November 11th Crisis Family Integrated Support and Child Abuse Prevention Agreement and Seongbuk-gu Crisis Family Integrated Support Center Opening Ceremony
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongbuk-gu Office, Seongbuk and Jongam Police Stations, and Seongbuk Child Protection Agency have joined forces to respond to domestic violence and child abuse.
On the 11th, Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, Choi Seong-gyu, Chief of Seongbuk Police Station, Park Gyu-nam, Chief of Jongam Police Station, and Kim Byeong-ik, Director of Seongbuk Child Protection Agency, gathered in the Seongbuk-gu Mayor’s office to sign the "Integrated Support for Crisis Families and Child Abuse Prevention Agreement."
Accordingly, Seongbuk-gu Office will oversee cases related to child abuse investigation and protection, while Seoul Seongbuk and Jongam Police Stations will be responsible for joint investigations and emergency measures concerning suspected child abuse. The Seoul Seongbuk Child Protection Agency will support tasks such as joint dispatch and investigation participation related to child abuse and manage specialized cases.
The agreement parties also formed an information-sharing council for child abuse response. They will share information on abused or at-risk children and cooperate for their protection and support, with the Women and Family Division of Seongbuk-gu Office overseeing the council’s operation.
Regular meetings will be held quarterly and convened urgently as needed. The agreement takes effect immediately upon signing and may be amended through mutual consultation when deemed necessary.
Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, stated, “As Seongbuk-gu was certified as Korea’s first Child-Friendly City by UNICEF in 2013, it is the natural duty of the administration to ensure children grow up happily and safely by guaranteeing their welfare. We will make greater efforts to prevent child abuse, an unacceptable issue, through cooperation with related local organizations.”
On the same day as the signing of the "Integrated Support for Crisis Families and Child Abuse Prevention Agreement," the opening ceremony of the "Seongbuk-gu Integrated Support Center for Crisis Families" was held. Seongbuk-gu began full-scale operation of the center on the 5th to identify and support households affected by domestic violence. The center is managed by Seongbuk-gu, with abuse prevention police officers (APOs) dispatched and supported by Seongbuk and Jongam Police Stations.
The newly established Seongbuk-gu Integrated Support Center for Crisis Families is located on the third floor of the district office and operates from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. It employs two abuse prevention police officers (one each from Seongbuk and Jongam Police Stations), one integrated case manager, and two counselors.
The main role is that abuse prevention police officers take initial action on cases reported to 112 for domestic violence and, with the consent of the reporter, share crisis family cases with the Integrated Support Center for Crisis Families. They then conduct joint visits with the integrated case manager to support the crisis families.
Counselors provide telephone consultations to reporting households that agree to be connected to the center, and the integrated case manager links the households to necessary services in various fields through public resources and private specialized institutions based on the consultation data to ensure they receive support.
Seongbuk-gu plans to further concentrate administrative efforts on promptly identifying crisis families suffering from domestic violence and abused children and providing tailored integrated services through the "Integrated Support for Crisis Families and Child Abuse Prevention Agreement" with related organizations and the operation of the "Seongbuk-gu Integrated Support Center for Crisis Families."
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