Aim: Children in need of protection, as one of the intervention services within the child protection system, constitute a significant area of child welfare. This study aims to compare institutional care, adoption/foster care, and family-based care services provided for children in need of protection within the context of welfare regimes, using the cases of Türkiye and Germany.Method: The data obtained through document analysis were examined under four categories covering the period between 2010 and 2025: institutional care services, foster care services, adoption services, and family-based care/parental support services.Findings: The findings indicate that the child protection policies of Türkiye and Germany show similarities in terms of their orientation toward family-centered service approaches.
However, in recent years, the number of children in institutional care has decreased in Türkiye due to state policies, whereas the number of children benefiting from institutional care has increased in Germany.Conclusion: In this context, strengthening institutional capacity, while also considering the administrative and normative dimensions of child protection services, will support the provision of rights-based child welfare services.
By providing a concrete basis for comparison within welfare regime discussions in the field of child protection, this study also offers an institutional framework that may be utilized in future field research.