Administrating Social Policies of a City: Modeling From Esenler District in Istanbul

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal the holistic administration model of social policy actors in a city with the case of Esenler district in Istanbul. In this respect, it is aimed not only to determine the individually social policy functions of each actor, but also to model what kind of an administration model should be followed in terms of social policy in a city. The scope of the study for this purpose is the social policy implementations of social policy actors for social policy recipients in Esenler District of Istanbul. In this context, the study deals with Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services’s (ACSHB) district unit of the central government, the Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundations (SYDV), the local district municipality and the NGOs of the district. The field part of the study was conducted between February and March 2018. Semi-structured interview form and observation technique were used in this study. A total of thirty seven (37) people (participants) were interviewed. The model that emerged in this framework has three basic principles: i) compassion, justice and rightness. ii) There are some obstacles in the implementation of these basic principles: the ones originating from the legislation, the determining mechanism, the budget issue, the institutional ground and the personnel status. iii) In order to overcome barriers, the density center for social policy recipients and the gravity center are proposed for the social policy actors who implement social policies.