"Committed to Creating a Child Happiness City"... Busan City Establishes and Implements Self-Reliance Support Plan for Children in Protective Care

Busan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan City will actively promote support for protected children as the ‘2022 Support Plan for the Independence of Protected Children’ has passed the review of the Busan City Child Welfare Deliberation Committee.

The ‘2022 Support Plan for the Independence of Protected Children’ is a comprehensive plan established by Busan City to support the healthy independence and early settlement of protected children as members of society.

According to the plan, the city will implement 19 detailed projects under three main strategies: ▲strengthening income and housing safety nets ▲enhancing independence capabilities in daily life ▲building a community support system for independence.

Busan City will strengthen income and housing safety nets to ensure the successful independence of protected children.

The settlement support fund will be increased by 1 million KRW from last year to 7 million KRW per person, and 8 million KRW for children with disabilities. The eligibility for university tuition support will also be expanded from children within one year of protection termination to those within five years.

The support period for independence allowances will be extended from within three years to within five years after protection termination, up to a maximum of 60 months, in accordance with government policy.

Additionally, the support limit for the Didim Seed Account, a child development support account, will be increased from 50,000 KRW to 100,000 KRW per month, and the matching support ratio will be raised from 1:1 to 1:2 based on the savings amount.

The city will provide purchase and lease rental housing support for children who have ended protection on an ongoing basis, and especially from this year, priority will be given for moving into Happy Housing (BMC).

Housing costs such as monthly rent will also be supported through linked projects with institutions such as the Korea Housing Finance Corporation and World Vision.

Busan City will enhance independence capabilities in daily life so that protected children can settle early as members of society.

An individual independence support plan will be established for all protected children, and the Busan Protected Children Independence Support Center, a dedicated institution for independence support, will provide customized consulting and certification acquisition support for children preparing for college entrance and employment.

Valuable independence education programs such as housing education linked with certified real estate agents and savings, investment, and insurance understanding education linked with financial institutions will also be prepared and operated thoroughly.

The city will implement an integrated independence support service as a new project.

Experts in independence support at the Busan Protected Children Independence Support Center will conduct follow-up management for all children within five years after protection termination, and customized intensive case management will be carried out based on counseling results.

Various supports such as the 2022 Youth Mental Health Voucher Project, the Children’s Foundation ‘Together Green Future’ Project, and the operation of the Pinwheel Supporters will promote the psychological and emotional stability of children who have ended protection.

The city will build a support system so that the local community can support the independence of protected children.

It will investigate the independence status such as housing and employment of children who have ended protection, and strengthen the capacity of workers at independence support institutions by providing suicide prevention psychological education, counseling skills training, and borderline child understanding education to enable them to support children’s independence closely.

Promotion of independence support projects will also be continuously pursued.

In addition, a practical cooperation council for independence support will be formed and operated for public and private institutions. Various opinions on housing, employment, and career paths of protected children will be shared and collected to ensure that vivid field opinions are reflected in policies.

Furthermore, support projects linked with related organizations will be expanded to include programs for education, life stability, and preparation for independence.

Park Hyung-jun, Mayor of Busan, said, “We will seek practical measures for independence support and strive to realize a child happiness city where children grow together.”

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