Introduction:
State of Qatar works to provide the best social services for its citizens in pursuit of its policy to realize and establish the principles of social stability and well being. A lot has been achieved in this respect, putting Qatar ahead of the countries with the best social standing.
In accordance with the private societies' law, private establishments do their part of extending charitable and social services in collaboration with the concerned government departments, using donations from individuals and the private sector.

1. The State's Official Role:
- The depatment of Social Affairs:
The depatment of Social Affairs affiliates to the Ministry of Social Affairs. It oversees the implementation of social care and development policies and draws up these policies. It provides social care, development, and social insurance services, and it organizes disbursement of social aids. It follows up the implementation of legislation related to social care and social insurance. It supervises over the female training and qualification centre.

General Authority for Minors Affairs
The General Authority for Minors Affairs aims to safeguard and invest the money of minors and persons with partial or total legal incapacitation and protect the financial rights thereof to ensure them an honorable and beneficial living. To achieve that the authority undertakes the following:
1. Acts as a trustee for minors and cases of dormant gestation that have no natural or designated guardians or trustees.
2. Acts as guardian for partially or totally incapacitated persons and represents lost or absent persons who have no curators or attorneys.
3. Supervises conduct and actions of guardians, trustees, curators and attorneys in relation to their discharge of the legal duties entrusted to them according to the law.
4. Manages the affairs of minors and persons with partial or total legal incapacitation, including supervising their social, educational and health interests; receiving, managing, investing and safeguarding their money; representing them before all concerned bodies inside and outside the country and opening banks accounts and keeping accounting records on behalf of each one of them.
5. Certifies inheritance money that has legal heirs and manages, safeguards and keeps accounting records thereof until it has been discharged.
6. Certifies, receives, manages and invests - according to the provisions of Shari'a Islamic law and minors law - the inheritance money that has no legal heirs or that whose heirs failed to come forward to receive despite having been notified to do so by a written note; and the money of absentees and lost persons who have no attorney.
7. Prepares and executes the studies and plans to invest the money of minors and persons with partial or total legal incapacitation and other money that the authority is entrusted to manage in accordance with the provisions of Shari'a Islamic law.
The authority has a board of directors, which is formed by the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. The membership tenure of the board is three years extendable to one or more terms of the same duration.

- General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority
General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority is a legal entity with an independent budget set within the general budget of the State; and it is directly attached to the Council of Ministers. The authority aims to secure honorable life to pensioners and their dependents in accordance with the pension and retirement law. It is responsible for managing and investing the financial resources of retirement fund; and is run by a board of directors, which is formed of a chairman, a deputy chairman and a number of members.
The Authority applies the law No 24 for 2002 on retirement and pensions applicable to Qataris on permanent employment under the authority of the civil service law and Qataris working in public establishments, stock companies and other organizations. The law organizes the procedures whereby the lawful hirers of the deceased pensioner can receive their assigned benefits, and specifies the conditions according to which a pension is disbursed.

-Housing Services:
The Department of Housing in the Ministry of Social Affairs provides the healthy and suitable houses for the citizens in accordance with the law and also in accordance with the modern architectural designs suiting the size of the family. Also, The state implements the different housing projects and the ones especially designed for the senior employees, the low-salary employees, and the houses of the elderly and orphans.

- Ministry of Labor:
The Ministry of Labor provides job opportunities for citizens. It monitors the implementation of labor legislation. It Licenses to the recruitment of foreign workforce for other parties. Also, it settles labour disputes in accordance with the law. It recommends and supervises over the implementation of regulatory rules regarding occupational health and safety. It inspects establishments and takes any necessary measures or actions to control irregularities. It develops the national labor force through the implementation of field studies and research for the labor market regarding the labor capacity, the needs of labor market in different fields and estimates the labor market future needs. It implements a coherent database in coordination with the department of information systems regarding the labor market, the current and future needs of such market for the national labor in different fields. It prepares the plans regarding the use of the national labor force and follows their implementation. It prepares the plans and programs regarding training and vocational rehabilitation and follows their implementation. It participates in preparing the Qatarisation policies and the programs regarding the participation of the national labor force and follows their implementation. It registers Qataris searching for work and nominates them for jobs suitable for them.

