justice reform movement to improve the life circumstances of young people in trouble with the law. This initiative also seeks to enhance public safety and advance a rehabilitative approach whilst ensuring that young offenders are accountable for their actions. As the OECS moves towards the establishment of a single social and economic space, Member States are being encouraged to reform their legislation and adopt harmonized approaches to social development. This thrust to harmonize Member State juvenile justice sector responses will enrich countries potential to better harness the creative and productive energies of all their young people. One of the cornerstones of harmonization is ensuring that the value, processes and procedures being used by practitioners and service providers in the juvenile justice sector are soundly based on research and best practices. This would ensure that the systems provide holistic wrap-around case management service that would deter youths-at-risk and rehabilitate youths-in-conflict with the law. Ensuring that proficient individuals and systems are in place to recognize and address the challenges of adolescent and young adults who are at a developmental stage that is in itself is very complex is paramount. This legislative review exercise is designed to outline the operational guidelines and procedures that have to be in place within the Department of Probation and Child 1

3 Protection to ensure compliance and capacity to respond to children at risk, in need of care and protection and those in conflict with the law. The project will assist in developing departmental procedures and processes while aiding in the creation of the capacity building plan for current staff to sharpen required skills and competencies. In this regard, the OECS is seeking to engage the services of a suitably qualified Consultant who will provide technical services to conduct the legislative review and create the draft operational guidelines. These guidelines need to take into account key international instruments, trends and best practices as well as local environment and culture of the Federation. OBJECTIVE The specific objective of this consultancy is to strengthen the Departments of Probation and Child Protection Services in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis by: 1. the development of an operations and procedural manual to ensure the Department s compliance with its legislative mandates and 2. the improvement of the capacity of the staff to provide services to youth at risk, in need of care and protection and in conflict with the law. SCOPE OF SERVICES 1. Review all relevant international Conventions and instruments, local legislations, policies and frameworks in order to identify the legal obligations and processes that must be performed by the Department of Probation and Child Protection Services. 2. Develop the Operational and Procedural guidelines to ensure compliance with the legislative mandates and foster collaboration. 3. Outline the core competencies and skill requirements for persons to perform the duties of a Child Protection and Probation Officer. To achieve the objectives the following shall be undertaken: Task One (1): Prepare Inception Report i. Review all relevant international conventions, local legislations including Child Justice Act and Children Care and Adoption Act, policies and frameworks and 2

4 prepare documents that outline the legal obligations and processes that must be performed by the Department of Probation and Child Protection Services. ii. iii. Prepare an inception report that will include a work plan, findings and draft working templates/documents. Submit the inception report to the OECS JJRP Unit and the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis for review and approval, no later than seven (7) working days after receiving the relevant information and guidelines from the project. Output: Inception report Task two (2): Development of Operational and Procedural Manual and Workshop Materials i. Finalize working draft of the operational and procedural manual complete with templates for forms and reports that will facilitate the development of Probation Departments framework and functioning within the ambit of the law. ii. Prepare the workshop agenda, and Hand-outs for the workshop based on the approvals received in Task 1. iii. Submit working draft of the operational and procedural manual, workshop Agenda, and finalized workshop materials to OECS JJRP Unit and the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis for review and approval, no later than fourteen (14) working days after receiving the relevant approvals. Outputs: Draft Operational and Procedural Manual, Agenda and Finalized Workshop Materials Task Three (3): Undertake workshop to aid validation of the draft Procedural and Operational Manual i. Organizing and facilitating One (1) three (3) day workshop in St. Kitts/Nevis, for staff of juvenile institutions, (Probation Department, New Horizon Rehabilitation Center) main Social Service providers, Magistrates, Legal Aid, Prosecutors Office and the Police Department to facilitate the validation of the draft Procedural and Operations Manual. ii. Prepare and present the draft workshop report on the validation exercise to the OECS JJRP Unit and the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis for review and approval within seven (7) days of the completion of the local workshop. Output: Notation: Draft workshop report The Ministry with responsibility for Probation and Child Protection will assume the financial responsibility for the logistics for these meetings. 3

