Foster Care
ASK believes that every effort should be made to keep families intact. Foster care that follows international standards and best practices can be an important tool to protect the best interests of the child and family. The Korean government should shift its resources and energies from institutionalization and orphanages to developing the foster care system.

FACT: As of 2002, the budget of 276 orphanages with some 20,000 children was US $49.2 million, 17.5 times more than the total foster care budget.

"It started 10 years ago when we brought home my son's friend, who came from a difficult home, and raised him with us. I began thinking that it would be best to help so that rather than go to an orphanage, the child could return to his or her birth parents to be raised in a normal home. It became my goal to see that our children were raised in this land, rather than be sent for adoption abroad.
Eight hundred children are being raised in homes, but since government subsidies are woefully inadequate, I am pouring in my entire salary, and about half of my husband's... As about 1,000 children are awaiting placement, I feel a sense of urgency,I was ashamed of Korea, with the world's 11th largest economy, continually being tagged as the world's No. 1 "baby exporter," and was envious of the cultures of developed nations that took care of and helped children in difficult situations."
-Park Young-sook, Founder of Korean Foster Care Association

Until the Korean Foster Care Association (KFCA) was established officially in 1998, "foster care" in Korea meant adoption agencies placed children who were ready to be adopted abroad in private homes until they were adopted. These "foster parents" were paid with the fees from the adopting parents abroad. To this day, this system of pre-adoption foster care with no plans or hope of reunion is well instituted.

In 2003, the Korean Government finally established 16 centers of foster care support Agencies, providing 100 million won (US $83,000.00) per center with 3 staff members at each center. The KFCA runs 5 centers and became the Coordinating Agency of the other agencies.

Concluding Observations on Korea by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: Korea to improve on:
1) Group homes and foster care: The UN Committee notes Korea's establishment of group homes as an alternative to the institutionalization of children separated from their families.  However, it is concerned that the establishment of group homes and the development of the foster care system remain limited, and that private alternative care institutions are not subject to governmental regulations or regular inspections.  The committee recommends that Korea:

a) Continue to expand the number of group homes and the foster care system, in particular by providing greater financial support to foster families and increasing the counseling and support mechanisms for foster families.

b) Ensure a periodic review of placement of children in all public and private institutions, that takes into account the views and best interests of the child, and, wherever possible, aims to reintegrate children into a family environment;

c) Increase the number of social workers and upgrade their skills and capacity to provide assistance to children in alternative care and to vulnerable families.

Documents
Achievements of the foster care system in Korea and social barriers/improvement measures to promote the system - Presented by Youngsook Park to the International Foster Care Organization.
• IFCO presentation by KFCA
• 2/15/06 - (Korea Herald) Illicit orphanages to exploit outdated laws
• 2/14/06 - (Korea Herald) Kids in care funneled into institutions