UNICEF UKRAINE

TERMS OF REFERENCE

International Consultantfor the Finalization of the Juvenile Justice Theory of ChangeDocument and the Development of a Baseline Survey for the ToC

Date: 09 December 2014

Country Office: Ukraine

Duration: December 2014 – March2015

1.Background and Context

The Convention on the Rights of the Child states: “children in conflict with the law should be treated in a manner which takes into account the child’s age and the desirability of promoting the child’s reintegration and the child’s assuming a constructive role in the society”. To achieve these overarching objectives, specialized Juvenile Justice (JJ) systems should be put in place, in which detention can be used only as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, and in which support should be provided to help the child not to re-offend.UNICEF strives to protect and realize the rights of children in contact with the law in accordance with the UNICEF Strategic Plan (2014-2017)Priority 6 on Child Protectionand UNICEF Ukraine County Office Action Plan (CPAP) for 2012-2016 which includes Programme Component I ‘Child Rights Based Systems, Policies and Budgets’ with the expected programme outcome ofdecreased social exclusion and disparities affecting children, by the end of 2016.

Children’s rights to be treated with dignity throughout the justice system, and to receive support not to reoffend, are not fully realized in Ukraine. There is no separate juvenile justice system and few specialized professionals capable of providing children the special protection to which they are entitled. With over 1000 children in detention facilities, Ukraine’s rates of child imprisonment are high for the region. The numbers of children sentenced for committing repeat offences are also significant (31.7% of convicted children in 2013 committed a crime before). These figures indicate shortcomings in prevention and reintegration services. The Government of Ukraine has made steps to reform the justice system, shifting focus to prevention of child criminality and enhancing adherence to international standards on the rights of children. Despite this progress, children’s rights are violated at several points throughout the justice system. Ukraine’s current crisis situation underscores the weaknesses in its child protection mechanisms. Throughout the months of unrest, there have been systematic failures to monitor the situation of children, to coordinate amongst responsible agencies to provide support, and to protect the rights of children in interactions with the justice system.

Being in conflict with the law, children face numerous barriers to adequate and timely social assistance, which include:

  1. Lack of available community-based services to address risk behaviors;
  2. Absence of a standard package of services for this category of children as well as lack of a single standard of social service provision to them;
  3. Inadequate quality assurance and capacity building mechanisms to ensure professional competence of specialists involved in service provision (social services, law enforcement agencies, penitentiary system facilities, and the like);
  4. Stigma and discrimination from specialists, policy makers as well as the community;
  5. Limited cooperation and absence of coordination between the structures and institutions involved in the work with children in conflict with the law (Criminal Police for Juvenile Affairs, Centres of social services for family, Children and youth, services for children, Criminal Executive Inspection, etc.)

As such, UNICEF Ukraine considers children in conflict with the law to be one of the most vulnerable populations of children in Ukraine and recognizes that reducing the number of children in detention is one approach to protecting and realizing the rights of such children.UNICEF believes that provision of community-based social services to children in conflict with the law can lead to the reduction of recidivism rates, which can in turn lead to the reduction of the number of children in detention.To this end, UNICEF aims to develop community-based services for children in conflict with the law that will assist in their social reintegration and prevent future recidivism. At the heart of effective intervention for children in conflict with the law is supportive supervision, together with effective case management methods.

UNICEF believes that one key strategy in reducing the number of children in detention is to provide effective rehabilitation programmes for them and assist their social reintegration. Social services are crucial in terms of prevention of conflict with the law, provision of alternatives and diversion, and supporting the child’s reintegration throughout the process. Support to local implementation of alternatives is necessary to sustain progress in justice for children. Non-residential measures and services as diversion or sentencing options must be developed in order to be available for the judiciary, both as an alternative to institutionalization for children, and as constructive and individualized penal sanctions for juvenile offenders. Preventing recidivism requires effective interventions based on an understanding of the factors that place children at risk of offending and make it difficult for them to successfully reintegrate into society (e.g. early victimization, learning disabilities, substance abuse, unsupportive families, mental and physical illness, and so on).

  1. Objective of the Assignment

The objectives of the assignments are as follows:

a)Support the finalization of the juvenile justice TOC;

b)Develop baseline indicators within a monitoring and evaluation framework that is most relevant to the Theory of Change and which enables the evaluation of the programme in 2016, based onthe Theory of Change[1];

c)Conduct information gap analysis;

d)Work closely with the national consultant who will conduct field work to collect primary data on the developed baseline assessment related to the area of juvenile justice in Ukraine;and

e)Prepare a report on baseline indicators and data collected.

Before conducting the baseline study, the Juvenile justice ToC document needs to be revised based on the joint discussion with UNICEF, government and civil society counterparts on determinants and bottlenecks to reforms in juvenile justice.

