Study On Alternative Care Provision In Lebanon, Draft Terms Of Reference For Legal Expert

Background: Ensuring implementation of, and compliance with, the UN Guidelines on Alternative Care is a priority for UNICEF in Lebanon. Successive Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child have highlighted the high number of children placed in institutions in the country, and a lack of information and statistics at most institutions regarding the children in their care, the children’s progress and the nature of services provided. Residential care is the only and most used form of alternative care available in Lebanon, and is exclusively for Lebanese children with minor exceptions for non-nationals. There are no formal family-based care options available or services tailored to individual children’s needs and little information about processes, legal framework and standards applied. While there is a functional informal system, it relies heavily on placement with extended family which is not always in the best interest of the child. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) also notes the irregularities in Lebanese adoption systems and kafalah, where procedures carried out in religious and civil courts may not be carried out in due conformity with the CRC and the best interests of the child. The CRC concludes that laws relating to family-type alternative care of children must be fully implemented in accordance with international guidelines and standards and complemented by measures that address the root causes of the separation of children from their parents.   Addressing these challenges is a priority for UNICEF in Lebanon. Child Frontiers, an international consultancy company focused on child protection and wellbeing, has been hired to undertake research aimed at providing a comprehensive picture of the alternative care landscape in  Lebanon and to assess the compliance of the existing system with international norms and proven best practices. Study findings will also be used to support the Government to develop a new approach, one that is underpinned by policy reform that is sustainable and context-appropriate.   Child Frontiers seeks a national researcher with expertise in the legal system as it relates to alternative to assist in this study.   Location:        Based in Beirut with travel to parts of Lebanon   Duration:        5 months (approximately 22 working days over this period)   Start date:      April 2017   Research questions: This assignment will involve an exploration of the following research questions: Laws and policies What do national legislation and policy frameworks say regarding alternative care? (alternative care is defined as the overnight care of any child outside of parental care - it includes care by extended family and wider kinship network, residential care and foster care) What does personal status law say about alternative care?  (in relation to personal status law, this will be explored through the four largest confessional communities: Shia, Sunni, Maronite and Druze) How is alternative care defined in national/ personal status law?   Alternative care placement through national laws: Under what circumstances are child protection cases referred to the national courts/ through law 422?  When are cases dealt with through the national courts and when are they dealt through religious courts/ families and communities? Who refers cases to the national courts?  When/ under what circumstances are children placed into alternative care through law 422/ the national courts? How are decisions made about alternative care placement in the national courts?  What criteria is used to make decisions about whether or not a child should be placed in alternative care?  What criteria is used to determine which forms of alternative care a child should be placed in?  If a child is being placed in residential care, how are decisions made about which facility the child should be placed into? What (if any) assessments are made to help with decision making? By whom?  When a child is placed into alternative care through law 422, how often are cases reviewed to determine if the child still needs to be in alternative care?  What criteria is used to determine how often a case needs to be reviewed?  Who decides how often a case needs to be reviewed?  What assessments are made to determine if a child still needs to be in alternative care?  Who makes these assessments?  What challenges exist in the appropriate application of law 422 as it relates to alterantive care placements?  What further support is needed to enable the appropriate application of law 422 as it relates to alternative care placements?  Is there potential to extend the application of law 422 in the protection and care of children?  (e.g. to be used more widely with children not yet at crisis point) Does the application of law 422 vary for different population groups in Lebanon (e.g. girls/ boys younger and older children, refugee and resident, different religious communities)?  E.g. Is law 422 used more frequently with some groups than others?  Are some groups more likely to be placed into alternative care than others?  Are different actors involved in the referral and decision making process?  Is different criteria used?    Alternative care placement through religious courts (This will be explored through the four largest confessional communities: Shia, Sunni, Maronite and Druze) What role (if any) do the religious courts play in the placement of children into alternative care?  