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EACEA National Policies Platform
Türkiye

Türkiye

4. Social Inclusion

4.6 Access to quality services

Last update: 28 November 2023
On this page
  1. Housing
  2. Social services
  3. Health care
  4. Financial services
  5. Quality assurance

Housing

Ministry of Family and Social Services and Ministry of Youth and Sports have services in relation to the problems that young people may encounter within the scope of Social Inclusion Policies.

The Ministry of Family and Social Services provides protection and care services to children and youth in need of protection, driven to crime and victims of crime in accordance with the Constitution, the Social Services Law and the Child Protection Law No. 5395. According to the Social Services Law No. 2828 and the Law No. 5378 on the people with disabilities  and Amending Certain Laws and Decrees, accommodation is provided in care and rehabilitation centres and home-type institutions (such as disability-free living centres, hope homes) within the framework of care services for the people with disabilities.

Ministry of Youth and Sports, Student Loans and Dormitories Institution carries out dormitory activities throughout the country. Within the scope of social inclusion policies, some of the young people are prioritised:

  • Children of martyrs and veterans, Veterans
  • Students with 40% or higher disability
  • Students whose parents are deceased
  • Students who have completed their high school or equivalent education in the orphanages affiliated to the Ministry of Family and Social Policies
  • Students who have completed their high school or equivalent education in Darüşşafaka High School

 

Social services

Ministry of Family and Social Services, local administrations and nongovernmental organisations provide social services to the young people in need of social protection within the scope of social inclusion policies.

In this field, there are services especially carried out by the Ministry of Family and Social Services. Some of the duties of the General Directorate of Child Services in this field are as follows:

1.To provide protection, care and psychosocial support services to those who are found to be in need of psychosocial support among children who are driven to crime, who are victims of crime and who face social risks on the street.

2. Establishment and supervision of specialized Child Support Centres to provide psychosocial support services to unaccompanied children driven to crime, victims of crime, at risk on the Street

3.Developing practices that support the healthy development of children and conducting studies in cooperation with public institutions and non-governmental organizations on this issue.

4.To determine the general characteristics of families and children at risk and to establish, develop and implement a system to support children in the family environment without risk.

5.Developing and ensuring the implementation of psychosocial support, social work practices and social assistance practices for orphans and/or orphans.

6.To plan, execute and coordinate day care and support services for children.

7.To create and implement the content of external training and information activities for other public institutions and organizations and real and legal persons related to psychosocial support services to be provided in daytime social service organizations/units

8.To coordinate the studies aimed at monitoring and supporting the academic, sportive, social, cultural and artistic achievements of the children cared for in day care institutions. To take measures to increase success in this direction

9.To plan and follow up the services for children working on the street, absent from school, using substances, driven to crime and returned to their families by means of social service intervention.

Health care

Ministry of Health, Ministry of Family and Social Services and Social Security Institution provide healthcare services to the young people who are subject to or under risk of social exclusion within the scope of social inclusion policies. With the legal regulation made in 2013, there is no general health insurance or dependent person without income determination  and children under the age of 18 from Turkish citizens who do not have parents and those who are not considered as dependents through their mother or father following the legal regulation made in 2016; Provided that those who graduate from high school and its equivalent education do not exceed the age of 20, and those who graduate from higher education do not exceed the age of 25 for two years from the day following their graduation, insurance premiums are paid by the state without any income determination and they can benefit from health services free of charge.

With the regulation made in the Health Implementation Communiqué on 11.01.2020, screening and confirmation tests of substance addiction patients were included in the payment.

In addition, the Ministry of Family and Social Services Directorate General of Social Assistance provides conditional health benefits to poor families who cannot take their children aged 0-6 to regular health examinations due to financial difficulties and cannot adequately meet their nutritional needs. In this context, cash payments made to families continue on the condition that the children have their health checks done on the dates determined by the Ministry of Health, depending on their age.

