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Summary: This study presents a comprehensive set of interventions and their associated costs for improving the provision of child protection services in the Arusha District of Tanzania. The intent of these interventions is to provide concrete, actionable recommendations in order to operationalise aspects of the country’s Law of the Child Act which was passed in 2009.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This study presents a comprehensive set of interventions and their associated costs for improving the provision of child protection services in the Arusha District of Tanzania. The intent of these interventions is to provide concrete, actionable recommendations in order to operationalise aspects of the country’s Law of the Child Act which was passed in 2009. The Act contains a large number of provisions regarding the rights of children which the government is responsible for protecting, but major gaps remain between the language of the law and implementation at the local level.
The first phase of the study involved developing the interventions themselves. This was done in a participatory manner with a large number of stakeholders in Arusha, Moshi, and Dar es Salaam who are currently involved in child protection. The interventions are meant to address the most pressing needs of the major actors who provide services to children, both those who have suffered abuse and those who have been accused of committing a crime. The views of children on child protection issues were taken into account as well, through a number of focus group discussions. The second phase of the study focused on costing the interventions which were developed. This was accomplished through further consultations with relevant stakeholders. The end result is a detailed, evidence-based body of information on what level of resource commitment from the government would be required to increase access to and quality of child protection services in Arusha. While the interventions contained within this paper should not be seen as constituting the entire spectrum of activities needed to ensure that children’s rights are protected, it is believed that they comprise an important first step in operationalising the Law of the Child Act. Major issues voiced by stakeholders during consultations included insufficient human capacity – in terms of both staffing levels and skills – as well as a lack of resources (especially transportation) to be able to effectively discharge their duties. As a result, the interventions contained in this paper deal primarily with increasing staffing, conducting trainings, and providing other necessary resources. Also important was ensuring that services do not remain concentrated in the urban center of the Arusha District, so the interventions were developed with the intention of increasing geographic coverage. Findings of this study show that the cost of these critical interventions for child protection actors would require a yearly commitment of approximately 637 million Tanzanian shillings, or 398,000 US dollars. This is in addition to capital costs of approximately 72 million shillings. The bulk of the recurring costs are salaries, due to a focus of the interventions on increasing staffing levels at almost all of the service providers involved. The majority of the overall cost is shared by the police, Social Welfare Office, and healthcare providers, which constitute 67 per cent of the total figure.
Owner: Laura Agosta, Kristopher Capella, Matthew Cruse, Mirae Kang, Jessika Kjellgren, Elena Matsuipdf: http://www.crin.org/docs/CCR_Costing_CP_Services_Study_2012.pdf