- The Department of Juvenile Care:
It provides care and housing for juveniles. It supervises social welfare homes designated for the accommodation, care, correction and rehabilitation of juveniles through social institution. It Follows-up the implementation of the special measures regarding judicial testing. It provides juveniles with their needs in social welfare homes. It provides Juveniles with knowledge and the visual and vocational expertise. It conducts studies and research necessary to determine the cause of juvenile delinquency and propose recommendations to avoid it. It works on spreading awareness necessary for the care and upbringing of children, the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency and the preventative and treatment methods through participating in symposia, conferences, lectures and other appropriate occasions.

- The Endowment Funds:
The Endowment Funds Development Department at the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs is responsible for the implementation and management of the Fund's investment projects, whose revenues are allocated for charity works inside and outside Qatar and for building houses for the poor.

- Zakat Fund:
The Zakat Fund collects Zakat (alms), charity, grants and donations. The "Guardianship of the Student Project" is one of the Fund's major projects, through which support is provided for needy students at various educational levels. The fund is supervised by Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs .

2. Private Establishments and Voluntary Work:
- Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS):
Qatar Red Crescent Society established in March 1978, Qatar Red Crescent Society has been internationally recognized in 1981. It has joined the International Association for Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies and the secretariat general of the Western Association of the Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies. It works to promote the message of the Red Crescent movement in the society, extend family guidance, spread awareness, develop human, health, social and general capabilities and study and find solutions for family problems and problematic social phenomena. The Society comprises three departments: the Social Development Department, the Administrative and Financial Affairs Department and Youth and Relief Department. The Women's branch at Qatar Red Crescent Society was inaugurated in 1982 with the objective to emphasize and give prominence to women's effective voluntary role in society. The Branch was entitled: the Department of Social Development in the New Organization of the Society and it comprises three sections: Social Service Section, Training and Rehabilitation Section and Volunteers' and Activities Section.

- Qatar Charitable Society (QCS):
Qatar Charitable Society established on 1980s.This Society works to extend assistance to needy individuals, build mosques, schools and Qur'an memorization centers, and collect charity, alms and Al-Adha Feast sacrifices (Al Udhiya) for distribution among the poor inside and outside the country.

- Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad Charitable Establishment:
Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad Charitable Establishment founded in 1995, the Establishment aims to extend humanitarian and charitable assistance and relief for the poor and disaster-stricken. It also participates in the construction of schools, hospitals, mosques and Qur'an memorization centers for Islamic communities and contributes in enhancing reciprocal responsibility in the society.

- Sheikh Jassim Bin Jabor Charity Establishment:
Established in 2001, this establishment aims to extend humanitarian and relief services and financial assistance to needy families, patients and persons with special needs; and support distinguished students and orphans.

- Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al-Thani's Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF):
Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al-Thani's Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF)is a leading Qatari foundation in the field of humanitarian and development work at both the local and global levels. The Foundation seeks to provide distinctive humanitarian services and development programmes that are apt to realize social solidarity, consolidate humanitarian compassion, elevate the conditions of the most disadvantaged groups and contribute to spreading of ethical and behavioral virtues in Qatar and abroad.

-Social Development Center:
Social Development Center was set up in 1996 under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser , the wife of His Highness the Emir as a non- profit, charitable and independent private establishment, belonging to Qatar Foundation For Education, Science and Community Development. It aims to utilize and develop the potential of individuals so that they can assume productive roles in society and contribute in the development process. The Center is fulfilling this function through long-range development program and high quality training courses geared to enable families to depend on themselves and become part of the productive elements of society.

3. Welfare Establishments:

- The Qatari Association for the Special Needs:
The association was established in 1992 and it has three branches: the Cultural and Social Center, the Educational Center and Mother's Awareness Center. The Association works to establish suitable quarters in which to accommodate young special needs in preparation to provide them with care services and academic and vocational education. It produces and imports all educational aids and artificial limbs for the benefits of its registered beneficiaries.

- Qatar Cancer Association (QCA):
Qatar Cancer Association established in 1997, the Association aims to draw up specialized schemes in support of health policies in the country. It has a comprehensive national cancer control program defining the size of the problem and proposing control measures and plans. It also prepares researches and studies and establishes contacts with similar societies in other countries in order to benefit by their experiences in this field.

- Shafallah Center:
The National Committee for Children with special needs was formed in 1998 under the presidency of Her Highness Sheikha Mouza Bint Nasser Al-Misnad and the membership of a group of medical doctors, specialists and individuals with special interest in the field of special needs. The committee established a non profit-facility, the Shafallah Center, to provide pioneering diagnostic, evaluation, training, educational and qualification services for cases of disabilities of special precedence. Services at Shafallah Center are extended to children up to 18 years of age.

