Guidance Note to the Child Participation Assessment Tool

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Strasbourg, 1 October 2014

Guidance Note to the Child Participation Assessment Tool

Introduction

On 28 March 2012 the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted the Committee of Ministers Recommendation 2012)2[1] on the participation of children and young people under the age of 18 (hereafter the Recommendation). The Child Participation Assessment Tool[2] (hereafter the Tool) has been developed to provide specific and measurable indicators with which States can begin to measure progress in implementing the Recommendation. The development and now testing of the Assessment Tool is part of an on-going process initiated by the Council of Europe to ensure that all children and young people within Council of Europe member states can exercise their right to be heard, to be taken seriously and to participate in decision making in all matters affecting them. This includes protecting the right to participate, promoting and informing about participation and creating spaces for participation.

The piloting of the Council of Europe Child Participation Assessment tool should be seen within the context of other Council of Europe, EU and international activities, such as the forthcoming European Commission study on child participation and the Council of Europe policy reviews on child and youth participation in Finland[3], the Slovak Republic[4] and Moldova[5], which have been carried out over the past years.

The Child Participation Assessment Tool is tested in three Council of Europe Member States, Estonia, Ireland and Romania.

Process

To pilot the Child Participation Assessment Tool a roadmap has been developed which sets out a plan of action, including three key phases:

1.  Preparatory phase (June-Aug 2014), notably through the development of a Guidance Note for pilot countries on the evaluation and reporting, preparation and training of key stakeholders

2.  Piloting phase (Sep 2014-May 2015), notably through the testing of the Tool in three member states.

3.  Evaluation and follow up phase (June-Dec 2015), notably through the adaptation and finalisation of the Tool and supporting the use of the Tool in other interested member states:

The piloting of the Tool has a dual purpose:

1.  Firstly, to test the practical implementation and effectiveness of the Tool and its ten indicators, for the purpose of receiving feedback from member states on the practicality and clarity of using the Tool for measuring progress on child participation. The outcomes will also assist in improving (and finalising) the Tool.

2.  Secondly, to start a debate on children’s participation in a number of selected countries, which should also result in a collection of information and data that will be used as a base line to measure periodically further progress over the next years.

The Child Participation Assessment Tool includes ten basic indicators, which will enable states to assess the implementation of children and young people’s participation within different settings within their country. The indicators will enable states to:

Ø  Undertake a baseline assessment of current implementation;

Ø  Help identify measures needed to achieve further compliance;

Ø  Measure progress over time.

This means that the assessment process starts with an initial evaluation at country level The initial assessment process will result in an overview of progress achieved based on ten indicators, each of them rated with progress achieved from 0 (no progress) to 3 (fully complying with the indicator). In addition, recommendations on further actions will be formulated on gaps identified.

After the initial assessment process, the situation of children’s participation should continue to be periodically evaluated. Cyclical reporting on children participation will allow for the collection of information, which might not be available at the initial assessment.

The national authorities should bear in mind that the results of the piloting of the Tool will not only include a base line to measure progress on child participation in their country, but also a critical evaluation of the Tool itself and the way they can apply the Tool in practice. Any gaps, missing information or further disaggregation should be noted during the assessment process. An evaluation sheet to accompany the Guidance note and the Child Participation Assessment Tool will be made available.

Responsibility for the carrying out of the piloting process lies with a national government representative, who will be supported by a Council of Europe coordinator (Mieke Schuurman) and a reference group composed of independent experts, a youth representative from the Council of Europe Joint Council on Youth and the Council of Europe Secretariat (the Youth Department and the Children’s Rights Division).

A national consultant will be appointed to write up the national report, which will be based on the data and information collected, outcomes from child focus group meetings, outcomes of the online children’s survey, outcomes from meetings of professionals working with children; meetings with NGOs and civil society and other stakeholders.

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Guidelines for using the 10 indicators

The Guidance Note to the Assessment Tool should be read in combination with the Child Participation Assessment Tool, which provides for each of the 10 indicators, its Definition; Data sources to consult; Assessment criteria and possible Disaggregation of information and data found.