Again with conditional pregnancy, birth and puerperium assistance programs; It is aimed to minimize early child deaths and health problems encountered during pregnancy, and to support the nutritional needs of pregnant women in the poor during their pregnancy, delivery and postpartum period. The Multiple Birth Assistance Program, on the other hand, is a cash-based assistance program that aims to support the babies of families in need, who were born with multiple births, until they reach the age of 2.

It is ensured that socio-economically disadvantaged children benefit from basic health services free of charge and on time, both by paying health premiums by the state and by supporting them with conditional health assistance.

As an example of a good practice, “Protocol on Medical Screening of Students Residing at the Dormitories of Higher Education Student Loans and Dormitories Institution” is signed between the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Youth and Sports. Within the scope of this protocol, young people have undergone medical screening and also they were briefed about healthy life.

 

Financial services

Directorate General of Social Assistance of the Ministry of Family and Social Services, Ministry of National Education and Ministry of Youth and Sports Directorate General of Higher Education Student Loans and Dormitories provide young people aids such as grants, loans, education, transportation, food and education material.

The low accessibility of educational opportunities for the poor eliminates equal opportunities in education and constitutes the biggest problem in preventing that poverty is passed down from one generation to the next. Education factor is critically significant in making an effective social aid policy and the success in fighting poverty. In that context, Directorate General of Social Assistance provides “Conditional Education Aid” to the families who cannot send their children to school due to financial impossibilities, provided that their children continue their education.

In addition, the Ministry of Family and Social Services, Directorate General of Social Assistance, provided that they live in the same household within the scope of the Law No. 2022, who have relatives under the age of 18, who have at least a mild level of special needs or who have a disability of 40% or more. relative's pension" payment is made.

The Ministry of National Education provides free textbooks for all students in primary and secondary education. In addition, financial support is provided to the participants in the projects developed to support the Turkish language learning of the Syrians under Temporary Protection, to increase their access to education together with the Turks in need, and to encourage them to receive vocational training.

In March 2020, in cooperation with UNHCR, 35,000 copies of the Lifelong 1-2-3 Turkish book set were printed and distributed in 55 cities where foreign students are concentrated. Education kits were distributed to 75,504 Syrian and disadvantaged Turkish students in total in order to provide support to students who continue distance education and cannot receive distance education due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

A total of 112,017 Turkish teaching books were published, including 266,614 Salih Story Series and 60,403 Turkish Exercise Books for Foreigners, prepared by the Ministry of National Education. The books were distributed to foreign students in 55 provinces as of August 2020.

In cooperation with the Ministry of National Education and UNICEF, cash support was provided to 382 schools in order to meet the basic cleaning needs of the schools, such as purchasing cleaning materials and equipment, in order to support the hygiene environment in the schools during the reopening process.

The Conditional Education Assistance for Foreigners (CEAF) program is carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Family and Social Services, Turkish Red Crescent and UNICEF. The Conditional Education Assistance for Foreigners (CEAF) program is supported by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), the US Census, Refugee and Immigration Office, and the Norwegian Government.

Payments are made to the families' Red Crescent cards on behalf of the students, on the condition that the students attend the school regularly (on the condition that the students do not attend more than 4 days a month). Within the scope of the program, the monthly payments made to female students are higher than male students in order to encourage female students to continue their education and to prevent school dropouts. In addition, at the beginning of each academic year, an additional payment of 100 TL is made to all beneficiaries and an incentive payment of 150 TL is made to secondary and high school students. The total number of beneficiaries reached 486,004 as of September 2021. The Conditional Education Assistance for Foreigners (CEAF) program is implemented to encourage the continuation of education of all students, male and female, and to prevent school dropouts

Ministry of Youth and Sports Directorate General of Higher Education Student Loans and Dormitories provides a grant in the amount of TRY 400 to higher education students who meet the required criteria and also provides a loan in the amount of TRY 400 to all the students who applied for it. These amounts are increased annually in the inflation rate.

Quality assurance

Policy Documents, Strategy Documents and Actions Plans including policies, targets, measures and activities regarding social inclusion for youth are designed in accordance with monitoring and evaluation system.