A Toolkit for Community Child Protection Volunteers, Part 1: Volunteers’ Roles Supporting Case Management

These volunteers are often the first point of contact for children and families in need, providing essential services and support. The Toolkit for Community Child Protection Volunteers aims to promote evidence-informed best practices when engaging community volunteers in child protection responses. The toolkit is based on a comprehensive study on community engagement in case management, which included a review of the evidence on the effectiveness of community volunteers and a comparison of its findings with data from current practice. The study involved interviews with child protection practitioners, an examination of documents such as training materials and standard operating procedures, and qualitative research in four humanitarian settings in Myanmar and Malawi. The toolkit and supplementary training manual were piloted in three humanitarian settings: Borno State, Nigeria; Dzaleka refugee camp, Malawi; and Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique. The evidence from these pilots showed that when community volunteers are cared for, vulnerable children are better served. The toolkit aims to inspire child protection organizations to recognize the essential role of volunteers and develop case management responses that engage volunteers ethically. The toolkit is structured around six steps to ethical practice for child protection organizations working with volunteers supporting case management. These steps include assessing and analyzing community volunteer engagement in case management, deciding how to engage or adapt community volunteers, implementing case management projects that ethically engage community volunteers, strengthening and developing community volunteers' capacity to support case management, engaging in monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning with community volunteers, and advocating for proper resourcing for community volunteers in their activities supporting case management. Key terms and concepts are defined throughout the toolkit, including case management, caseworker, child protection, community-led child protection, confidentiality, incentive, minimum expenditure basket, natural helpers, referral, remuneration, salary, supervision, and volunteers. These definitions provide a foundation for understanding the roles and responsibilities of community volunteers in supporting case management. The toolkit includes a range of tools and resources to support the implementation of the six steps, including an interview guide on community volunteer engagement, a workshop guide on community volunteer engagement, an analysis guide on community volunteer engagement, a community volunteer role description, a budget checklist for community volunteers, a community volunteer code of conduct, a peer support group tool, and a community volunteer safety and wellbeing checklist. Overall, the Toolkit for Community Child Protection Volunteers provides a comprehensive framework for engaging community volunteers in child protection responses, promoting evidence-informed best practices and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of both community volunteers and the children and families they serve.