Internet Technology for Disadvantaged People

LLP-GRUNDTVIG Partnership

Internet Technology for Disadvantaged People YUKSEKOVA DISTRICT NATIONAL DIRECTORSHIP

In Turkey there is a prejudice regarding with disability. In some regions, being disability is a kind of defect in and disabled people are hidden at home, since family members are ashamed. The parents usually do not know how to deal with the problems of disabled children. Particularly mentally disabled children can become serious problem for their relatives. Lack of care services also increase the size of problems that families met. Although there are many amendments performed regarding to rights of disabled people, unfortunately excluding attitude is more common. Particularly employers are willingness to accept disabled employees. Even though Turkey took a major step with the Disability Act which was put into force in July 2005, aiming to solve employment problems experienced by disabled people along with a number of other issues, increasing the number of disabled people in the labour force as well as their employment skills still remains a challenge. The current situation regarding to care of disabled people; • About 98% of the disabled people are cared by their families or relatives. Currently, professional home care service is a very newly emerging private service area that can easily be negligible in Turkey. • Only 0.3% of the disabled population take institutional care. 19 139 disabled persons and older adults receive continuous institutional care in the centres run by State department of Social Services and Child Protection. However in official figures, 3639 disabled people are waiting to be accepted to the institutional care in the country. 1. A disabled child in the family - What kind of help can the family of the disabled child expect from: a) the country (early diagnosis and medical care, social service, the development of education of disabled people in different countries) c) From NGO’s – the grade of development of NGO’s in your country? d) Are the assured by right forms of help for the disabled people easily accessible for the families of disabled? (good information and non-difficult realization by law through different local and national agencies and offices) e) Do the families of disabled children are eager to use different forms of help and different benefits or they reject it?

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a) Support from the state The constitutional system of Turkey is based on the principle of equality before the law of all individuals without discrimination, irrespective of their origins in terms of language, race, colour, ethnicity, religion or any other such particularity. In Turkey, all individuals enjoy the same rights and have the same obligations without discrimination. Acts of discrimination are prohibited and penalized by law. The Turkish Constitution states that “The State shall take measures to protect the disabled and secure their integration into community life” (Article 61), and also provides that “No one shall be deprived of the right of learning and education” (Article 42). Generally; services for disabled people are given by different bodies either governmental or non-governmental organizations. Administration for Disabled People, Social Services and Child Protection, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Public Works and Settlement, Prime Ministry Under-secretariat of Customs and Municipalities are the other state organizations that were involved in the services given to the disabled people in the country. In addition to the state bodies, there are numerous foundations and Societies working directly or indirectly in this area. Care centres for disabled people are one of the most scarce health and social care units of the country. According to data of Administration for Disabled People, there are approximately 8,5 million persons with disabilities in Turkey(12,29 % of the total population). The percentages of the types of Disability are as follows: orthopaedics 10 %, visual 5%, mental 4 %, hearing 3 %, speaking 3 %. The numbers of people with all disabilities are higher between 15-64 ages. There are 43 Laws and 38 Regulations have been operated in Turkey dealing with Disabled and disability in Turkey . The recent one is “Law for Disabled People. Dated: 07.07.2005 , no: 5378” which gives wide variety of advantages to disabled peopled compared to past. It stipulates comprehensive affirmative measures for persons with disabilities in the fields of health, education, employment, rehabilitation, care and social security. An Action Plan for the Employment of Disabled People 2005-2015 was prepared by the Administration for Disabled People to manage disability issues in a systematic way. This Action Plan includes provisions for recruitment, adaptation to work, job continuity, and promotion at work related issues. Some legal advantages given to the disabled persons and their families in Turkey, can be briefly listed as : • People with disabilities are entitled to early retirement, and Social Insurance Institution and • Pension Fund is related agencies in terms of early retirement for people with disabilities. • Disabled survivors (orphans of the insured) are entitled to the Death Pension without any age requirement. • People with disabilities in need get a three-monthly wage from the State via Pension Fund, have access to free-of-charge health services in public hospitals, and workers with disabilities or those who have disabled in their families benefit from reductions in their income taxes. • The right of tax exemption to the disabled people and their families who care them (income tax, real estate tax, customs tax and luxury consumption tax immunities in changing percentages, up to 80% according to the severity of the disability) Pag. 2 / 6

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Monthly regular payment of minimum legal wage to the families or relatives who care disabled people The right of free out-patient health services excluding medicines and free institutional health care including medicines for disabled people. Tax immunisation for special support devices (wheel chairs, bicycle) and motor vehicles (cars