Gwangju City Actively Supports Childcare When Daycare Centers and Schools Close Temporarily

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 16th that when daycare centers and kindergartens close due to COVID-19 local infection response, the hours of childcare services used during this period will be excluded from the government support limit.

Childcare service is a government policy project where a childcare provider, who has completed professional training at a government-designated institution, visits families experiencing childcare gaps due to dual-income households and safely cares for children one-on-one.

Earlier, Gwangju raised social distancing to level 2 on the 2nd to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ordered the closure of daycare centers and kindergartens.

In particular, Gwangju continuously proposed to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to exclude the service usage hours during this period from the government support limit (720 hours per year) to minimize the burden on childcare service users, and the government accepted this, applying it from the 14th.

Accordingly, dual-income families with children aged over 3 months and under 12 years can use childcare services with government support ranging from 15% to 85% depending on income level within the annual limit of 720 hours. Costs exceeding 720 hours are fully borne by the user.

However, due to this government support expansion measure, during periods when local governments have ordered closures due to COVID-19, even if childcare services are used, the usage hours are excluded from the annual support limit (720 hours), significantly reducing the users' burden.

Families wishing to use childcare services can receive consultation by contacting the childcare service website, the consultation hotline, or childcare service providers in the five autonomous districts.

Kang Young-sook, Director of the Women's and Family Bureau of the city, said, “With the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family reflecting our proposal, the burden of using childcare services for dual-income families has been reduced. We will continue to propose government support expansions to improve the quality of childcare services and ensure convenience for citizens.”