Study on the Actual Status of Child Welfare Institutions and their Adaptation Process

1. Study on the Actual Status of Child Welfare Institutions and their Adaptation Process National Youth Policy Institute Lee Hye-yeon and Suh Jeong-ah

2. 1. Research Goals • The research was conducted to determine: the daily life situation of the youth coming from the child welfare institutions; their demands; their exerted efforts for psychosocial adaptation; and their essential requirements during their stay in the welfare institutions. • To derive the improvement and supporting plans for these children.

3. 2. Major Contents • The factors influencing adaptation of the youth raised in the child welfare institutions. • The concept of child welfare institution and its present status. • Analysis of the foreign policies on the youth established by child welfare institutions of foreign countries: Japan, USA, and France. • The actual status of the youth coming from the child welfare institutions and their demands. • The adaptation process of the youth raised in child welfare institutions.

4. 3. Major Research Results • Impediments after being released from the child welfare institutions: - Daily and Family Life: Lack of cash management and independent living ability; lack of self-supporting will. - School Affairs and Peer Relationship: Lack of sociability and human relationship skills; economic problems in relation to school works. - Job: Employment and Vocational Continuity - Housing and Local Community: Lack of living allowance and preparation of the house to live in. - Social Support: Absence of moral support, social prejudice, and cold reception. Absence of exclusive management system to support the independent living ability of the said children. - Emotional and Physical Condition: Low self-respect, loneliness, lack of proper daily life management, etc.

5. 3. Major Research Results • Adaptation Process of the Youth Coming From Child Welfare Institutions - It was found out from the analysis of the study that during the adaptation process of the youth, they desired to learn more, to be employed, and to be family-integrated. They felt uneasy about the future because of their frequent change in occupation, lack in school works, social and occupational alienation, vocational uneasiness, etc. - Such phenomenon is common, but doesn’t represent the sequence of common experiences of the youth. They showed apparent differences during the adaptation process, which varied depending on the individual characteristics or proper social support.

6. 4. Policy Recommendations • Institutionalize the Independent Living Program to systematically support the youth’s independent living in the child welfare institutions. • Enact the regulation requiring exclusive organization and manpower to be established and dispatched for the follow-up management of the said youth. • Expand the family-type, semi-independent living style of cooperative living households for smooth transition of the youth. • Improve the supporting facility for independent living. • Establish the system of paying effective independent living settlement expenses. • Build the therapeutic type of care center for special youth.