Jeonnam Province Strengthens Customized Welfare Support to Enhance Independence for Disabled Persons and Quality of Life for Families

Increase of 22 Billion Won in Disability Welfare Budget Compared to Last Year, etc.

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 6th that it will promote various customized projects this year to realize the 'Jeonnam Happiness Era,' strengthen the independence and care system for the disabled, and improve the quality of life for families of the disabled.

In particular, this year, the budget related to welfare for the disabled was set at 223 billion won, an increase of 22 billion won compared to last year. Despite the unprecedented COVID-19 situation last year, the plan is to strengthen the safety of the disabled and the customized welfare support system.

To support daily life and reduce caregiving burdens for the disabled, the target recipients of the 'Disabled Activity Support' program, which previously supported those aged 6 to 64, will be expanded to include elderly disabled persons who have reached the age of 65. The support unit price was also increased by 5% to reflect service price realism.

To enhance care services for people with developmental disabilities throughout their life cycle, services such as developmental disability day activities, after-school activity services, and provincial support projects for developmental rehabilitation will be expanded. The target number for the provincial developmental rehabilitation support project has significantly increased from 350 people last year to 550 people this year.

Additionally, to promote lifelong education and care services tailored to the individual characteristics of people with developmental disabilities in the Jeonnam region, the 'Developmental Disability Lifelong Education Support Centers' established in the western and eastern regions will be fully operational.

For disabled persons struggling due to loss of work ability and income reduction caused by disabilities, the basic benefit amount of the 'Disability Pension' will be increased to 300,000 won per month for those exceeding the lower-income bracket.

The 'Disabled Employment' program will also be expanded to 3,000 people, and employment stability will be supported through the 'Disabled Employment Support' project.

To provide a healthy life for the disabled and public medical services, the Jeonnam Regional Rehabilitation Hospital will be built in Yeosu City. Support projects such as blood and peritoneal dialysis fees for kidney-disabled persons, cochlear implant surgery support, and medical expense support for low-income disabled persons will also be promoted.

Along with this, the province plans to gradually establish a 'Digital Integrated Care' infrastructure using IoT and AI technologies tailored to disability types in residential facilities for the disabled within the province, strengthening non-face-to-face care for residents with disabilities and preparing a system to respond quickly in emergency situations.

Furthermore, to prevent abuse of the disabled and support recovery for victims, the functions of the 'Jeonnam Disabled Rights Advocacy Agency' will be expanded, and a separate 'Shelter for Abused Disabled Persons' will be established. In addition, various customized services such as childbirth cost support and home helper services for women with disabilities will be provided to support childbirth and parenting in disabled families.

Son Seonmi, head of the Jeonnam Province Disability Welfare Division, said, "This year, we plan to expand support so that disabled persons and their families can dream of hope and live better lives in Jeonnam."

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