Nowon-gu, Comprehensive Survey of Low-Income Vulnerable Children

Comprehensive Survey of 425 Vulnerable Children, Development Assessed via Phone and Home Visits
Focus on Identifying Infant Cases and Strengthening Early Intervention to Alleviate Symptoms

Nowon-gu, Seoul (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it will conduct a comprehensive survey of low-income vulnerable children to identify hidden at-risk children in crisis families.

This is to resolve welfare benefit imbalances and blind spots in care through preventive and close-knit integrated case management for vulnerable children who could potentially be neglected or abused, and to expand support for integrated child services.

The survey targets 425 vulnerable children aged 0 to 9 years (350 households), excluding those already using Dream Start and care institutions. The district previously sent notification letters and child development checklists by mail to all subjects in February as prior notice.

Starting in March, when the intensive survey begins, the district will proceed step-by-step with ▲phone surveys ▲home visits.

First, the phone survey is a preliminary step to confirm consent for home visits. The district will conduct phone surveys targeting 337 children aged 1 to 9 whose families responded to the notification letter, checking whether the child development checklist was completed and confirming willingness for a home visit.

In particular, for 88 newborn children newly entering this year, regardless of whether they respond to the notification letter, the district will make more than three phone calls. If contact is still not made, at least one text message will be sent, and monitoring will be conducted through the local community center. This is to prevent omissions of children not included in last year’s survey.

Home visits will be conducted by five integrated child case managers who will visit households that consented during the phone survey. They will conduct ▲needs assessments ▲parenting environment surveys through interviews with the child and family members, and based on child development assessment results, various local resource services such as counseling therapy linkage and basic learning support will be provided starting in March.

Especially for children requiring complex needs and crisis intervention, more active involvement will be made through integrated child case management that links customized services considering the child’s physical and health status, cognitive and language development, and emotional and behavioral aspects, based on case grading according to the risk level of the child and family.

This tailored integrated child case management by the district has shown great effectiveness in the field. In last year’s comprehensive survey of vulnerable children, a boy identified as A had previously shown suspected signs of autism and ADHD but had not received appropriate treatment. After being selected as a Dream Start case management child in June 2023, an early childhood development screening confirmed Asperger’s symptoms, and he was linked to a visiting child development play counseling service for play and social skills therapy. Currently, he shows positive interactions with peers and many suspected autism symptoms have diminished, showing potential for development. The district plans to continue providing tailored services.

The Nowon-gu Dream Start project, which has worked to help children and families grow together within the community, has also received high external recognition. After winning the Health and Welfare Administration Award in 2013, it received the Minister of Health and Welfare Award four times in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2020, acknowledging its achievements.

This year, the district plans to support the holistic development of children by providing essential services in child development areas, offering 10 customized services such as visiting reading guidance and tailored coaching according to needs and assessment results, along with various preventive services.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “We plan to actively identify vulnerable children in welfare blind spots through this comprehensive survey,” adding, “We will devote all efforts not just to providing simple services or running programs, but to genuinely fostering the healthy growth and development of children.”

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