SOCIAL WORKER: AN IMPORTANT ACTOR IN THE CHILD CARE REFORM

"Social Services"; is a system of services which aims to support individuals and families in terms of raising standards of their lives, preventing and creating solutions for their social problems, fulfilling their needs to reduce financial, morale and social poverty which occur out of their control due to their peculiar conditions or their environments.

TRAINING ON SOCIAL SERVICES First seniour high school which trained social workers was established in 1961 and delivered first graduates in Social workers receive 4-5 years education. In the recent years, Higher Education Board established Social Work Departments in 5 universities due to the increasing need for social workers.

Social Services and Child Protection Agency General Directorate, Provincial Social Services Directorates, District Level Social Services Directorates, Social Services institutions which provide residential and non-residential services, In addition; Ministry of Health, Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Justice, Local Authorities, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Private institutions which provide social services to children and elderly. Social workers who graduate from those universities usually work in;

SOCIAL WORKERS are responsible for; a)Assessing and investigating individuals, groups or the society with regard to their sociological, psychological, economic and environmental aspects, b)Finding out the reasons of the problems by meeting with individuals and researching about possible solutions, c)Identifying the necessary methods for solution, d)Consulting with individuals and supporting them to understand their own problems, e)Supporting and strengthening personal and social adaptation of individuals, f)Making necessary preparations for appropriate support for financial, medical care, accommodation, g)Conducting researches in factories, unions, child courts and detention centers, rehabilitation and research centers, nursing homes, hospitals and day care centers;

RESPONSIBILITIES OF SOCIAL WORKERS WORKING WITH CHILDREN IN NEED OF PROTECTION

1.To implement adoption, foster care, conditional cash transfer services for children in need of protection, 2.To prepare social investigation reports in order to assess conditions of children in need of protection, 3.To prepare other professional reports for children (interview report, process report, case investigation reports and case presentation reports), to keep records and to preserve records as per principle of privacy,

4. To identify the most appropriate method for the child in order to maintain best interest of the child by conducting necessary investigation via house visits and interviewing the family and the children, 5. To guide, counsel and lead the children regarding the services they need and monitor psycho-social developments of children, 6.To conduct studies on adaptation of the children in the institutions, their families and environments,

7.To coordinate with education institutions with regard to registration, attendance, success rates and adaptation of children, 8.To use appropriate research methodologies to work with individuals, groups and society, 9.To implement professional works in coordination with the rehabilitation teams,

10.To coordinate appropriate transfers and arrangements of children to appropriate institutions by taking into consideration their education, health and family conditions, 11.To plan spare time activities for children and support and lead them to appropriate social, cultural and sports activities in line with their preferences, 12.To support children who are interested in arts in terms of taking the most appropriate services and trainings to develop their skills in line with their preferences

13.To coordinate recruitment of children who are above legal age in appropriate public institutions as per the requirement of the by-law No on recruitment of children who are in need of protection (to coordinate official correspondence with the concerned public institution, to write warning letters to public institutions to conduct recruitment processes for the identified cadres as per the by-law No: 3412 on behalf of the Minister) 14.To support recruited children with his\her adaptation problems at work 15.To coordinate dowry support for the girl children above legal age who get married as per article No. 32 of Law No. 2828

16.To coordinate all necessary activities in order to maintain healthy integration of children to society 17.To continuously monitor families of the children who are under protection\confirmed care measure and identify the needs for protection

18. To support children who are going to leave the institutions due to various reasons to get prepared for their new lives, monitor their new lives, provide psycho-social support when needed, 19.To cooperate with public and voluntary institutions\organizations in order to introduce the services to society and support works of volunteers, 20. To coordinate and cooperate with concerned institutions which can contribute to social work

21.To organize necessary social, cultural, educational, and sports events, activities in line with the objectives of the institution, 22. To prepare periodical forms, statistical data and reports that are required for monitoring and evaluation of the services provided, 23. To participate in coordination, evaluation and case discussion meetings and prepare reports of those meetings,

24. Conducting professional research and investigations and sharing those with the other colleagues; developing and implementing projects related to the study area; developing new models of service according to the needs of the beneficiaries, 25. Providing personal and professional development opportunities to the staff by organizing in-service training opportunities,

26. Policy development, preparation and implementation of programs for adoption and foster parenting services for better implementation, improvement and broadening as well as amelioration of the quality of the services. 27. Accomplishment of the necessary procedure stated in the legislation for the international adoption cases

UNDER SOCIAL SERVICES AND CHILD PROTECTION AGENCY: o134; in Child Institutions o44; in institutions of adolescent girls o78; in institutions for adolescent boys o9; in institutions for child victims of abuse o10; in institutions for children in conflict with the law o81; in Child and Youth Centers o360: in provincial directorates o27; in sub-provincial units

52; in Elderly Guest Houses 73; Rehabilitation Centers for Elderly 12; in Guest Houses for Woman 126; in Rehabilitation Centers, 12; in Rehabilitation and Family Counseling Centers, 42; in Community Centers, 17; in Family Counseling Centers, 55; in General Directorate Central Unit In TOTAL: Social Workers are employed

To sum up; The duties of a social worker are crucial in the areas of Family, Child, Youth, Handicapped Elderly Social Services and Child Protection Agency have been supportive for the social workers by providing opportunities of work in different areas. Social workers have been supported in pursuing their professional life by enhancement of personal studies, groups studies, community work and research techniques.