Examining the profiles of children coming to child care institutions

"Child Protection First Intervention and Assessment Units" have been established within the Ministry of Family and Social Services to provide shelter and basic needs of children in need of protection until a protective and supportive cautionary decision is taken or an appropriate social service model is determined. In these institutions, the first intervention and evaluation procedures are carried out by accepting the children who are delivered by law enforcement forces, Public Prosecutor's Offices, social service centers, prisons or other public institutions and organizations in order to determine the social service model. Children admitted to the institutions are either handed over to their families after the procedures are completed or taken under protection and benefited from services such as institutional care, adoption and foster care. The aim of this study is to examine the characteristics of children whose first intervention procedures are carried out in child care institutions and to determine the profiles of risky children within the framework of the findings. In this direction, children who came to Zübeyde Hanım Children's Home Site Directorate in Tekirdağ province in 2020-2022 and whose first intervention procedures were carried out were examined. The analyses revealed that the number of children coming to institutions increases every year; children are mostly delivered to institutions by law enforcement officers; and the most common reasons for coming to institutions are neglect, running away from home, physical abuse and sexual abuse. According to the results of the study; children who had previously been brought to child care institutions and handed over to their families, children between the ages of 15-18, children from families with low socio-economic status, children whose parents are divorced, never married or do not live together for various reasons, children whose parents have a low level of education, children whose parents are in prison, children with disabilities and children with psychiatric applications or diagnoses constitute the profiles of risky children.