The table below lists the ten criteria, summarizes the way evidence needs to be collected, the stakeholders that need to be consulted and the methodology to collect evidence.

When it is indicated that Children’s Focus Groups will have to be organised to consult children, this means 5 children’s focus groups will be organised at school and another 5 in cooperation with NGOs in each country.

The Children’s Survey will be carried out online and will be promoted via schools (the same schools where the focus groups are organised and possibly more), targeting a minimum of 1000 children.

Indicators / How to collect evidence for each indicator? / Stakeholders involved / Methodology
Indicator 1
Legal protection for children’s rights to participate is reflected in the national constitution and legislation / ·  Collect information and data in particular via line ministries. / - Line ministries (including those on education, justice, health, social affairs)
- Government agencies / Data collection
Indicator 2
Explicit inclusion of child participation in cross-sectoral national strategy to implement children’s rights / ·  Collect information and data in particular via line ministries. / - Line ministries (including those on education, justice, health, social affairs)
- Government agencies / Data collection
Indicator 3
An independent children’s’ rights institution is in place and protected by law / ·  Should involve analysis of mandate and discussions in Government agencies
·  Will require consultations with professionals / Line ministry and/or Ombudsoffice for children / Data collection (check which legislation in place)
Professionals working
with children / Organise a meeting with different groups of professionals, including teachers and social workers
Consultations with children will be carried out in a survey and child focus groups. They should be consulted on how the Child Rights ombudsperson functions and reaches out to children. / Children / - Children’s Focus groups
- Children’s Survey (online)
Indicator 4
Existence of mechanisms to enable children and young people to exercise their right to participate safely in judicial and administrative proceedings / ·  Will require consultations with professionals and children who have experience from the justice system and administrative proceedings. / Legal professionals working with or for children / Organise a meeting with a group (10) of legal professionals or an organisation representing legal professionals working with or for children or professionals who work in administrative legal proceedings in which children are directly or indirectly involved (e.g. in the case of divorce). These could be judges, lawyers, attorneys, advocates, etc.
·  The consultations with children can be carried out in child focus groups, but can also be done in others ways, which are felt appropriate by the pilot country (e.g. individual interviews).
·  CoE Guidelines on child friendly justice are relevant in the context of consulting children (they are accessible in your national language(s): http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/childjustice/publicationsavailable_en.asp). / Children with experience in the justice system, including children with experience in juvenile justice proceedings and administrative justice proceedings. / Children’s Focus Groups and/or individual interviews with children
·  The EU Fundamental Rights Agency carries out a study on children’s participation in justice in 10 countries (BUL, CRO, EST, FIN, FR, GER, POL, SP, UK), which provides a wealth of information. This includes a report on views of professionals, to be expected in Nov 2014 and a separate report with outcomes from interviews with children.
·  The European Commission carries out a study on children’s involvement in judicial proceedings, including three sections, children in criminal, civil and administrative proceedings. The study concerns the child in different roles, such as suspect/offender, witness, victim, plaintiff or otherwise the subject of judicial proceedings. So far results from the study on children in criminal proceedings are published (November 2013) and results from the civil and administrative justice proceedings are expected soon.
·  The European Commission carries out a mapping study on child participation within the 28 EU member states, including children’s participation within legal settings. / Fundamental Rights Agency study / Data collection from FRA study
Indicator 5
Child-friendly individual complaints procedures are in place / ·  Will require multi-sectoral consultations with professionals from different fields (see list included on page 12 of Assessment Tool) and consultations with children and young people to test if the complaints mechanisms are known.
·  Optional Protocol 3 to the UNCRC on a communications procedure should be considered in addition to the Toolkit data sources.
·  As few formal complaints exist to analyse the follow-up questions should focus on: do complaints mechanisms exist at all? Do children/adults know of them, etc? / Professionals working with children / Organise a meeting with professionals including:
