PROJECT NAME:

Protecting vulnerable children in Kosovo

SECTOR:

Rule of Law

PROJECT VALUE:

2.5 mil total of project 2,200,000.00 – EU funding 300,000.00 – UNICEF co-financing

DURATION:

Starting date: 01 January 2022 End date: 31 December 2025 (36 months/3 y)

IMPLEMENTING PARTNER:

UNICEF – indirect management/IPA 20/ Annual Action Programme for Kosovo for the year 2020

DIRECT BENEFICIARY:

- 10,040 vulnerable girls and boys, adolescents and youth in Kosovo (including children in street situations, children with disabilities, children out of school and at risk of dropping out, children in conflict and contact with the law, children from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, children trafficked, abused and neglected, children victims of violence, children without parental care). - 1,300 professionals from social welfare, justice, health, education as well as CSOs, NGO’s and private sector will directly benefit from Action interventions. - In addition, 1,000,000 general public indirectly reached through awareness rais-ing activities and campaigns on violence against children, inclusion of children with disabilities and prevention of school dropout.

COVERAGE/IMPACT:

Kosovo wide

OVERALL OBJECTIVE:

Overall Objective: to enhance the child protection system in Kosovo through strengthened institutional capacities to provide quality social services with a focus on vulnerable girls and boys.

PROJECT PURPOSES:

The main purpose project is to increase the number of vulnerable girls and boys benefitting from quality child and social protection services.

ACTIVITIES:

Activities related to Result 1- Children in street situations and out of school Activity 1.1. Conduct a Kosovo-wide study on children in street situations to inform the interventions to be undertaken by central and local level stakeholders as part of the Action. Activity 1.2. Support the functionality of drop-in centres and the deployment of mobile teams in support of children in street situations. Activity 1.3. Support programmes and the provision of services for increasing the resilience of families with and vulnerable children and children in street situations, especially from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. Activity 1.4. Provision of capacity building for the multidisciplinary Case Management Roundtable (CMRs) mechanisms at local level for providing coordinated prevention, protection and reintegration services for girls and boys in street situations, victims of violence and juveniles in contact with the law and their families Activity 1.5. Provision of capacity building for the Prevention and Response Teams Against Non-Enrollment and drop out (PRTAN) teams at municipal and school level to exercise their role in prevention, response and treatment of non-enrolment and dropouts in compulsory education, in coordination with Learning Centres and Case Management Roundtables. Activity 1.6. Support the delivery of empowerment and life skills programmes for children and adolescents out of school and in street situations. Activity 1.7. Organise awareness raising activities on the situation of children in street situations. Activities related to Result 2- Children with disabilities Activity 2.1. Support the development of the “Law on evaluation, status recognition, benefit and services for persons with disabilities” and related Administrative Instructions. Activity 2.2. Support the delivery of inclusive services for children with disabilities through strengthening of multidisciplinary evaluation teams, deployment of teacher assistants and provision of assistive devices. Activity 2.3. Support the strengthening of the new model of Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) centers for the provision of bio-psycho-social rehabilitation and reintegration services for all categories of children with disabilities. Activity 2.4. Support the inclusion of children with disabilities from vulnerable communities in Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes Activity 2.5. Provision of capacity building for the Centres for Social Work and foster care and kinship care families to foster vulnerable children of different categories in need of durable family placements. Activity 2.6. Development of standards and definitions for data collection and reporting on children with disabilities. Activity 2.7. Communication campaign for raising public awareness on the elimination of barriers on inclusion of children with disabilities. Activities related to Result 3- Violence against children Activity 3.1. Provision of technical assistance to the Prime minster Advisory Office and Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers to design, establish and implement a functional Child Helpline. Activity 3.2. Awareness raising activities on violence against children, and establishment of safety networks and peer-to-peer mediation mechanisms within schools. Activity 3.3. Strengthen the operationalization of two Child Protection Houses that will provide emergency child protection short- term services for children victims of violence. Activity 3.4. Develop and support the implementation of guidelines, modules and materials for the safe usage of internet by children, adolescents and youth who are more exposed to internet use and at risks of cyber bulling and online violence. Activities related to Result 4- Justice for Children Activity 4.1. Provide capacity building for professional and correctional center staff in the Lipjan Education and Correctional Centres to support, educate and work with juvenile girls and boys in the process of their adaptation, life skills development and sustainable social reintegration. Activity 4.2. Delivery of the capacity building programme on diversion and education measures for Justice for Children professionals, to implement the new Kosovo Justice Academy curricula programmes on continued legal education.

RESULTS:

- Result 1 - Children in street situations and out of school Vulnerable girls and boys, particularly those in street situations and out-of-school, have access to quality social and education services in an inclusive, equi-table, and gender sensitive environment and are resilient being equipped with skills for life. - Result 2 - Children with disabilities Girls and boys with disabilities have equal access to inclusive education, child and social protection integrated community services - Result 3 - Violence against children Central and local level institutions have strengthened integrated and gender sensitive child protection systems for prevention and response services to ad-dress abuse, neglect and exploitation of girls and boys. - Result 4 - Justice for Children Access to justice for girls and boys is improved through effective execution of alternative and gender sensitive diversion measures for juveniles and better resocialization and reintegration opportunities for children in contact with the law.