Psychosocial Support Task Force
Terms of Reference
Mandate and background
The Psychosocial Support Task Force (PSS TF) is created under the umbrella of the Child Protection SubCluster with the intention of enabling a pool of committed Humanitarian Agencies to convene their
relevant expertise and technical capacity in PSS to pursue high quality PSS programming within the crisis
response in South Sudan.
Meanwhile consolidating the PSS intervention addressing girls, boys and their caregivers, the PSS TF aims
at enhancing stronger interagency coordination to build common understanding and language between
different actors working with children and their families in the social service, protection, and other closely
linked sectors.
The PSS TF exists and operates within the framework of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), with
links to the Protection Cluster and complementing the already existing MHPSS Platform, by bridging the
gap between mental health and psychosocial programming.
In January 2014, members agreed on the necessity to formalize a MHPSS Working Group that would aim
to coordinate efforts in response to the South Sudan Crisis and its aftermath in relation to displacement
of South Sudanese into Juba. Since its activation, the MHPSS WG met regularly on a weekly basis for a few
months and then started to be gradually less fed by active participants’ contribution. The schedules were
reduced and in June 2014 it was suspended. The decrease of members’ interest was found related to the
high frequency of meeting, hindering the regular participation of members, confusing WG mandate
(caused also by the misleading title which comprised MH too) and operational feasible scope (in terms of
defined steps towards jointly agreed realistic goals).
The PSS intervention remains a crucial component within the emergency response to the crisis in South
Sudan, at different levels of population targeted (boys and girls, females and males adolescents and their
parents/caretakers) and sectors involved (primarily Child Protection, but also GBV, Education, Nutrition,
Health among others.). Therefore, technical support and monitoring of the multiple PSS interventions in
South Sudan is still recognized as a fundamental need to meet, along with the promotion of an efficient
coordination intra and inter Clusters. From such awareness and lessons learnt from the MHPSS WG
experience to date, in September 2014 the CPSC members re-activated the group, with the specific
identity of a technical Task Force.
Finally, in order to avoid overlapping of coordination and decision making with the MHPSS Platform’s
specific area of work (Mental Health), it has been established that the TF will focus on psychosocial
support only. However, coordination and information sharing with the MH actors is considered an
essential and crucial component of the TF obligations.
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Participating Agencies
The PSS TF represents stakeholders from international and national NGOs and UN agencies operating at
any stage of the PSS intervention in South Sudan, addressing girls, boys and their caregivers, through
programming in child protection, education, GBV, nutrition and health, to list some amongst the most
concerned sectors.
The following areas are the requirements to be met in order to be part of the PSS TF, as per jointed
agreement.
o AREA OF OPERATION/INTEREST
 Being an active service provider or actively engaged stakeholder within the overall PSS
intervention in South Sudan.
 Organizations/Agencies showing genuine interest in contributing to improve and enhance the PSS
intervention in South Sudan along with demonstrated PSS expertise and technical capacity.
o COMMITMENT
 TF members pledge to proactive attendance to the TF meetings and reliable commitment to the
TF mandate and action plan.
 TF members are willing to make use of the own Organization’s expertise and resources available
for the common benefit of the PSS providers and beneficiaries targeted (as, for instance, being
available to build the capacity other implementing actors or provide them with technical support).
o ACCOUNTABILITY
 TF members accept to take assignments on and are accountable for such tasks before the TF.
 Agencies/Organizations, part of the TF, ensure to maintain continuity and trustworthy
presence/contribution within the technical group.
o COORDINATION
 TF members coordinate the actions of the own Agency/Oganization with the overall objectives
and strategies agreed on within the TF.
 TF members actively support in the coordination between the technical group and other PSS
implementing partners, at national and especially field level.
The acceptance and commitment to such principles is considered a critical benchmark to be part of the
TF. Therefore, by signing the ToR, the members of the PSS TF are accountable for the PSS TF achievements
and action plan fulfillment.
Members who have signed and endorsed the PSS TF ToR are: Daughters of Mary Immaculate, Global
Street Samaritans, Handicap International, International Rescue Committee, International Medical Corps,
Intersos, Non-Violent Peace Force, Save the Children, Street Children Aid, and UNICEF.
