Planning and Preparation Inter-agency Child Protection Working Group & Save the Children Picture: Lindsay Stark Training material developed by: Hani Mansourian

Who Should Be in Charge? Whatever coordination mechanism for Child Protection is in place should also be used as the initial forum to discuss and coordinate rapid assessment activities; Ideally, a Child Protection Rapid Assessment Working Group (CPRAWG) should be formed; A lead agency, ideally with some Information Management capacity, should be identified.

Key Steps in Planning and Carrying-out a CRPA 1.Establish CPRA Working Group using existing coordination mechanisms; 2.Coordinate With Other Assessment Processes; 3.Sampling; 4.Develop an Assessment Plan; 5.Training of assessment teams; 6.Data management and analysis; 7.Agree on main parameters of the assessment report; 8.Commitment to programming for response.

Step 1: Establish a Child Protection Rapid Assessment Working Group (CPRAWG)  Within the CPRAWG, role and responsibilities of all actors should be clearly defined. This includes the responsibilities of the lead agency, if any.  If the cluster system is active within the context, try to use it when establishing the CPRAWG

Step 2: Coordinate with Other Assessment Processes to: ensure that child protection considerations are integrated into any multi-cluster/sector assessments; obtain the data and results from previous assessments to use it as secondary data; and avoid duplication and unnecessary overlap of assessment activities. explore the possibility of piggy-backing Child Protection on other planned sector-specific rapid assessments.

Step 3: Sampling Random sampling (and other probability sampling methods) allows for the production of generalizable data, but it is costly and time-consuming. Recommended sampling methodology in a rapid assessment context is “purposive” sampling. Note: if we use purposive sampling, we will not be able to generalize the findings to the entire affected population.

Step 3 (continued) : Purposive sampling is a sampling methodology whereby groups of people or communities are purposefully selected based on a set of defined criteria. Through this purposeful selection, we are striving to achieve a relatively complete picture of the situation in the all affected area.

Step 3 (continued) : Key Steps for Sampling 1.Agree on the sampling methodology; 2.Define the “unit of measurement” or “site”; 3.Develop the Sample Frame; 4.Determine sampling scenarios (stratification) as necessary; 5.Determine the list of sites that will be visited.

Step 3 (continued) : When facing limited time or resources to cover all the scenarios, consider prioritizing: Severely affected areas - prioritize sites where secondary sources of information or experience indicate the humanitarian situation is the most serious; Accessible areas - where overall needs are urgent, widespread and unmet, it’s justifiable to focus on accessible areas or affected population; Where there are the most gaps in existing knowledge - cover geographic locations or groups on which little information is available.

Sampling Exercise Form groups of 4-5; Distribute handouts #7; Each group should come up with a list of distinct scenarios that will inform the sampling; Each group will also come up with a definition (or definitions) for “unit of measurement”. Groups will present and discuss their choices.

Step 4: Develop an Assessment Plan that includes: Number and composition of assessment teams; Clearly defined roles and responsibilities; Allocation of assessment teams to selected sites; List of targeted resource persons (key informants, local authorities, etc.) Tentative interview schedule; Reporting lines, tentative plan for debriefing sessions, and frequency of interim reporting from field teams; Logistics and security arrangements; Standard Operating Procedure for Urgent Action cases; Budget and Supply list

Step 5: Training for Assessment Teams The training of the assessment team will basically be a shorter version of the current training with focus on: some background information on the emergency and the child protection context; key child protection definitions and principles; Confidentiality and ethical considerations; an orientation on the assessment tools; roles and responsibilities of team members, reporting and debriefing requirements; logistics of data collection. Note: if on-the-site translation is being used, assessors and translators should be trained on CPiE terminology through rigorous practices.

Step 6: Data Management and Analysis  One agency or person within the CPRAWG should be assigned to lead on data management and analysis;  Basic technical expertise including knowledge of excel and statistics is required;  Data management tool should be adapted upon the finalization of the tools. Picture: Janet Ousley

Step 7: Main Parameters of the Report Anecdotal evidence suggests one of the main impediments to timely distribution and use of assessment info is disagreement on the how to share the results with others. Therefore, it is important to: 1.Agree on the parameters of results sharing, including sign off process, at the outset; 2.Assign a lead agency or person for report writing; 3.Define realizable deadlines for information sharing.

Step 8: Commitment to Programming As mentioned earlier, assessments are only ethically acceptable if there is a commitment to follow up actions, if necessary. Hence it is required that participating organizations commit themselves to programming based on the findings of the assessment. This commitment starts with a commitment to raise and/or earmark the necessary funds for the response. Click here for Group Excercise Click here for Group Excercise