Gyeongbuk Province Launches 'Infant-Dedicated' Childcare Service to Resolve 'Mismatch' Complaints

From This Year, Government Childcare Service Limit Expanded from 720 to 840 Hours Annually

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Gyeongsangbuk-do announced on the 14th that it has expanded the limit of the 'Idolbom Self-Payment Support' service, which started last year amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, and has received great response from families experiencing childcare gaps.

With the self-payment support, households with income at or below 75% of the median income can use the service free of charge, while others can use the service at half the self-payment fee.

In particular, from this year, the government’s idolbom service limit has been expanded from 720 hours per year to 840 hours. Additionally, as a Gyeongbuk-type independent project, the program is improving the quality of care services by resolving 'mismatching' complaints from caregivers avoiding full-time infant care through the training project for infant-dedicated caregivers.

A monthly meal allowance of 100,000 KRW is provided to full-time infant caregivers to create an environment conducive to long-term work, and the number of caregivers has been increased from about 1,800 to 2,000.

Since 2019, Gyeongsangbuk-do has realized free childcare by fully supporting childcare fees for children attending daycare centers regardless of income. Along with this, this year, the selection criteria for the Happy Child Helper have been relaxed from 60 to 65 years old, providing jobs and expanding social participation opportunities for women with career interruptions.

Lee Won-kyung, Director of the Gyeongbuk Province Child and Women’s Happiness Bureau, said, "In December last year, the population passed the dead cross (inflection point) where deaths exceeded births, and the most important solution to the declining birth rate problem is childcare," adding, "We will alleviate the burden of care through various supports for families experiencing childcare gaps."

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