가정위탁보호사업의 활성화 방안 연구

Abstract

A child is the future and property of a nation. It is because the nation's future is based on right care of a child. However, many children are being separated from their families due to rapid social change and disorganization of the family. Foster care is a child-family service that children, who can not be cared adequately because of death of parents, unemployment, disease, abuse, neglect, leaving themselves, alcoholism, medicinal poisoning, imprisonment and so on, can be cared in other family for a while comfortably and healthily. and it is regarded as the better substitute care for the children who need out-of-home placement than institution. however, most children who needs out-of-home placement are placed to institution in Korea. Since 2003, the government has founded and managed 18 'Foster Care Center' in whole country. and the organizations are promoting the highest standards of child improvement polices and services separated from their own families. Foster care centers provide and support social, cultural, educational activities and resources for disadvantaged, medically fragile, abused and neglected children. To perform foster care service, the Ministry of Health & Welfare of Korea made 'The Child Welfare Guide' in which the subject of foster child, standards of foster home, the procedure of selection were prescribed. However foster homes are not actually organized and operationalized. The biggest reason that foster care system has not been developed in Korea yet is inadequate Child Welfare Law regarding foster home care. The suggested articles and clauses should be amended and included in Child Welfare Law. To develop foster care in Korea more and better developed law and policies are needed, for licensing, supervising and matching a foster child with foster homes, etc. Also variety of types of foster homes are needed, such as long term boarding, short term homes, special boarding home for special needed child. The government should provide foster care fees and other financial support for foster children, foster homes including kinship homes and increase budget for the Foster Care Center. It is true that we can not give the children a proper service due to low awareness and insufficient financial support toward foster care system. However, the interest in social welfare from the middle class family is getting higher and higher recently. In addition, lawmakers became to recognize that a institution system should be improved. In conclusion, I want to point out the current status and problems in foster care which is the realistic plan for efficient practice and improvement in a child care service through this study. At the same time, by giving a direction how to improve the system, I hope a better future of children and sound society with a voluntary private participation and positive policy development by authority.