Consultancy: Technical Support on People with Lived Experience Strategy of Care Systems and Care Reform Activities

Changing The Way We Care^SM (CTWWC) is an initiative designed to promote safe, nurturing family care for children: those reunifying from institutions or those at risk of child-family separation. This includes strengthening families and reforming national systems of care for children, including family reunification and reintegration, development of alternative family-based care (in keeping with the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children). CTWWC is a consortium including Catholic Relief Services and Maestral International, and key partners like Lumos, Better Care Network, and others, joined, through a Global Development Alliance (GDA), by three donors (McArthur Foundation, USAID, and GHR Foundation). CTWWC launched in a context of growing interest in care reform and as a result of a growing global understanding that institutional care of children is a significant problem that will be best addressed through collaboration between national, regional, and global stakeholders to develop alternative care systems supportive of family care. Grounded in the work of demonstration countries, as well as regional and global engagement, CTWWC is seizing the momentum to help advance care for children toward and over a tipping point where government and non-government care systems, civil society initiatives, and public attitudes and behaviors focus on keeping children in safe and nurturing families. The initiative has three primary strategic objectives (SOs) and two cross-cutting objectives:

Strategic Objective 1: Governments in demonstration countries advocate for family-based care and the transition/closure of orphanages, and lead, organize, manage and fund related policies and programs in alignment with United Nations-endorsed Guidelines on the Alternative Care for Children.

Strategic Objective 2: In demonstration areas, children/youth remain in or are reintegrated into safe and nurturing family care.

Strategic Objective 3: Globally, key stakeholder groups make a meaningful commitment towards shifting their practices, policies and redirecting resources towards family-based care, and reducing reliance on orphanages.

Cross-cutting Objective 1: People with lived experience of care play an active role in transforming care nationally, regionally, and globally.

Cross-cutting Objective 2: Learning promotes adaptive management within CTWWC and supports the transformation of care nationally, regionally, and globally.

Assignment Objective

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical support to CTWWC Kenya on the People with Lived Experience Strategy of Care Systems and Care Reform and its activities in Kenya. By developing this strategy, CTWWC has made a commitment to doing best practice, high-quality work in the area of participation of children and youth, care leavers, and caregivers in all aspects of the initiative. The scope for the consultant includes:

• Providing need-based training and capacity building to the CTWWC Kenya team around meaningful participation and supporting growing understanding of the participation of people with lived experience in CTWWC Kenya’s work and care reform in Kenya more broadly beyond tokenistic engagement in advocacy and storytelling;
• Work closely with CTWWC KN disability inclusion officer to promote the CTWWC People with Lived Experience Strategy in Kenya and assist the Kenya team in putting the strategy into practice and action;
• Developing materials and documentation to support the role out of the strategy in Kenya and the learning agenda around participation; and
• Identifying and supporting opportunities to bring people with lived experience into the Kenya CTWWC work and the work of CTWWC more broadly.
• Undertake agreed upon representational role to promote meaningful participation of lived experience.
• Participation in CTWWC KN critical technical and reflection meetings as need be.

Key deliverables

Between July 1 and September 31, 2021, the consultant is expected to:

1. Produce a short report on the context of participation within Kenya, including existing groups or organizations led by people with lived experience, promising practices of participation, opportunities for increased participation within CTWWC and within care reform (external) in Kenya, and cultural considerations in regards to participation.
2. Develop a participation activity plan for CTWWC Kenya for FY22, aligned with the CTWWC People with Lived Experience Participation Strategy, the overall FY22 planning process, and feeding into the broader care reform work in Kenya. Including:

• What resources are needed and available within the team for ongoing participation work – and what activities will be undertaken to ensure resources are in place;
• The role of KESCA and other care leaver associations in CTWWC, as well as how these groups feed into the work of CTWWC regionally and globally;
• Broadening the definition of people with lived experience to include children and youth in care and families, and caregivers (i.e. not only care leavers); and
• The role of other lived experiences groups like the Association for Adoptive Parent Kenya, other networks of alternative family careers, among others.
• Work closely with the CTWWC KN disability inclusion officer to bring in participation across all objectives of CTWWC Kenya, including but not exclusively participation in advocacy and influence.
• Support the Kenya team to establish an advisory group of people with lived experience who can feed into the activity planning and its activities (membership, terms of reference, meeting protocols, etc.) and provide facilitation/training to start the group;
• Deliver training and support to the Kenya team on participation and the CTWWC participation strategy, based on a need’s analysis of capacity gaps, including providing a short report on capacity building recommendations for the future; and
• Deliver a presentation to the CTWWC Kenya team and the senior management team on the outcomes of this assignment.

Please submit CVs and established consultant rate to email Crskenya-procurement@crs.org by August 5th, 2021. The minimum qualifications and skills required include:

• Evidence of a strong understanding, experience, and commitment to meaningful participation.
• Lived experience of alternative care is strongly preferred.
• Experience in working with non-governmental organizations, preferably in the field of child rights, child protection, and/or alternative care.
• Self-motivated with an ability to work independently and effectively as part of a team.
• Ability to organize and facilitate training, participatory meetings, etc.
• Strong communication, organization, and English writing skills.
• Immediate availability.

Application Process