First National-Level Survey on Family Care Youth Initiated

Nationwide Survey Starting in March
Promotion of Legislation for Special Act on Public Care Support

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[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The first national-level survey on young people caring for family members with disabilities, illnesses, and other conditions will be conducted.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 14th that it presented the "Plan to Establish Support Measures for Family Care Youth" at the 6th Youth Policy Coordination Committee meeting.

Family care youth refers to young people who care for family members with disabilities, mental or physical illnesses, substance issues, and other problems. In countries such as the UK, Australia, and Japan, caregivers in their late teens to mid-20s are called "young carers."

If adolescents and young adults, who should be focusing on their studies or career paths, bear the burden of livelihood and caregiving, they lack the capacity to invest in their future, leading to a vicious cycle of poverty that weakens their life course. In fact, social demand for support for family care youth increased after a caregiving murder case in Daegu last year, where a son in his 20s, burdened by medical expenses, discharged his father hospitalized for cerebral hemorrhage and later gave up caregiving, resulting in the father's death.

In particular, unlike existing welfare recipients, family care youth have no specific "definition," so local governments often did not know what support to provide or which agencies to connect with.

Survey to Begin Next Month... Guidance and Connection to Existing Systems

As the first step of the support measures, the government will conduct a nationwide survey starting next month targeting middle and high school students, out-of-school youth, university students, and working youth (up to age 34). For middle and high school students and out-of-school youth under 19, survey URLs will be distributed through schools or support centers, and for university students and working youth aged 19 and over, through universities or youth centers.

At the same time, using existing welfare blind spot crisis household detection systems and data from the National Health Insurance Service, cases will be estimated and identified based on household information and welfare benefit data such as single-parent families, grandparent-headed households, and child-headed households.

According to the survey results, family care youth identified will be guided and connected from May to appropriate caregiving, livelihood, medical, and learning support systems to ensure they do not miss out on support due to lack of awareness of existing programs.

Promotion of Special Act on Public Care Support

The government plans to form an inter-ministerial task force (TF) to promote related policies. It will also push for the enactment of a special law on public care support for family care youth.

A public safety net linking local governments, hospitals, and schools will be established. Hospitals will provide caregiving and welfare/emotional support services through medical social workers, and schools will do so through educational welfare officers and staff. Local governments will connect various services for identified individuals from schools and hospitals.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to pilot a project this year in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, connecting family care youth with village administrators and village lawyers to support caregiving and secure time for self-development, then expand it nationwide.

Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol said, "This support for caregivers, especially the first national-level approach for family care youth who must provide care at a young age, is very meaningful," adding, "We will do our best to ensure that young people do not have to give up their futures due to caregiving responsibilities for their families."

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