Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş made a presentation on the 2027 budget of his ministry at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) Planning and Budget Commission.
Minister Göktaş stated that they deliver services to 86 million citizens with a strong organization consisting of 2 thousand 913 organizations affiliated to the ministry, 2 thousand 970 organizations under control and 1003 Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundations.
Stating that they have implemented innovative family policies with the Vision Document and Action Plan for the Protection and Strengthening of the Family, Göktaş said that they have strengthened the cooperation between institutions.
Göktaş reminded that within the scope of the 2026-2035 Family and Population Decade, they increased the maternity leave of working mothers to 24 weeks and the paternity leave of workers to 10 days, equalizing it with civil servants, and said:
"With our new maternity benefit system, we have strengthened our support to families with children. We have paid 30.4 billion lira for 1.4 million children. 90 percent of these payments are the regular support we provide to mothers with two or more children and continue until the children turn five. With the Family and Youth Fund, we are mobilizing our underground resources for the future of our young people.
This year, we relaxed the income requirement and increased it to 250 thousand lira for couples between the ages of 18-25 and 200 thousand lira for couples between the ages of 26-29. This year, 26 percent of young people who got married in this age group benefited from our support. While we provided grant support of more than 2.1 billion lira to our young couples, we shared their happiness with the good news of the birth of 25 thousand 561 of our children. As of November, we will provide 24 billion 83 million liras of support to 249 thousand 686 young people. In addition to our financial support, we guide our young people on the path to marriage and provide priority in İŞKUR and social housing projects.
Göktaş emphasized that they continue to fight against all kinds of addictions that threaten families with protective, preventive and supportive services, and stated that in this context, 2.5 million people were trained in cooperation with the Green Crescent.
Stating that they supported 199 thousand 899 children with their families through Social and Economic Support (SED), Göktaş continued his words as follows:
"With our School Support Project, we contribute to the academic, cultural, artistic and sports development of 44 thousand 410 children receiving SED. We have increased our foster family service 22-fold in the last 25 years with our Voluntary Ambassadors Project, carried out under the auspices of esteemed First Lady Emine Erdoğan. Today, 11 thousand 72 of our children are growing up with the compassion of our foster families. This service, which UNICEF lists among its promising projects, has been carried beyond borders. With our Temporary Foster Family Model, we bring our children in need of urgent protection directly to the family environment without placing them in an institution. We are expanding this model, which we started as a pilot last year, in 81 provinces. On the other hand, to date, we have reunited 21 thousand 351 children with loving families through our adoption service. We connected more than 139 thousand children who experienced the loss of a parent with the services they needed.
Göktaş stated that they provided care and protection to 15 thousand 174 children in 1381 institutions converted to home-type care model, and said, "We will put 16 more children's home sites into service by the end of this year and 9 more in 2027." he said.
Stating that they introduced children and their families to the rich world of books and art at the "Children's Biennial" held for the first time in Türkiye this year, Göktaş said that they ensured the employment of 67 thousand 136 young people under protection in public institutions, and that they provided job and vocational counseling training to 12 thousand young people in the process of preparing for business life.
Minister Göktaş stated that they opened 697 nurseries and playrooms in ADEM and SODAMs and that 76 thousand 422 children benefited from 2 thousand 291 child care institutions under the supervision of the ministry and said, "I would like to take this opportunity to give the good news. We are launching an incentive package for the first time in 2027 to popularize nurseries by the public and private sectors. We will continue our work with determination to ensure that more families benefit from reliable and qualified child care services."
Stating that they follow up the children at risk with school and family visits within the scope of the "Children Are Safe Program" and direct them to services appropriate to their needs together with their families, Göktaş said, "This year, we followed 15 thousand 374 children and took protective measures for 5 thousand 134 of them at risk. We have intervened in 3 thousand 306 harmful contents so far by monitoring the publications that may negatively affect our children."
