Local Consultant to Review Draft Guidelines on Care and Protection of Children of Incarcerated Parents (CoIPs)

Result of Service• Inception report finalized and delivered, including the proposed workplan, methodology, and timelines for execution of the assignment. • Final approved data collection tools delivered. • Final validated and endorsed status analysis report on the CoIPs submitted. • Draft evidence-informed and rights-based national guidelines developed and delivered, outlining preventive and responsive mechanisms for the care and protection of CoIPs. • Pilot testing completed and review report on the developed guidelines finalized and delivered. • Final approved Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework delivered. • Final evidence-informed and rights-based national guidelines validated, approved, and delivered for the care and protection of CoIPs. • Final comprehensive, output-oriented consultancy report submitted not later than three working days before the end of the consultancy. Work LocationHome based, with travels to and within Kenya Expected duration50 Working Days; 06 October 2025 - 28 February 2026 Duties and Responsibilities1. Background of the assignment: The Government of Kenya has taken tremendous steps in strengthening the legal and policy framework on child protection and care. However, the rights of Children of Incarcerated Parents (CoIPs) remain largely unacknowledged within criminal justice systems and the community. Children fall through the cracks created by inadequate social welfare provision, lack of clarity in law and policy as to how to respond to their situation, and inadequate protection and care guidelines for CoIPs. The Directorate of Children’s Services (DCS) carried out a Baseline Survey in 2018 on children of incarcerated parents in women’s prisons in the country in a bid to find out their situation and the mechanisms for their care and protection. The study found out that these children face myriad of challenges that affect their social, physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual development. The baseline survey recommended the development of Policy and Guidelines to provide preventive and responsive mechanisms for the care and protection of these children. The International, Regional, and National legal instruments such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) and the Children Act, 2022 provide minimal protection for children of incarcerated parents. Although Kenya has ratified these legal instruments for child protection, they are not sufficient in addressing the plight of CoIPs. The Children’s Act 2022 section 144 declares a child whose parent(s) have been imprisoned to be a child in need of care and protection. These children include those accompanying their mothers to prison, those who remain at home and those committed to charitable children’s institutions after their parents have been incarcerated. There are no mechanisms in place for a follow up of CoIPs living with relatives or in charitable institutions and this may open an avenue for the rights of such children to be violated. With this in mind, there is a growing need for comprehensive support services and interventions for children of incarcerated parents in Kenya to mitigate the negative impacts of parental incarceration and promote their well-being. The development of guidelines to provide preventive and responsive mechanisms for the care and protection of CoIPs is key to holistic strengthening of child protection and care mechanism because of the following identified issues. • There are many women convicted of crime and imprisoned and who are accompanied by their children below four years while some who are imprisoned while pregnant give birth in prison. • Many children of imprisoned parents have been left at the mercy of neighbours and relatives and there are no mechanisms to identify these children who are vulnerable to abuse. • Prisons are designed for adults and almost all prisons lack child friendly infrastructure to cater for the children needs if they have to stay with their mothers in prison. • Currently there is no link between the State Department for Children Services (SDCS), Kenya Prison Service (KPS), Probation and Aftercare Service (PACS) and the Kenyan Courts to help establish a mechanism of protecting CoIPs. • There is no follow up or supervision of children placed with their relatives upon attaining the age of four years and subsequent release. • There is no harmonized way of offering services to CoIPs by all stakeholders. Therefore, the SDCS will collaborate with UNODC to strengthen the protection and care mechanisms for CoIPs. Ultimately, this initiative will promote a coordinated, child-centred approach in protecting and caring for CoIPs among the child justice actors. This initiative will also provide crucial data to the status of CoIPs in the selected counties. 2. Purpose of the assignment: The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical expertise in reviewing and finalizing draft national guidelines that establish preventive and responsive mechanisms for the care and protection of Children of Incarcerated Parents (CoIPs), ensuring they are evidence-informed and rights-based. While the consultant contributes specialized input, the State Department for Children’s Services (SDCS) will lead decision-making, coordination, and engagement of government agencies, stakeholders, and children through the Technical Working Group. Supported by UNODC as part of broader national care reforms to strengthen child protection and justice systems in Kenya, the initiative specifically aims to identify CoIPs and assess their challenges, legal and policy gaps, and available protection programmes; finalize the draft guidelines; and develop a monitoring and evaluation framework to measure implementation and impact, including tracking the number of children benefitting, disaggregated by sex and county. 3. Specific tasks to be performed by the consultant: Under the overall supervision of the Regional Representative in the UNODC Regional Office for Eastern Africa (ROEA) and the direct supervision of the UNODC ROEA Head of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, and in close cooperation and consultation with SDCS and other child justice actors, the consultant will perform the following substantive duties and responsibilities: a) Development of an inception report – Prepare, present, and finalize an inception report outlining understanding, methodology, timelines, and incorporating stakeholder input. b) Development of the data collection tools – Design, present, and finalize context-appropriate data collection tools in consultation with stakeholders and submit for approval. c) Assessment of the status of the CoIPs – Conduct literature review, fieldwork, stakeholder mapping, and analysis to produce a comprehensive status report with recommendations on CoIPs. d) Review and finalization of the draft guidelines – Review and refine draft national guidelines for the protection and care of CoIPs, ensuring they are evidence-based, rights-focused, and validated with stakeholders. e) Pilot testing and finalization of the developed guidelines – Pilot the guidelines in selected counties, monitor outcomes, and facilitate validation workshops for finalization. f) Monitoring and evaluation framework – Develop and present an M&E framework with indicators to track implementation and impact of the guidelines. g) Launch of the final guidelines – Produce and present finalized endorsed guidelines with visualized presentation materials during the launch. h) Reporting and other requirements – Submit a comprehensive final consultancy report before the assignment’s completion. Qualifications/special skillsAn advanced university (Master or equivalent) degree inlaw, criminal justice, youth justice, applied criminology, sociology or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree. • Minimum 05 years of work experience in either of social protection or child justice system in Kenya, ideally with prison-impacted families and children in conflict with the law is required. • At least 05 years of relevant demonstrated experience in development of analytical reports and policy documents related to criminal justice, child justice and social protection is required. • Extensive experience in developing policies and legislation, and manuals, procedural documents or guidelines aligned to policies, legal frameworks and international standards and norm is desirable. • Proven track record in similar guideline development including practical fieldwork, facilitation, drafting and piloting is desirable. • Sound understanding of child rights instruments, alternatives to imprisonment, and community-based approaches to child justice in Kenya is desirable. • Proven experience in providing technical advice to multidisciplinary teams in Government or national stakeholders and international organizations in the area of child justice, social protection and policy is desirable. LanguagesEnglish and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another United Nations Secretariat language is an advantage. Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.