- Lawyers working in the area of family and civil justice and criminal justice
- Education (teachers)
- Health (medical professionals, such as paediatric doctors and nurses)
- Social workers
- Officials responsible for immigration procedures
- Government officials responsible for housing
Children / - Children’s Focus Groups
- Children’s Survey (online)
Indicator 6
Training in child participation is embedded in training programmes for professionals working with and for children / ·  Take into account that training of professionals (in-service and pre-service) is at different levels in respective countries.
·  Consult with:
1.  responsible ministries,
2.  professional bodied (including schools and other specific professional groups),
3.  ask feedback from professionals themselves via organisations representing these professionals (professional associations). / -  Line Ministries
-  Government Agencies / - Data collection and interviews with government officials
-  Line ministries
-  Professional bodies/associations
-  Professionals working with children / - Organise a meeting or consult in writing/interviews with organisations representing teachers (teachers union), medical professionals, social workers, care workers, etc.
- Consult directly with professionals, including:
- lawyers
- teachers
- police
- prison officers (in juvenile justice institutions if these exist)
- social workers
- health care professionals
- immigration officials
- care-givers and residential workers
- psychologists
- children and youth leaders
- community worker-civil servants
- other relevant professions
Indicator 7
Children are provided with information about their right to participate / ·  Schools are of key importance to address; investigate if the curriculum incorporates human rights education, democratic citizenship education, etc.
·  Consult children via on-line survey and focus groups, through a selection of schools, which could take part in the survey
·  Consult with children’s NGO networks
·  Research what child friendly material exists in different domains, such as health or legal sectors, and in different line ministries, etc. / -  Line ministries, in particular the Ministry of Education
-  Government agencies / Data collection
Children / - Children’s Focus Groups
- Children’s Survey (online)
Children’s Rights NGOs and civil society / Organise a meeting with civil society to collect information – this could be facilitated by the Children’s Ombudsperson
Indicator 8
Children and young people are represented, including through their own organisations, in consultative governance bodies at local, regional and national level / ·  Consult children via on-line survey and focus groups, through a selection of schools, which could take part in the survey.
·  Consult with children’s NGO networks. / Children / - Children’s Focus Groups
- Children’s Survey (online)
Organise a meeting with civil society to collect information – this could be facilitated by the Children’s Ombudsperson
Children’s Rights NGOs and civil society / Organise a meeting with civil society to collect information – this could be facilitated by the children’s ombudsperson
Indicator 9
Child-targeted public service feedback mechanisms are in place / ·  Consult children via on-line survey and focus groups, through a selection of schools, which could take part in the survey.
·  Consult with children’s NGO networks. / Children / - Children’s Focus Groups
- Children’s Survey (online)
Children’s Rights NGOs and civil society / Organise a meeting with civil society to collect information – this could be facilitated by the Children’s Ombudsperson
Indicator 10
Children and young people are supported to participate in the monitoring of the UNCRC and Committee of the Rights of the Child (CRC) shadow reporting, and relevant Council of Europe instruments and conventions (hereafter children’s rights instruments) / ·  Consult with government contact responsible for UN CRC reporting
·  Consult with the NGO coalition (if existing, if not consult with a single or group of NGOs) responsible for the shadow report or involved in reporting process to UN Committee on CRC.
·  Consult with children who have been involved in the UNCRC reporting process (if any). This should be done via the NGO coalition, which has involved the children in the reporting process. / - Line ministries
- Government agencies / Data collection
Children’s Rights NGO Coalition (if it exists) / Organise a meeting with representative(s) of the children’s rights NGO coalition
Children, who have been involved in UNCRC reporting process / Children’s Focus Groups
Are you missing any Indicator(s)?

[1] https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1927229

[2] http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/publications/Child_participation_AssementTool_en.pdf

[3] http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/publications/ParticipationFinland_en.asp

[4] http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/participation/PolicyReviewSlovak_en.pdf

[5] http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/participation/PolicyReviewMoldova_en.pdf