Youth Counseling Center Association Conveys 'Youth Counseling Policy' to Each Political Party

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Korea Youth Counseling and Welfare Center Association (President Ra Hyung-gyu) has delivered the ‘Youth Counseling Policy’ aimed at promoting the healthy growth and welfare of youth to each political party.

The association includes the Gwangju Metropolitan City Youth Counseling and Welfare Center (Director Cha Eun-seon) and 235 youth counseling and welfare centers nationwide.

According to the Gwangju Youth Counseling and Welfare Center on the 19th, the pledges proposed by the association consist of ‘Employment Stability and Treatment Improvement for Youth Counselors,’ ‘Establishment of a Youth Psychological Trauma Support System,’ and ‘Legal System Establishment for the Construction of Youth Counseling and Welfare Centers.’

Specifically, the ‘Employment Stability and Treatment Improvement for Youth Counselors’ sector reflects the current situation where the turnover rate of youth counselors is increasing due to lower treatment and employment instability compared to the same occupation, causing difficulties in supporting at-risk youth.

They raised the need for government policy support to enable qualitative growth of youth counseling and welfare services through the establishment of systems for employment stability and treatment improvement for youth counselors.

The ‘Establishment of a Youth Psychological Trauma Support System’ sector addresses the social situation where high-risk youth (such as those involved in suicide and self-harm) are rapidly increasing, and interventions are focused more on compensation rather than psychological support, despite the urgent need for psychological assistance for actual high-risk youth.

They requested the necessity of national alternatives and legal system establishment for youth psychological trauma support to prevent and treat psychological anxiety and stress disorders occurring after youth experience traumatic events.

The ‘Legal System Establishment for the Construction of Youth Counseling and Welfare Centers’ sector highlights the need for a stable counseling environment to provide psychological support for youth, but points out issues such as lack of counseling and waiting spaces and center relocations in actual counseling sites.

To resolve this, they proposed the necessity of establishing legal grounds for the installation and operation of standalone facilities through amendments to laws related to the establishment and operation of youth counseling and welfare centers.

Ra Hyung-gyu, president of the Korea Youth Counseling and Welfare Center Association, said, “We will actively strive to ensure that pledges related to youth counseling policies are adopted as pledges by each political party and candidate so that youth can grow up healthily,” and added, “We expect many parties and candidates to implement youth counseling policies as pledges.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.