While all the concerned Actors/Groups (Organizations, Agencies, WGs, Forum, Cluster) receive regular
updates about outcomes and way forwards directly from the TF or the CPSC, the CPSC platform remains
the primary hub for inter-agency discussions, updates and sharing of experiences/challenges/lessonslearnt in Child Protection, including PSS.
Finally, the PSS TF is established to be chaired by UNICEF and Co-Chaired by Save the Children.
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Meetings
The PSS TF meets on a monthly basis at UNICEF Office, in Juba. As per current decision of participants, the
agreed day is on the last Wednesday of the month, 9.00am time. The frequency of the meetings is prone
to amendments according to the needs and action plan requirements.
A draft agenda is circulated to members of the PSS TF at least 2 days before the meeting, giving the
members the opportunity to suggest additional items for discussion.
Draft minutes are circulated within one week after the meeting date, along with the agreed work plan of
scheduled steps assigned tasks for the TF members.
Minutes and other relevant information are shared with other relevant and concerned coordination
structures and their participants.
To the end of sharing ownership among TF members, meeting minutes are agreed to be taken on a
rotational basis.
Key Responsibilities and Activities
The PSS TF serves as the reference body for coordination, guidelines development, technical advice,
capacity assessment and oversight of PSS in South Sudan during the emergency response.
Its mandate is primarily to consolidate a PSS field effective practice in South Sudan, to backstop the PSS
Actors technical capacity and to improve coordination in PSS at both State and National level. Being the
PSS TF under the overall coordination of the CPSC, the main focus concerns boys and girls, female and
male adolescents and their caregivers in need of Psychosocial Support.
Specific aims of the PSS TF can be identified in the following macro areas.
o
MINIMUM STANDARDS
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To promote minimum standards within the PSS intervention in response to different CP issues in
emergency (CAAFAG, UASC, physical and emotional abuse, GBV, child labor exploitation, children
living in the streets, etc.) and diverse needs of the targeted groups (boys and girls children,
male/female adolescents and their caregivers).
To underpin the implementation of the IASC Guidelines on Psychosocial Support in Emergency
Settings for quality provision of services in emergency context.
To identify effective tools and appropriate practices suitable for the psychosocial support within
the humanitarian response in South Sudan.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT & CAPACITY BUILDING
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To accomplish a service and training mapping, identify gaps, assess needs and encourage
appropriate actions to strengthen the psychosocial support services in the different States of
South Sudan.
To promote PSS capacity building based on community resources and local resilience, while
encouraging effective feasible alternatives to the Child Friendly Spaces activities, as one of the
channels to provide PSS.
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o
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To ensure technical support to implementing partners in order to consolidate qualitative PSS
programming.
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To advocate for and coordinate the capacity building actions addressing relevant stakeholders, in
order to pursue the IASC Guidelines and minimum standards established.
STRATEGIC PLANNING & COORDINATION
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To define key priorities and a strategic work plan, as an operational guidance for the PSS actors in
South Sudan, and to encourage that service delivery is driven by the agreed strategic priorities.
To feed the South Sudan Strategic Response Plan for 2015, with relevant information and analysis
concerning PSS needs and key priorities for girls, boys and their caretakers.
To advocate for the establishment and monitoring of inter-agency and inter-sector coordination
and referral pathways, in order to avoid duplication, wastage of resources and to ensure prompt
and appropriate PSS action and its integration with other services when and where available.
To support and enhance State Coordination mechanisms’ capacity in developing a contextappropriate PSS action plan and quality in PSS programs.
To mainstream PSS to boys and girls and their caretakers into other clusters/sectors and to
participate in relevant cluster/sector meetings to represent specific PSS concerns as appropriate,
while enhancing the cooperation of other clusters/sectors with the PSS Task force.
MONITORING
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To support the collection and dissemination of PSS data for purposes of joint, planning
monitoring, evaluation and advocacy.
To develop a monitoring and evaluation system and identifying relevant indicators assessing the
quality of PSS activities.
Given the broad and multiple areas of intervention for the PSS TF, members identify the most urgent
objectives to be prioritized and to which address the immediate action.
The TF work plan is the document reporting such strategy.
Amendments
This Terms of Reference is a working document and may be altered to meet the current needs of all
members (at national, state and field level) by agreement of the majority of the members. Unless there is
a specific request from members to make amendments, the Terms of Reference will be reviewed once a
year to re-affirm responsibilities of the working group.
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