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By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Families
raising adopted children are expected to get a 100,000-won monthly
childcare allowance as part of government measures to increase support
for domestic adoption.
The Ministr=
y of
Health and Welfare announced the measure Wednesday, one day before the
nation's first Adoption Day.
It said the
government would provide a family adopting a child with 2 million won=
in
a lump sum and with 100,000 won per month until the child was 18 years
old.
The monthly
allowance could be raised to 150,000-300,000 won if the adoptees atte=
nded
kindergartens or childcare centers before entering elementary school.=
In order to
encourage adoptive parents to develop the appropriate relationship wi=
th
their adopted child in the early days of the adoption, the government=
is
considering allowing them one-month leave from work. Related ministri=
es
have been discussing the issue.
The total n=
umber
of adoptions has gradually decreased, from 4,206 cases in 2001 to 4,0=
59
in 2002, 3,851 in 2003, 3,912 in 2004, and 3,562 last year. However,
overseas adoption still dominates domestic adoption with 59 percent of
last year's adopted children heading overseas.
In the case=
of
the adoption of disabled children, Korean couples adopted only 2 perc=
ent
of the total.
The number =
of
overseas adoptions of disabled children was 743 in 2001, 827 in 2002,=
649
in 2003, 705 in 2004 and 737 in 2005. But that of domestic adoption w=
as
14 in 2001, 16 in 2002, 20 in 2003, seven in 2004, and 27 in 2005.
The ministr=
y is
considering increasing the monthly childcare allowance given to famil=
ies
adopting disabled children by 10 percent every year. Currently, such
families are granted 525,000 won per month in childcare support.
``Boosting
domestic adoption is also a measure to compensate for the low birthra=
te.
We will make efforts to increase domestic adoption by expanding suppo=
rt
to adoptive families,'' a ministry official said. <=
/p>
=
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
05-10-2006 17:49=
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