The Korea Herald

Kid= s in care funneled into institutions

2006.02.14

This is the first= of two articles looking at conditions in welfare homes. - Ed.

By Susan Tran

▲Kim Chung-sun at the head office of the Korean Fo= ster Care Association in Seoul.

Local government wel= fare workers need better training because they remain restricted by a mindset that prioritizes placing vulnerable children in institutions over private care, said a leading advocate for foster homes. <= o:p>

Despite amendments m= ade in January to the Child Welfare Act that acknowledged the importance of placing children in family settings, social workers continue to place them in large institutions, said Kim Chung-sun, general secretary of the Korean Foster Ca= re Association.

"When city soci= al workers find a child [in need of welfare] they don't think about it. They automatically give these children to orphanages. The government has to chan= ge the thinking of social workers so that children are placed according to the individual needs of each child," said Kim.

South Korea's orphanage system has come under attack from = the United Nations for violating principles of the Convention on the Rights of = the Child, which the country signed in 1991.

Lack of funding and understaffing in many private institutions has led to children being raised= in poor conditions. Police have had to shut down some orphanages following evidence that staff abused children.

In light of recommen= dations from the UN, the government in 2003 introduced plans to phase out instituti= onal care over a ten year period.

Under the plan, chil= dren are to be allocated alternative arrangements such as adoption, foster care and group home care.

Over the last five y= ears the number of children going into foster care has increased. In 2004 there were= 10 198 foster children, compared to 1,722 in 2000. At the same time the number= of children in orphanages has also increased, with 17,675 children in institut= ional care in 2004, compared to 17,342 children in 2002.

Kim says it is hard = to overcome the influence of orphanages in Korean society, which were original= ly set up to take care of children displaced after the Korean War. =

Most people have lit= tle knowledge of Korea’s foster care system that adheres to the principle that children in need of welfare should be cared for in a family environment.

Foster families prov= ide temporary care for children when their biological parents are unable to do = so, due to divorce or financial difficulties. The children usually return to th= eir biological parents after a few years. In some cases they are formally adopt= ed by their foster parents.

Kim says the individ= ual attention children receive through foster care gives it a major advantage o= ver institutional care, which "feels the same for each child, where there = is an exact time for eating and sleeping".

Whereas those in orp= hanages "feel abandoned" and have no specific role models, foster children are able to learn how families function through examples set by their foster parents.

"If a child is = a boy they can follow what their father is doing, working for his family and being responsible for his family. The child can see that and learn the functions = of a father and family. That is a good example of differences between foster care and institutionalization," said Kim.

Despite pressure fro= m foster care activists to place more children in individual care, the government= 217;s efforts in this area have been patchy, according to child welfare experts. =

"The government= has seen problems rising from collective care, but there are difficulties in locating substantial funds for the care of children in facilities. So the government has been reluctant to move into more individualized programs for children, said Professor Noh Choong-rei, from t= he department of social welfare at Ewha Women`s University.

Last year, the Minis= try of Health and Welfare transferred the jurisdiction of child welfare matters to local governments. Nho says the lack of a unifo= rm policy means there is inconsistency in the degree of attention given to the issue.

"Local governme= nts must have the will to pay attention to child welfare. Because of that, the atten= tion given to child welfare can vary. Some programs may be demolished, some prog= rams provided may be of poor quality", he said

Moreover, without fi= nancial assistance from the central administration, local governments are strugglin= g to come up with funds to sustain individualized care programs.

"Localization r= equires an assumption that local governments have financial independence. That can = be feasible in Seoul<= /st1:City> where financial independence is possible. But in small towns they have difficulty coming up with the necessary amounts of money. There simply aren’t enough tax payers there," Nho= said.