5 Task 4: Prepare the final Procedural and Operations Manual complete with templates for forms and reports. i. Prepare and present the final Procedural and Operations Manual complete with templates for forms and reports to the OECS JJRP Unit and the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis for review and approval within six (6) days of receiving comments from both parties. The final reports shall be submitted as three (3) hard copies and one copy on compact disk using Microsoft Word 2007 or later version. Output: Final Workshop Report (3 hard copies and 1 CD) TIMING AND LEVEL OF EFFORT The Consultancy is expected to be completed within 37-man days over a Six (6) week timeframe (August to September) distributed as follows Activity Prepare Inception Report and Working Document Draft Operational and Procedural Manual, Workshop Agenda and Finalization of Workshop Materials Undertake National workshop Prepare the draft workshop report Prepare the final Operational and Procedural Manual Duration Seven (7) Days Fourteen (14) Days Three (3) Days Seven (7) Days Six (6) Days QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS 1. The consultant must possess at least a First-Degree Law, Criminal Justice, Social Work, or other related Social Sciences from a recognized institution. 2. Experience in organizational systems development 3. Knowledge of Juvenile Justice and Child Protection issues in the OECS Region. 4. Practical experience in convening workshops and undertaking training programmes. 5. Excellent knowledge of International Conventions and instruments, protocols and guidelines with regards to juvenile justice and protection of children OBLIGATIONS OF OECS COMMISSION: The OECS Commission agrees to: (a) Review and provide feedback on consultancy deliverables; (b) Provide the consultant with all necessary logistical support to ensure that the consultant(s) undertake the consultancy with reasonable efficiency; (c) Allocate a point person(s) to support the consultant during the process; (d) Meet all the agreed cost related to the consultancy; 4

6 (e) Provide relevant documents and make all necessary contacts that may be needed; and (f) Guide the consultancy as needed and necessary. PROJECT EXECUTION AND ADMINISTRATION The Head, Social Development Unit or the designated officer will collaborate with the consultant on the undertaking of the work as outlined in the Terms of Reference in order to ensure the deliverables identified are achieved in an effective and efficient manner. The Consultant will also be expected to participate via video conference for presentation of Draft Reports to the OECS Commission and the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. PAYMENT SCHEDULE This assignment should be completed by September % on submission and acceptance of work schedule and inception report 25% on submission and acceptance of deliverables for Task 2 20% on submission and acceptance of deliverables for Task 3 20% on submission and acceptance of deliverables under Task 4 25% on submission and acceptance of deliverables under Task 5 PROPERTY RIGHTS The OECS shall hold all property rights, such as copyright, patents and registered trademarks, on matter directly related to, or derived from, the work carried out through this contract with the OECS. 5

7 GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Consultancy Services to Produce Legally compliant Operational Guidelines and Procedures for the Department of Probation and Child Protection Services to Manage Youth, at Risk, in need of Care and Protection and in Conflict with the Law Consultants wishing to signify their interest in undertaking the prescribed services are to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to include: 1. Information on the Consultant s qualifications and technical competence relevant to the assignment, experience in undertaking similar assignments, including Curriculum Vitae of the Individual Consultant proposed for the assignment; 2. A concept note on the planned framework for undertaking the assignment and a breakdown of the number of days required for each task. Consultants shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of their Expressions of Interest. The OECS is not bound to accept any Expression of Interest and reserves the right to annul the selection process at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the Consultants. For more information please contact: Carlyn Prospere Procurement Officer, OECS Commission Morne Fortune P.O. Box 1383 Castries SAINT LUCIA Phone: At the following address: procurement@oecs.int Expressions of Interest can be submitted via . An Individual Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Consultant s Qualifications (CQS) Selection method as detailed in the procedures set out in the Procurement Manual of the OECS dated November 2013, revised June

8 Expressions of Interest will be evaluated and the Individual Consultant with the most relevant experience, qualifications and technical competence will be selected and requested to submit a proposal which will be the basis for negotiations leading to a contract. The criteria to evaluate the Expressions of Interests submitted may include: 1) Qualifications of the Consultant 2) Technical competence in undertaking the assignment 3) Related Experience of the Consultant and experience in undertaking similar assignments 4) Planned framework submitted for undertaking the assignment An electronic copy of the Expressions of Interests are to reach the OECS Commission by August 8, 2018, addressed to: Carlyn Prospere Procurement Officer procurement@oecs.int The submissions should include the name and address of the Individual Consultant and shall be clearly marked in the subject line as Expression of Interest for Consultancy to produce legally compliant operational guidelines and procedures. 7