The baseline study is necessary, as there is no coherent or complete data available in the area of juvenile justice in Ukraine, which can effectively monitor the progress or measure the impact of UNICEF contribution in the area. The information is extremely important for UNICEF as well as all stakeholders including government and civil society partners formonitoring and evaluation purposes, as currently, different authorities in the area of juvenile justice have incoherent data, and have different methodology of collecting them.The identified gaps in data will enable UNICFE to advocate with the government partners for the establishment of a unified data collection system and methodology of data collection n the area of justice for children. This baseline survey will also be used as a reference for the endof the country programme evaluation in 2016.

The above objectives should be carried out with a particular attention to disaggregated data (age, sex, geography etc.) and their specific conditions and needs.

  1. Scope

The scope of the baseline survey should encompass elements and indicators that would substantiate the evaluation of the juvenile justice Theory of Change to be conducted in 2016.The main aim of the stocktaking exercise in 2016 will be to analyse whether outputs and programme activities lead to expected outcomes, consequently substantiating the theories of change that underlie programme results and specific interventions. In other words, the evaluation in 2016 will assess whether the hypothesis, assumptions, linkages and expected outcomes articulated in the respective TOC lead toreducing bottlenecks/barriers and lead to expected change or not.

The Baseline Survey, therefore, needs to provide the foundation (information/data) for measuring change, progress, and results achieved until 2016, based on UNICEF contribution/core roles, and to prove whether the Theory of Change was valid or not.

UNICEF CEE/CIS criteria for successful modelling (10 sine qua non) should be considered where appropriate and enabling factors as well as critical bottlenecks will be effectively identified/updated in view of scaling up.

Geographic Coverage

The pilot programme is implemented at the city level, but data will be collected at the three different levels: city, oblast and national. Due to the current political situation, data collection in Mariupol city of the Donetsk region (the project site) can’t be conducted, therefore data can be sued from the cities with similar project implementation by partners (Melitopol, Ivani-Frankivsk, etc) and to be discussed upon signing of a contract.

Limitations to the baseline survey

  • Incoherence between the data provided by different ministries/agencies responsible for provision of services in the justice sector.
  • Rates of recidivism, are difficult to establish. Estimates of recidivism rates are influenced by how and when reoffending is measured. In addition, recidivismmay be measured at different points of a known offender’s contacts with the criminal justice system.The use of reconviction rates (as a proxy for reoffending) is full of shortcomings: it is an undercount of actual offending, as well as an all-or-nothing measure; it does not account for changes in the nature, severity or frequency of the offences committed. Even if recidivism is an unavoidable performance indicator for reintegration programmes, it needs to be supplemented by other more discerning indicators[2].
  • The current political crisis might lead to some constraints on the data collection/field work in the Donetsk region.

Indicators

The Consultant, in consultation with UNICEF staff, will formulate and consolidate the list of indicators for the baseline survey. At the same time, the following indicators seem essential in measuring change in the recidivism rate and the effectiveness of the Theory of Change. For the impact indicators, it may require a longer period such as 3-5 years or more to obtain a substantial change in numbers.

  • Number of children in detention (pre-/ post-trial)
  • Rate of children in detention (pre-/ post-trial)
  • Number of children in detention (colonies) with prior convictions
  • Number of children in pre-trial detention with prior convictions
  • Number of children convicted of a crime with prior conviction
  • Number of children who were convicted of a crime with prior registry with the criminal executive inspection
  • Number of children registered with criminal police for minors
  • Number of children registered with criminal executive inspection
  • Types of crimes committed (disaggregated by gender)
  • Number of children receiving alternative to incarceration services
  • Number of children attending day centres
  • Children registered with the criminal executive inspection
  • Number of children receiving social services from the centres for families youth and children
  • Trends in children registered with the criminal police for minors
  • Other – based on the discussions with UNICEF and counterparts
  1. Methodology

While the overall approach is that the survey should be the result of a collective contribution by relevant stakeholders, pilot staff, decision makers, and beneficiaries, the Consultant shall develop the methodology based on the background literature provided to the Consultant by the UNICEF and key parties. The methodology should encompass a variety of activities such as:

  1. A desk review of all available government routine information system;
  2. Identification/development of indicators;
  3. Field work;
  4. Data analysis; and
  5. Reporting.

Data Collection

All filed data collection work will be conducted by the national consultant. A mix of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods is proposed for study.

a) Quantitative Methods

The quantitative part of the survey will be conducted through using the following method:

  • Review of official data; and
  • Survey of key stakeholders.

b) Qualitative Methods

Qualitative methods will be employed to provide insight related to the interpretation the quantitative data. Qualitative techniques to be used:

  • Key informant interviews;
  • Focus groups discussion; and
  • Observational techniques (during interviews).
  1. Tasks and Deliverables (to be determined in consultation with the UNICEF Ukraine Child Protection Officer)

