"Now Able to Live in the Community, Not Facilities"… Roadmap for Supporting Independent Living of Deinstitutionalized Disabled Persons Announced

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] A roadmap has been established to support 'deinstitutionalized' persons with disabilities in living independently within the local community.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 2nd that at the 23rd Disability Policy Coordination Committee chaired by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, it finalized the 'Deinstitutionalized Persons with Disabilities Community Independence Support Roadmap,' which will gradually support persons with disabilities requiring protection to live independently in the community rather than in facilities over the next 20 years.

According to this roadmap, the government plans to build systems and infrastructure to support the independence of persons with disabilities through a pilot project over three years from next year until 2024. From 2025, about 740 persons with disabilities residing in facilities will be selected annually to support their settlement in the community, aiming to complete the community transition by around 2041. Most of the current residential facilities for persons with disabilities will be converted to 'communal housing support,' and some will also be provided with 'individual housing support.'

Jung Choong-hyun, Director of the Disability Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, explained, "Communal housing support is a form where 3 to 4 persons with disabilities and assigned staff live together in one apartment," and "individual housing support is a form where a person with a disability lives alone while receiving visiting services."

As the first step, an annual survey will be conducted targeting persons with disabilities residing in facilities to ask whether they wish to receive independence support. Currently a recommendation, this will be changed to a mandatory practice to regularly identify support candidates. In particular, guidelines will be established to prioritize community independence support for children with disabilities.

Additionally, through 'experience homes' as intermediate residential spaces before independence and the independence support pilot project, a systematic independence pathway will be built from preparation to initial settlement. The pilot project will deploy independence support workers, improve housing environments to suit the lifestyles of persons with disabilities, and also provide health checkup expenses.

Director Jung explained, "For persons with disabilities who have no experience living in the community, we operate a dedicated independence support organization to systematically assist them with what they need to prepare and the sequence of steps to take," adding, "After this stage, they will also have time to 'practice independence' in an experiential form."

Infrastructure construction for this will also be actively carried out. Public rental housing equipped with facilities convenient for persons with disabilities will be supplied, and comprehensive housing maintenance services necessary for community independence, such as housing and money management, will be developed.

The number of facilities will also be drastically reduced. Except for residential facilities for persons with disabilities requiring specialized medical services, the establishment of new facilities will be prohibited. Existing facilities will be transformed into 'housing service providers' offering specialized services to persons with disabilities who need 24-hour support. Furthermore, if even a single case of human rights violation occurs in a residential facility for persons with disabilities, the facility will be immediately closed, and operational and personnel expenses support will be suspended.

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