Since the Pilot Project Selection in June 2011, Nowon-gu Dream Start Celebrates 10th Anniversary...Integrated Case Management for Over 1,800 Children and Provision of More Than 3,000 Customized Integrated Services Over 10 Years
[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok)’s ‘Dream Start’ project has marked its 10th anniversary this year.
The Dream Start project provides customized integrated services such as health, education, culture, and welfare to children under 12 years old from financially disadvantaged families and their families, supporting their healthy growth and development.
The purpose of this project is to ensure that all children have equal starting opportunities through preventive and close-knit integrated case management for vulnerable children who might otherwise be neglected or abused.
Nowon-gu Dream Start began as a pilot project in June 2011 with an office in a temporary building within an apartment complex in Junggye-dong. In 2017, it moved to its current location along with the establishment of the Nowon Child Welfare Center and has since played a key role in Nowon-gu’s child welfare projects, advocating the ‘Nowon-type child welfare system.’
The district announced that over the past 10 years, the Dream Start project has provided integrated case management for a total of about 1,800 children and delivered more than 3,000 customized integrated services.
Last year, it supported 3,006 people annually through five essential services including integrated child case management for 380 children and 18 customized services. In particular, due to the prolonged impact of COVID-19, the project made active efforts such as increasing the number of case management visits compared to before COVID-19 to protect vulnerable children whose caregiving environments could easily worsen.
As a result, there was a case where the safety of a young brother and sister exposed to neglect was secured.
The siblings A, living with a mother suffering from depression and panic disorder who was lethargic, and a father who worked night shifts and found it difficult to care for the children, were in a state of neglect. Living in a house full of garbage, the siblings were not attending daycare and their overall developmental status was delayed.
In response, six Dream Start case managers were deployed to provide guidance on daycare attendance, nutrition and health management, hospital visits, parent education, and counseling in various ways.
However, as parental neglect continued, with parental consent, the siblings A were moved to a safe facility, where noticeable improvements in their health and developmental status were confirmed.
Going forward, communication and counseling through the facility are being supported so that the siblings A can live healthily with their parents.
Also, B, who usually liked sports and showed outstanding talent in soccer, lived with a father who was raising the children alone after a divorce and drank daily, neglecting the children. B suffered from severe nutritional deficiency, and the other siblings were in difficult situations, unable to properly graduate from school. Accordingly, Dream Start helped B enter a sports specialized school and dormitory so he could pursue his dream, and is supporting his dream of becoming a soccer player through collaboration with various local organizations.
The Nowon-gu Dream Start project, which has strived 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, Dream Start plans to invest a budget of 476 million KRW, an increase of 68 million KRW from last year, to provide essential services by child development areas (physical/health, cognitive/language, emotional/behavioral, parent/family) supporting holistic development, and 13 customized services such as basic learning classes and Dream Mentoring based on needs and assessment results.
Additionally, preventive services and family relationship enhancement programs will be conducted for vulnerable children and caregivers who do not directly use Dream Start services, expanding the scope of services.
As of January this year, there are 2,169 children under 12 years old from low-income families in the area.
A report meeting summarizing the 10 years of achievements of Nowon-gu Dream Start will be held at 2 p.m. on the 18th in the small auditorium of Nowon-gu Office. Related local community organizations will gather to share meaningful time with project case presentations and congratulatory performances.
In particular, a video of a student who was able to realize their dream of becoming a piano prodigy with support from the community through Dream Start will be screened as a congratulatory performance, delivering even greater emotion.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “The past 10 years of Nowon-gu Dream Start are valuable achievements made together by Dream Start and the local community. We will continue to devote all efforts not just to providing simple services or running programs, but ultimately to bringing about change in children and their families.”
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