- Qatar Diabetes Association (QDA):
A private, non-profit organization established in 1995, Qatar Diabetes Association (QDA) aims to raise the level of care and support for diabetes and their families. It also seeks to spread information about this ailment through media outlets with view to raising the level of public awareness of diabetics. It also offers advice and consultation to diabetes who turn to it for help.

- Al-Noor Institute for the Blind:
Inaugurated in 1998, this institute works to extend educational services to the blind to help them overstep their disability and prepare them to undertake more socially productive role. The Institute serves students aged from 3 to 21.

-The Qatari Institution for Orphan's Welfare:
The Qatari Institution for Orphan's Welfare offers fully-fledged services to this sector and caters for their needs so as to ensure a decent life for the orphans through providing alternative families for those who have not had the chance to grow up in a family frame. After an orphan is appropriated a place in an alternative family, his progress is followed up and evaluated. The Institution also extends its services to the children of tattered families due to different reasons like death of one of the parents, divorce, inability to look after the child or imprisonment of the child's custodian.


-The Qatari Institution for Protecting Women and Children:
The Qatari Institution for Protecting Women and Children embodies actual and realistic care about women and children in the society and safeguarding them against deviant practices whether be it at home, work or in the society at large. It seeks to override these practices and remedy their consequences. In addition, it works to enhance societal awareness of their particular need for care and ensure they are not subjected to discrimination in rights and duties in domestic, economic, social, political and administrative domains.

-The Qatari Institution for the Welfare of the Aged:
The mission of this institution is to uphold the social and moral rights of the aged and systematize the social support offered to the aged in Qatar.
The Institution accommodates the aged whose families fall short of looking after them or those who do not have families to take care of them. In addition, the Institution extends its services to the aged at their own homes while being with their families who are instructed on the best methods for fending for the elderly and taking care of them. At the same time, it rehabilitates the aged people to adjust to the problems resulting from old age and helps them to be reintegrated into the society.

-Family Consultation Center:
Family Consultation Center pursuant to its objectives of acquiring families of increasing level of awareness who are adherent to Arabic and Islamic values, the Institution works to eliminate roots of family or marital problems and settle them if they ensue before they aggravate in an attempt to avert disintegration or collapse of these families. It has worked out a mechanism based on clear guidelines that includes counseling, guidance and directing couples to create and uphold stable married life and protect it from disputes that may put the marriage at risk.
Among the most important tasks it undertakes to accomplish is devising a mechanism to avert the occurrence of divorce which is one of the most dangerous phenomena that threatens the stability of the family and society and inflicts several adverse effects on children in particular.

-Childhood Cultural Centre:
The Childhood Cultural Centre lays the basic foundations for a systematic work in the domain of maternity and childhood through raising the level of awareness pertaining to healthy methods of childcare throughout different stages of child's development and devising a program for mothers to acquaint them with the surrounding cultural, social and material factors that exert influence on their children and their development. Furthermore, the Center aims at providing these mothers with the educational skills and techniques in a correct manner in addition to identifying the psychological, educational and social problems recurrent among children so as to find appropriate solutions for them at an early time before they predispose to negative future consequences. At the same time, the Center pays special attention to developing children's linguistic, manual and mental skills in a number of up-to-date and well-developed educational methods. Similarly, it pays special attention to gifted children and works to upgrade their potentials using modern techniques.

- Reach out To Asia Initiative:
Reach out To Asia Initiativeseeks to expand the framework of scope of Qatar Foundation's message which aims at building a better education future for the children of the Asian continent as a whole. (ROTA) aims at helping the international community in achieving the objectives of both the Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals, with special emphasis on the stages of primary and secondary education. It also encourages true partnership between communities, the establishment of safe learning environments, the provision of equal educational opportunities for all and the provision of relief assistance in the field of education to the affected areas.

- Al Aween Center:
Al Aween center was established by the decision of HH Sheikha Moza Bint Naser the chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs as a private , public utility entity subject to the provisions of Decree-Law No (21) for 2006.
The center aims to protect the normal character against deviation from acceptable social behavior, treat people with deviant attitudes, develop self-reliance and self-confidence in such people, prevent them from descending to total breakdown and isolation, and work to integrate them in society. It also works to alert the society against deviation and familiarize individuals with their rights and obligations.
Al Aween is the first center in Qatar to specialize in treating behavioral abnormalities, provide specialized treatment for all kinds of behavioral deviation that require thorough intervention and treatment by specialists, and extend various services in the field of social rehabilitation.