Consultancy: Mapping of residential care facilities in Uganda - D&A, DRP - NYHQ, Requisition# 508016

Currently, there is no standard and agreed-on methodology for mapping residential care facilities and counting the number of children living in such places. Ongoing debates and disagreement over the most appropriate approach need to be resolved for countries to have clear guidance on how to undertake efforts to enumerate children living in institutional care. The goal is to develop a standard, peer-reviewed and agreed-on methodological approach for mapping and enumerating residential care facilities (RCFs) and the children living in them that can be replicated and adapted for a variety of country contexts and to field this approach first in Uganda.

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For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Background & Rationale

Despite its importance, many countries still lack accurate statistics on the number (and characteristics) of children living in institutions. Official records in many countries capture only a small fraction of the actual number of children in residential care and children living in privately owned centres are often not counted. Therefore, there is an urgent need for countries to invest in efforts to produce useful, accurate and comprehensive listings of all existing residential care facilities as well as undertake, at regular intervals, thorough counts of the number of children living in these facilities to help strengthen official records. This will also provide concrete sources of administrative data on these children for improved and targeted service delivery and policy and programme development. Overall, it will therefore strengthen a government’s capacity to respond effectively to the specific needs of living in such facilities.

By 2011, though the exact number of children living in residential care in Uganda was not clear, there was some evidence to suggest that the phenomenon was growing. In addition, the possible reasons for placement of children in residential care and its impact were unclear. This posed a challenge in monitoring the success of efforts to support family-based care and prevent separation and promote reunification. Although HIV and AIDS was used as a justification to set up residential care under the auspice of supporting orphans, tracking the extent to which the HIV pandemic contributed to the growth in children’s residential care was also not easy. Nevertheless, the 2015 study “An Investigation of the circumstances of children living in residential care in Uganda, with a focus on those who are HIV+” indicated that while there are dedicated homes for children living with HIV, the virus in itself does not appear to be a major driver of institutionalization in general.  

A Baseline Study of Institutional Care in Uganda that was conducted by UNICEF and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in 2012 identified 43,632 children living in residential care (a rate of 216 per 100,000 children). Of these, 43,488 children were found to be living in non-public residential care facilities while the remaining 144 children were living in public care institutions. A total of 1,440 children with disabilities were found to be living in residential care institutions in the country. The study identified major gaps in the government child protection system such as a lack of family-based alternative care and support arrangements. 

Mapping and enumeration of children in residential care facilities in Uganda will provide updates to national estimates on the magnitude of the issue of institutionalization of children. Furthermore, in addition to improving data collection, collation, analysis and dissemination for improved decision-making in service provision, the findings will contribute to raising awareness on the adverse impact of institutionalization. The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development will have the evidence to spearhead national efforts to reduce the numbers of children living in institutional care and to prevent institutionalization. Availability of accurate and disaggregated data on children in care institutions will also be a basis for advocating for child care reforms, government policies and practices to strengthen child protection systems. Lastly, it also forms a basis for strengthening the capacity of MGLSD to improve the national systems for implementing the Alternative Care Framework in accordance with the developed national action plan. 

Purpose

Currently, there is no standard and agreed-on methodology for mapping residential care facilities and counting the number of children living in such places. Ongoing debates and disagreement over the most appropriate approach need to be resolved for countries to have clear guidance on how to undertake efforts to enumerate children living in institutional care. The goal is to develop a standard, peer-reviewed and agreed-on methodological approach for mapping and enumerating residential care facilities (RCFs) and the children living in them that can be replicated and adapted for a variety of country contexts and to field this approach first in Uganda. 

The completed methodological protocol will enable UNICEF Uganda to support the MGLSD to produce a nation-wide mapping of RCFs and count of children living in RCFs in Uganda. A second purpose is to collect information on the characteristics of a sample of children living in RCFs in Uganda, their living conditions and selected measures of their wellbeing. This information on the number and characteristics of children living in these facilities will form the basis of a national registry of children in institutional care. 

Expected results

The consultant will develop comprehensive materials to support the mapping process. Materials will include a literature review of current approaches used for mapping of RCFs and children living in them in the form of a concept note that serves as the foundation upon which the recommended approach will be developed; a detailed study protocol including questionnaires, interview guide, and accompanying training materials; and guidance on implementation. 

Duty Station

NYHQ (preferred) or remote 

Timeframe

Start date:  13 November 2017                      

End date:  3 March 2018 

Copyright 

UNICEF will retain all copyrights of any materials produced by the consultant under this contract. 

Remuneration 

Payments will be made upon the satisfactory and timely submission and approval of the deliverables and not actual number of days worked. The consultant will be paid on the basis of a daily rate and will be responsible to cover all living expenses. No extra allowances will be provided to cover cost of living or relocation to New York. 

Key competences, technical background, and experience required 

1. An advanced university degree (preferably at the PhD level) in demography, statistics, public health or other social science field is required
2. A minimum of 8 years of progressively responsible and relevant professional work experience in designing data collection tools or leading research projects is required
3. Prior experience designing large scale studies on marginalized children, particularly on children in institutions
4. Previous experience developing manuals, guidelines or standards for research, data collection or data analysis on children in institutions is an asset
5. Proven experience in report writing is required
6. Excellent command of English is required
7. Analytical, methodical and precise style of writing
8. Demonstrated communication skills, both written and oral
9. Ability to work in an international environment and under tight deadlines
10. Previous experience working with UNICEF, other UN agencies is highly desirable

To view our competency framework, please click here. 

Please indicate your ability, availability and daily/monthly rate (in US$) to undertake the terms of reference above (including travel and daily subsistence allowance, if applicable).  Applications submitted without a daily/monthly rate will not be considered.

Remarks

With the exception of the US Citizens, G4 Visa and Green Card holders, should the selected candidate and his/her household members reside in the United States under a different visa, the consultant and his/her household members are required to change their visa status to G4, and the consultant’s household members (spouse) will require an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) to be able to work, even if he/she was authorized to work under the visa held prior to switching to G4.   

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.