Right To Care III: Strengthening Child Resilience to Ensure Wellbeing Through Integrated Case Management and Community Based Mechanisms This project will scale up and address emerging key child protection needs and gaps across the three LGAs of Mobbar (Damasak), Damboa and Hawul. It will leverage on Street Child's (SC) existing EU-funded education in emergencies (EiE) programme in Mobbar and Hawul communities, and a recently ended project in Damboa, both strengthening the response by providing more integrated, holistic support and leveraging on existing structures to maximise efficiency and value-for-money. 

2,000 children aged 5-14 will benefit from PSS provision in modified child-friendly spaces (CFS) in line with our SOPs, facilitated by 20 trained PSS facilitators. All activities will follow the guidelines of WHO to mitigate the potential spread of COVID 19, such as hygiene requirements and social distancing. The PSS facilitators, in collaboration with the caregivers, will identify children who need more targeted support through Child Help Desks (CHD) in each CFS. CHD activities will be supported by a professional psychologist when MHPSS services are required. Where children are identified as having multiple needs, the PSS facilitators will refer them for case management by specialised caseworkers.

Adolescent children (especially girls) are vulnerable to particular risks. Recognising that CFS activities often do not reach these children, this project will establish adolescent forums to target 600 children aged 15-17 with age-appropriate, gender-sensitive PSS and life skills as well as sports activities. Facilitators will be supported by SC and partner officers to lead dynamic, age-appropriate sessions, and to make case management referrals as needed.

600 at-risk children will be supported with case management, including multi-sector referrals. Services provided by SC under case management include: 
- Family Tracing and Reunification (FTR) for unaccompanied and separated children (UASC) 
- Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) by trained clinical psychologists, including for Gender Based Violence (GBV) response 
- Socio-economic reintegration of Children Associated with Armed Groups (CAAG)
- MHPSS support from in-house clinical psychologist

To ensure case management services provided are comprehensive, referral pathways will be mapped out (if not already available) and strengthened through advocacy and coordination with the CPSS at state and LGA level. 

This project will invest in building the capacity of 300 caregivers to strengthen positive parenting skills and PFA, to support the children with basic psychosocial activities for self-preserving behaviour for improved wellbeing. In addition to improving wellbeing more generally, this will enhance parent’s capacity to help children through the COVID-19 pandemic Caregivers, including foster parents and kinship care providers, will be selected and trained in partnership with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (MoWASD) to ensure accountability of care to UASC. 

By leveraging on SC's EiE interventions in the target communities, children identified as being out of school by the CP team will be internally referred for education support, providing a more holistic response. Furthermore, the CP capacity of community structures (such as CBCPCs) will be developed, ensuring that schools and communities are more protective environments in the long-term. Leveraging on existing structures and materials also ensures a value-for-money approach.

A final key aim is to build the capacity of local actors for increased sustainability. SC will partner with IDS and HERWA to implement the project, developing a locally-rooted response whilst building technical and organisational capacity of both organisation. Involving MoWASD representatives and social workers in all trainings and field activities will also promote government buy-in and strengthen government capacity on CP.