How are decisions made about alternative care placement in the national courts?  What criteria is used to make decisions about whether or not a child should be placed in alternative care?  What criteria is used to determine which forms of alternative care a child should be placed in?  What (if any) assessments are made to help with decision making? By whom? When a child is placed into alternative care through the religious courts, how often are cases reviewed to determine if the child still needs to be in alternative care?  What criteria is used to determine how often a case needs to be reviewed?  Who decides how often a case needs to be reviewed?  What assessments are made to determine if a child still needs to be in alternative care?  Who makes these assessments?  What challenges exist in the placement of children into alternative care through the  religious courts?    Residential care How is residential care viewed in national level policies? Are any statements about residential care made in personal status law?  How, if at all, is residential care regulated through national level policies?   Adoption What legislation exists on adoption in national and personal status law (christian)?  What are the legal processes involved in adoption?  How are decisions made about whether or not a child is ready for adoption?  by whom?  Are assessments made? by whom?  What criteria is used to determined if a child is ready for adoption? How are decisions made about who should adopt a child?  By whom? Using what criteria?  Are assessments made? by whom?  How are children matched with prospective adoption parents?  By whom?  Using what criteria? What, if any, legal barriers exist to the more widespread use of adoption in Lebanon?  (considering the adoption of abandoned babies but also other groups including older children) How might these be overcome? What are attitudes towards adoption within the legal system?  Is it widely or rarely considered as a placement option? Why?    Foster care Could formal foster care be introduced within the existing legal system?  Are there any legal barriers to the use of formal foster care? (foster care is defined as: Children being placed by a competent authority for the purpose of alternative care in the domestic environment of a family other than the child’s own that has been selected, qualified and approved for providing such care.)  What are attitudes towards foster care in the legal system?  If foster care were to be introduced, who would/ should have legal responsibility for the child? How could the issue of legal responsibility be addressed?   Kafalah and similar What (if anything) do national/ personal status laws say about the use of kafalah in alternative care (as a form of sponsorship for children in residential care or as a form of alternative care)?  Are there any other forms of placement into alternative care/ support for alternative care sanctioned/ encouraged by Islamic law?    (The research questions will be further refined following discusisons with the legal expert)   Key tasks: Refine the research questions and design a question checklist to be used in interviews with key stakeholders (1 day by mid-May 2017) Carry out desk-based research on legal and policy frameworks on alterantive care.(4 days by mid-May 2017) Oganise and interview approximately 22 judges, lawyers and other stakeholders associated with the national and religious courts (for the religious courts the research will focus on the Shia, Sunni, Maronite and Druze courts) (11 days June to end July 2017) Transcribe all interviews (into English or Arabic) (4 days by end August 2017) Input into a workshop with key stakeholders to discuss research findings (1 day September 2017) Input into final report and the development of recommendations (1 day by end of October 2017)   Experience and Skills: A sound understanding of key concepts and policy debates on alterantive care.  Experience working on child welfare/ alterantive care within the national level legal system in Lebanon. Knowledge of national laws as they relate to alterantive care in Lebanon.  Some knowledge of the religious courts as they relate to child welfare/ alterantive care Proven ability to conduct qualitative interviews Fluency in Arabic, French and English and willingness to translate when required Demonstrated ability to take the initiative, be proactive, flexible and reliable Demonstrated excellence in verbal and written communication Ability to use word processing software.   Outputs Comments on research questions that relate to an analysis of the legal context (by May 5th) A question checklist for interviews with key stakeholders (by May 12th) A short report on key legal and policy frameworks on alternative care (by May 12th) Transcripts from interviews with approximately 22 judges, lawyers and stakeholders (by August 31st)  Inputs into presentation on the legal situation as it relates to a alternative care (by September 15th) Comments on final report (by October 31st)     How to apply   Interested candidates shall send their CV and Cover Note expressing suitability for the role and interest on the following address info@childfrontiers.com. Please mention the job vacancy in the subject of the email.   Deadline for application: Friday 7th of April, 2017