Children working on the streets can be classified into two groups.

The first group of children works on the streets during the day, sometimes during the evening and night, but finally goes home to stay with their family. They are supposed to be under the protection and supervision of their families. The second group of children are working and living in the streets. They have left their homes and/or their families have disintegrated. They are children of the streets. The classification of working street children has been greatly debated internationally and nationally, and the classification offered above is generally accepted by the researchers in Turkey (Atauz, 1997; Karatay, 2000). The great majority of children working in the streets in Turkey belong to the first group, and are involved in selling napkins, chewing gums, water, sunflower seeds, lottery tickets and other small items appropriate to the season. Sometimes they are involved in more dangerous activities. The children in the second group who are working and living in the streets, are involved in garbage collection and separation in the streets as well as at the garbage dumps. Since they are outside of family and community protection and supervision, they are more likely to be involved in drug abuse, street gangs and violence. Kaynak: Bahattin Akit, Nuray Karanc, Aye Gndz-Hogr, Turkey - Working Street Children in Three Metropolitan Cities: A Rapid Assessment, Geneva: IPEC, 2001, s, x.