Development of a strategic note on social protection for children applying a life cycle approach

Background

Over the past two decades, Georgia has made significant strides in improving social protection for children and their families. Notable advancements include the introduction of child cash transfers within the Targeted Social Assistance (TSA) programme and the Universal Healthcare Programme (UHP), the development of various social services, and increases in other social transfers. Despite these efforts, substantial challenges persist, particularly regarding monetary poverty and social and material deprivation. Official statistics indicate that in 2023 16.0% of children lived in absolute poverty[1], and a recent study by GeoStat/UNICEF on Child Wellbeing in Georgia found that in 2022 37.8% of children experienced social and material deprivation[2].

The European Commission’s first annual enlargement report on Georgia[3] underscores the progress made while also emphasizing the need for a comprehensive and sustainable social protection system, with a particular focus on child-sensitivity. This includes addressing child poverty and providing inclusive services for children with disabilities, especially at the local level.

Despite Georgia’s constitutional commitment to being a welfare state and its ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the right to social security for children is not unconditional. Instead, the Law on Social Assistance[4] identifies different groups of vulnerable children eligible for various forms of social assistance. Additionally, the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities[5] entitles children with disabilities to social transfers.

Various types of cash transfers for children are targeted using means-testing, geographic location, and specific vulnerable categories. However, only the means-tested child benefit has relatively large coverage, encompassing 28% of children, yet it still misses almost half of all children experiencing social and material deprivation[6].

Almost all municipalities have social and health programmes, but their content, coverage, and spending vary significantly, affecting the level of support children can expect from local authorities. Many municipal benefits are often one-off; an analysis of the effectiveness of this approach would be useful to better inform decision-making. Moreover, many municipalities use the TSA welfare score for targeting benefits, which, if used excessively, can exclude many children in need. Coordination between central and local authorities on social protection programmes remains underdeveloped despite the Government’s commitment to strengthening self-governance and establishing child protection units within municipalities. Additionally, there are conflicts between different legislative pieces regarding local authorities’ responsibilities in social protection.

Georgian legislation and strategy/policy documents regarding emergency management and post-crisis recovery do not outline the role of the social protection system in emergency management and recovery efforts and the system itself is not set up to respond to such situations quickly. These documents primarily focus on natural, epidemiological, and technological disasters, with limited attention to other risks that can rapidly affect social welfare.

Currently, there is no single social protection strategy document in Georgia. In its absence, achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 on poverty eradication is considered the overarching objective of the Georgian social security system. Several cross-sectoral strategies provide a brief indication of the Government’s medium- and long-term priorities in social protection.

Despite multiple government efforts to improve the situation of vulnerable groups, including children, the development of a unified social code, announced in April 2021 to unite all aspects of the social protection system, has not materialized. Since then, no attempts have been made to develop a united Social Protection Strategy to ensure a cohesive, quality, inclusive, shock-responsive social protection system.

In 2023-2024, UNICEF conducted three studies to generate evidence supporting the development of a Social Protection Strategy. These studies should be used to inform the development of the strategic note for this assignment:

1. Social Protection System for Children in Georgia – Challenges and Recommendations: This research examines and analyzes social protection legislation, policies, and programmes to evaluate their child-friendliness and flexibility in responding to emergencies. It assesses these elements from the children’s perspective and the system’s capacity to respond to shocks, identifying significant challenges and preparing recommendations for improvement.
2. Defining the Spending of Child Grants within the Targeted Social Assistance Programme: This analysis focuses on how families use child cash benefits within the TSA programme, examining spending trends among families and evaluating whether this support contributes to children’s well-being and development.
3. Assessment of Potential Impact of Different Social Protection Measures on Child Deprivation and Poverty in Georgia: This simulation study assesses the potential impact of various social protection measures on material deprivation, child poverty, and deprivation in Georgia, examining different child cash scenarios, including universal child cash benefits, and their effectiveness in tackling child poverty and eliminating material and social deprivation.

 Purpose of the assignment

UNICEF aims to hire a national consultant to create a strategic note on social protection for children in Georgia (20–25-page document without attachments). This document should promote an intersectoral approach, detailing interventions and measures for relevant sectors, particularly social protection, childcare, and health, at both central and local levels. The strategic note will be used as a foundation for discussions with stakeholders to initiate the development of a National Social Protection Strategy.

The analysis should integrate UNICEF’s Global Social Protection Programme Framework[7], which supports a life-cycle approach to social protection, covering from pregnancy to early adulthood. The strategic note must emphasize key aspects such as inclusiveness, gender sensitivity, child-friendliness, and the system’s ability to respond to shocks. Topics requiring further discussion and agreement with stakeholders, including the Government (e.g., universal cash benefits for children), should be highlighted with key discussion points developed.

Duration: 15 August 2024 to 15 December 2024

Location: Home based

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