Our Child Services Unit is responsible for protecting the physical and mental health of all children aged 0–18 residing within the boundaries of the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality who are exposed to social dangers, as well as children who are particularly at risk and children who are forced to work on the streets, supporting their social and cultural development, educating them in line with their interests and equipping them with skills. It is responsible for conducting rehabilitative professional work through social service interventions, carrying out family and community-oriented work, and ensuring their reintegration into society.

Child Services Unit – Duties and Responsibilities

a) To prepare and implement the necessary social service programmes to protect children living and/or working on the streets from all kinds of dangers they may face,

b) To keep all kinds of administrative and professional records related to children and to store the documents,

c) To carry out the necessary work to educate children and their families to obtain employment and vocational training, to collaborate with relevant institutions and ensure coordination,

d) To ensure that children and families identified as economically disadvantaged benefit from social assistance resources and institutions,

e) To organise all kinds of social, cultural, artistic and sporting activities that facilitate the socialisation of children,

f) To prepare and implement all kinds of social service programmes aimed at increasing social awareness towards children living and working on the streets and their families,

g) To collaborate with public and voluntary organisations and individuals related to the subject, and to take measures to ensure coordination,

h) To collect quantitative and qualitative information about children living or working on the streets through relevant units; to interpret and evaluate this information; to determine the strategy to be followed and the professional intervention methods and techniques to be applied; to carry out the necessary professional work in this direction,

i) Organising and participating in in-service training programmes related to problem areas and practices for personnel working in the Unit and institutions, organisations and individuals working together in the provision of services,

j) To establish all kinds of professional relationships and to cooperate and work in coordination with the Department of Social Services and other departments outside of the Department on matters such as health, education, law, trade, employment, social security, and similar issues,

k) To carry out all administrative tasks and procedures related to the Department, to perform other tasks in line with its objectives, and to regularly submit Department records and work reports to the relevant authorities.

l) To take the necessary steps to ensure that children who have dropped out of education or are at risk of dropping out continue their education, or to resolve issues that may cause them to drop out.

The Unit’s Working Principles and Rules Are as Follows:

a) The Unit has the professional autonomy and authority to make professional decisions when intervening in term of the social services of street-living and street-working children.

b) Identifying the children to be served by the Unit may be carried out directly by Unit staff or through written or verbal notifications and referrals from relevant, voluntary and official organisations and individuals.

c) In all services provided to children and their families, the Unit must safeguard the personal rights of the child and family, and conduct its work in accordance with professional confidentiality standards.

Procedures and Rules of Operation Are as Follows:

a) Professional staff are authorised and responsible for conducting efforts to engage and rescue children from the streets by establishing one-on-one, face-to-face relationships with them before, during, and after their admission.

b) Services provided by the Unit are planned and implemented with an approach that protects and supports the child and young person within the context of family unity. Services for young people are provided by taking into account the age limit, the requirements of the service, and the individual and family characteristics and needs of the applicants.

c) In delivering services, the Unit and its divisions may collaborate with universities, non-governmental organisations and other public institutions. The principles governing such cooperation shall be defined by protocols between the Municipality and the relevant institutions or divisions.