REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

The Government of Saint Lucia (GOSL) has received financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in an amount equivalent to US$4,762,000.00 million towards the cost of Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing to eligible payments under a contract for which this invitation is issued. Payments by CDB will be made only at the request of GOSL and upon approval by CDB, and will be subject in all respects to the terms and conditions of the Financing Agreement. The Financing Agreement prohibits withdrawal from the financing account for the purpose of any payment to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, if such payment or import, to knowledge of CDB, is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. No party other than GOSL shall derive any rights from the Financing Agreement or have any claim to the proceeds of the Financing.

The Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment, the Executing Agency, now wishes to procure consultancy services for Guidance Counsellor (General Counselling/ Life Skills/ Trauma) – Youth Empowerment Project.

The objective of the consultancy is to provide General Guidance Counselling, life skills and trauma programmatic support for the implementation of the Integrated Court Diversion Programme. The duration of this consultancy is expected to be for thirty-six (36) months.

The Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment, the Executing Agency, now invites eligible individual consultants to indicate their interest in providing consultancy services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services.

Eligible consultants should be able to participate if:

(c) the persons are citizens or bona fide resident or residents of an eligible country; and

(d) in all cases, the consultant has no arrangement and undertakes not to make any arrangements, whereby any substantial part of the net profits or other tangible benefits of the contract will accrue or be paid to a person not a citizen or bona fide resident of an eligible country.

Eligible countries are member countries of CDB.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraph 1.9 of CDB’s Guidelines for the Selection and Engagement of Consultants (2011), setting forth CDB’s policy on conflict of interest.

In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to technical competence, qualifications andexperience on similar assignments. All information must be submitted in English. Further information Terms of Reference may be obtained from the first address below between 0830 and 1600 hours to Friday.

Five (5) hard copies of the Expressions of Interest must be received at the first address below no later than 1600 hours on July 22, 2019 and one(1)electronic copy must be sent simultaneously to CDB at the second address below. The sealed envelope containing each submission should include the name and address of the applicant and shall be clearly marked “Expression of Interest – Consultancy Services for General Guidance Counsellor (General Counselling/ Life Skills/ Trauma) – Youth Empowerment Project”

Following the assessment of submissions, the most technically capable and appropriately experienced applicant will be invited to negotiate a contract to provide the consultancy services. GOSL reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. It will not be bound to assign any reason for not selecting any applicant and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest.

Guidance Counsellor (General Counselling/Life Skills/Trauma), Addiction/Substance Abuse Counsellor and Literacy and Numeracy Coordinators, Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) through the Integrated Court Diversion Programme at the Department of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment.

1.01 The Government of Saint Lucia (GOSL) has requested assistance from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in financing a project, which would respond to the challenges facing vulnerable groups, particularly youth-at risk in Castries, Saint Lucia. Castries is challenged by, inter alia, increasing crime, inadequate social infrastructure and limited access to social services. The Youth Empowerment Project (the Project) will seek to examine address these challenges by supporting the expansion of, and access to, existing social services as well as the development and implementation of new services so as to reduce social exclusion among youth and families in target communities. In the main, the Project will provide services to address mal-adaptive behaviours, enhance employability skills, support community safety and security and improve inter-linkages and the sharing of current good practices among participating agencies working in target communities. The Project is being implemented through the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Local Government and Empowerment (MOE).

1.02 The goal of diversion programmes is to reduce recidivism or the occurrence of problem behaviours without having to formally process youth in the justice system. One Initiative under the Court Diversion programme is the Youth Recidivism Reduction Programme (YRRP). This programme will cater to young persons aged twelve 12 to 19 years. This sub-programme will be executed by the Probation and Parole Services of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Justice and National Security (MOHA). These include pre and post-court diversion youth who have been recommended to the programme or received noncustodial sentencing. Another initiative is the Out-of-School Suspension Programme (OSSP) which will cater for students who have been suspended from a secondary school and “walkins" who hear about the programme and seek to be a part of it. Engagement of the

key stakeholders like the target schools, Ministry of Education (MOE), the MOHA, Ministry of Health and their active participation in programmes and activities during project implementation is critical to attaining project outcomes and sustaining the effective use of social services and infrastructure both during and after implementation. Case management services for YRRP and OSSP that links with the social protection system and includes assessment of family needs, and development of family plans to attain health, education and economic objectives are critical elements of these programmes. The wraparound officers will connect beneficiaries and their families to a range of services required to address their needs while being supported by social service professionals including a dedicated social worker.

2.01 The consultancy will seek to provide programmatic support for the implementation of the Court Diversion Programme in the areas of General Counselling/Life Skills/Trauma, Addiction Counselling, and Literacy and Numeracy services.

3.01 The consultant(s) shall undertake, inter alia, the following:

(i) Provide counselling services to children and teenagers;

(ii) Assist each student to improve his or her academic performance through an individualized plan with achievable benchmarks;

(iii) Guide older students towards a career suitable for them;

(iv) Guide and educate the parents on the issues faced by the child;

(v) Assist with design of a diet and exercise regimen for the child to improve his/her health as required;

(vi) Give the child some mentally stimulating exercises to help improve their memory or address any other problem they may have;

(vii) Maintain a proper report on every child entrusted to their care;

(viii) Work with the teachers, wrap-around officer and other team members in providing support to participants; and

(ix) Spot troubled teenagers and work closely with the child and the parents/guardian to address any issues before they escalate and become extremely problematic.

(i) Meet with clients to evaluate their health status, including any substance abuse issues;

(ii) Identify issues and create goals and individual treatment plans;

(iii) Assist clients with developing coping mechanisms;

(iv) Assist clients in finding jobs or re-establishing their career;

(v) Take the lead in group therapy sessions;

(vi) Maintain and provide updates and progress reports to the courts;

(vii) Refer clients to support groups and provide a record to and from these support groups;

(viii) Set up and monitor after-care plans; and

(ix) Meet regularly with family and provide requisite guidance as appropriate to the issues faced by the juvenile.

(i) Administer Literacy and Numeracy Skills to small groups of targeted students' literacy and numeracy skills, adapting resources to ensure all students are able to make progress within this group;

(ii) Assess, monitor, record and report on the learning needs, progress and achievements of assigned students;

(iii) Assist and adapting available resources to ensure students from this group are able to access the wider curriculum;

(iv) Work with others coordinators and other stakeholders on curriculum and/or student development teams to secure coordinated outcomes;

(v) Provide juvenile with mentally stimulating exercises to help improve memory or address any other problem he/ she may have.

(vi) Work with students who have been in receipt of initial targeted support to ensure that their progress is sustained and transferred to their wider learning;

(vii) Identify troubled teenagers and work closely with these teenagers and their respective parents/ guardians;

(viii) Promote and support extra-curricular activities;

(ix) Perform the pastoral role of Form Tutor as required; and

(x) Undertake any additional responsibilities appropriate to the position as agreed with the line manager.

4.01 The consultant(s) should possess the following minimum

qualifications:

(a) a University Degree in their relevant discipline;

(b) a minimum of eight years’ relevant professional experience; and

(c) Strong spoken and written communication skills and fluency in the English language.

5.01 The assignment is expected to last for no more than 36 months from the date of contract signing.

6.01 The Consultant shall report to the Lead Facilitator for the respective Court Diversion programme they support.