El Servicio Nacional de Menores (Sename) / The National Service for Minors (Sename)

El Servicio Nacional de Menores (Sename) is a centralized government body established by Law No. 2 465 in 1979 in Chile. Sename focuses on protecting the rights of children and young people between the ages of 14 and 17 who have broken the law. It is also responsible for the regulation and supervision of adoption in Chile.

Sename’s institutional mission is to help prevent interference with, promote, protect and restore the rights of girls, boys and adolescents whose rights have been violated as well as ensuring the accountability and social inclusion of young people who break the law through a programmatic system that enables continuous improvement which is carried out by a group of supporters comprised of Sename and its partners. The service operates in accordance with the instructions of various courts throughout the country and all services provided by the institution, with the exception of the Office of Defence, are linked to justice. Children and adolescents in the care of the protection system are transferred by family courts whereas adolescents in the juvenile justice system are transferred by the courts under the Juvenile Criminal Law Act. In order to carry out its work, the service operates its own treatment centres and has a network of accredited collaborators who apply for participation in public tenders.

Sename specializes in Advocacy, Human Rights, Democracy, Youth, Social Development, Project Management, Justice, Gender, Adoption, etc.