Work Assignments (Tasks) / Deliverables / # of Days
  1. Support the finalization of the juvenile justice TOC including the development of outcome indicators, i.e.: review/comment on current TOC draft, propose changes to improve the current TOC and suggest possible indicators once the TOC has been revise
/ Revised ToC document / 4 days
  1. Guide the development of the methodology, framework, tools and a study protocol for the baseline study
/ Methodology and tools are developed / 4 days
  1. Guide desk review, collection of secondary data and relevant legal frameworks/policies. Analyse data and gaps in cooperation with the national consultant, the UNICEF programme officers and partners
/ Analytical report / 4 days
  1. Analyse data and information collected. Support field work of national consultant and ensure data quality in cooperation with the UNICEF programme officers
/ Analysis report / 5 days
  1. Prepare a draft version of the baseline study
/ 1st draft of the baseline study / 5 days
  1. Review and validate the contents with UNICEF programme officers and UNICEF partners through a participatory approach (method to be decided upon in consultation with Programme Officer); and
/ Documentation of comments and review / 2 days
  1. Produce final version of the baseline study.
/ Final baseline report / 3 days
Total # of days: / Up to 27 days

The Consultant will submit to UNICEF the baseline study with baseline data and findings to UNICEF in electronic form for feedback and evaluation. The Consultant will be available for follow-up clarification and revisions of the report until its finalization.

  1. Structure of the Report

The final pilot report produced and presented to UNICEF should be presented in the following format:

  • Executive Summary[3]
  • Methodology and limitations
  • Baseline indicators
  • Conclusions
  • Recommendations (plan of follow up actions)
  1. Performance indicators for evaluation of results:

The evaluation of the results will be based on:

  1. Technical and professional competence (quality of the product delivered to UNICEF as indicated in Section 5 above);
  2. Scope of work (no. of meetings with the stakeholders, interviews, focus discussions);
  3. Quality of work (timely submission of the draft and final report to UNICEF);
  4. Quantity of work (completion of all assignments indicated in Section 5 above);

In addition, such indicators as work relations, responsibility, and communication will be taken into account during the evaluation of the Consultant’s work.

  1. Qualifications/specialised knowledge/experience required to complete the task

•Master’s Degree in Social Sciences (Sociology, Anthropology, Development Studies, Law) or related fields relevant for the assignment;

•Deep understanding of juvenile justice issues in CEE/CIS region and/or Ukraine;

•At least 5 years of social research and other relevant professional experience;

•Demonstrated experience with Human Rights Based Approach to Programming (HRBAP) and the principles of gender mainstreaming and promotion of gender equality;

•Knowledge and understanding of the Convention of the Rights of the Child;

•Proven knowledge and skills on quantitative and qualitative analysis;

•Institutional knowledge of the UN and UNICEF;

•Proven experience in writing analytical papers on children and gender issues;

•Excellent facilitation and coordination skills and excellent research skills; and

•Fluency in English, Russian and Ukrainian.

  1. Ethical Issues

All interviewees, including children, should be provided the UNICEF Principle Guidelines for the Ethical Reporting on Children and Young People under 18 years old and should be informed about the objectives of the analysis and how findings will be used; they also should be informed that collected data and any statement about the programme will be kept confidential and respondents will not be named or identified in the reports with regard to their statements.

All interviewees should agree without coercion to take part in the excercise and be given the option to withdraw or not to participate at any time during the process. All gathered data should be confidential and names of individuals deleted from the data and replaced by codes in the analysis notes.

Ownership of all data/information/findings gathered, databases and analysis prepared for the exercise lies with UNICEF. The use of the data/information/findings for publication or any other presentation or sharing can only be made after agreement with UNICEF.

  1. Definition of supervision arrangements

Consultants will be supervised by the Child Protection Officer (Juvenile Justice) UNICEF Ukraineand work in close coordination with the UNICEF Ukraine Monitoring and Evaluations Specialist and Child Protection Specialist.

  1. Description of official travel involved

The local travel will be included in the contract. No travel shall be undertaken priorto completing the UN Basic and Advanced Security in the Field Courses.

  1. UNICEF recourse in the case of unsatisfactory performance

In the event of unsatisfactory performance, UNICEF will terminate the Agreement. In case of partially satisfactory performance, such as serious delays causing the negative impact in meeting the programme objectives, low quality or insufficient depth and/or scope of the assessment completion, UNICEF will decrease the payment by the range from 30 to 50%.

  1. Support provided by UNICEF

Day-to-day support for the assignment will be provided by the Child Protection Officer (Juvenile Justice)and will include relevant information sharing via e-mail, briefing and de-briefing sessions, and facilitation of the researcher’s meetings with UNICEF counterparts when necessary.

The deadline for submission of applications is 10January 2015

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Applicants that fulfil the above requirements are requested to complete the United Nations Personal History Form (P. 11) available at and submit it together with a CV and a cover letter describing your professional interests in working for UNICEF.

Applications should be sent to:

UNICEF Office, 5, Klovskiy Uzviz, Kyiv, Ukraine

Fax No. 380-44-230-2506

E-mail: (Please indicate “Juvenile Justice ToC and Baseline Survey in Ukraine”in the subject of your application)

UNICEF does not charge any fees or request money from candidates at any stage of the selection process, nor does it concern itself with bank account details of applicants. Requests of this nature allegedly made on behalf of UNICEF are fraudulent and should be disregarded.