[Seoul District News] Seongdong-gu Increases Snack Support, Provides Childcare Staff Welfare Allowance, Seniority and Overtime Pay, and Childbirth Congratulatory Money... Jung-gu Launches Village Doctor Integrated Health Care Service for Vulnerable Groups... Gangbuk-gu Promotes Lunar New Year Food Sharing... Geumcheon-gu Provides 500,000-1,000,000 KRW Childbirth Support for Disabled Families Starting This Year... Yangcheon-gu Calls for Operators for Middle-Aged Employment-Linked Vocational Education Program... Seongbuk-gu Designates Private Lodging Facilities as Temporary Housing
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong District, is meeting with daycare center officials to discuss support policies needed for on-site childcare.
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu, the "Special Childcare City" ranked first in the ratio of public childcare centers among Seoul's autonomous districts.
Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) is promoting support policies this year that actively reflect the needs of childcare centers, from children's meals to childcare teachers' treatment.
First, prioritizing children and ensuring they enjoy a happy and healthy time at childcare centers, a special activity allowance of 30,000 KRW per month will be provided to children aged 24 months and older. To provide high-quality eco-friendly food, the snack allowance, which is higher than that of kindergartens, will also be supported (unit price per meal: infants 1,900 KRW → 2,490 KRW, toddlers 2,500 KRW → 3,147 KRW). In addition, cooks' wages for safe and hygienic meal provision and mask support for infectious disease prevention will continue.
To boost morale and job satisfaction of childcare teachers, which greatly affects childcare quality, substitute teachers and childcare assistants will be supported during vacations or absences. Support for improving teachers' working conditions (75,000 to 360,000 KRW per month), childcare staff treatment improvement allowance (145,000 to 350,000 KRW per month), and increased overtime pay (50,000 KRW per month) will be provided. Long-term service allowance (30,000 to 70,000 KRW per month) for those working more than two years at the same facility and congratulatory money (100,000 KRW) for childbirth will also be newly introduced, demonstrating generous support for improving treatment.
Furthermore, to help childcare centers struggling with operation difficulties due to prolonged COVID-19, decreased enrolled children, and rising rent, private childcare centers will receive expanded half-operation costs (350,000 to 400,000 KRW per month for infant classes, 100,000 KRW per month for toddler classes), and public childcare centers will newly receive toddler class operation costs (100,000 KRW per month).
As childcare center operations are expected to remain very difficult this year due to prolonged COVID-19, decreased enrolled children, rising rent, and frequent turnover of childcare teachers, the district plans to actively reflect field voices in childcare support projects, secure additional district funds, and implement substantial childcare support policies to create a safe and healthy childcare environment where children, parents, and teachers can all be happy.
Seongdong-gu Mayor Jung Won-oh said, "I express my gratitude to childcare teachers who are working hard to ensure safe childcare despite the prolonged COVID-19 situation," and added, "We will continue to expand support projects to create a safe and pleasant childcare environment where children are happy, parents feel reassured, and childcare teachers find fulfillment."
Jung-gu (Mayor Seo Yang-ho) announced on the 19th that it will actively promote an integrated health care project to alleviate residents' anxiety about elderly care and support independent living ahead of the super-aged society.
With rapid aging and an increase in chronic and complex diseases, the socioeconomic burden of health care is increasing, leading to growing demand for community-based integrated care services.
'Community Care' is a community-led social service policy that provides integrated housing, medical, nursing, and care services so that elderly or disabled people can live healthy lives in their usual places.
Last year, Jung-gu formed an integrated care team at the public health center and prepared a community care roadmap. It established a health care network through public-private cooperation with national and public medical institutions, Jung-gu Medical Association, and related organizations, and expanded core infrastructure by organizing a health care service team composed of professionals.
A Jung-gu public health center official said, "In the new year of 2022, we plan to expand the project in earnest by linking with local care SOS and community care services."
The district's integrated health care services are divided into three main areas: ▲health care services ▲home medical services ▲operation of emergency medical welfare funds.
'Health care services' involve village doctors visiting the homes of high-risk residents registered with community care or care SOS centers to provide health care services. Doctors in charge of each zone visit the residences of subjects to assess health status and develop customized care plans. They focus on managing chronic diseases and nutritional status and connect patients to network hospitals if referral to higher-level hospitals is needed. They also respond to welfare needs such as day and night care services, daily life convenience, and housing improvements in cooperation with care SOS centers.
Additionally, in collaboration with the Jung-gu Medical Association, 'home medical services' are provided to homebound patients with mobility difficulties. Doctors affiliated with the Jung-gu Medical Association provide home visits for dressing, diabetic foot care, tube management, and also offer education on post-treatment and management for patients and caregivers.
The district also identifies crisis households needing urgent help due to sudden emergencies and supports living and medical expenses. To this end, in June last year, it signed a business agreement with the Korean Red Cross to establish an 'Emergency Medical Welfare Fund' for integrated health care. Donations from private hospitals and companies continue as part of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Residents can also donate walking mileage accumulated through the 'Jung-gu Health Mileage' app to the emergency medical welfare fund. The 'Jung-gu Health Mileage' app, developed last year, is currently used by about 9,800 Jung-gu residents.
Jung-gu Mayor Seo Yang-ho said, "As we enter an aging society, care has become a universal issue that the community must share responsibility for, not just an individual problem. We will prepare comprehensive care services covering housing, medical, nursing, and care through community linkage so that residents can enjoy healthy old age."
Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Gyeom-su) is conducting a food sharing event for the Lunar New Year until the 28th.
Gangbuk-gu announced that it is promoting the 'Lunar New Year Food Sharing Event' to provide physical and emotional comfort to the underprivileged, who have become more vulnerable due to strengthened social distancing measures.
Donations can be made at 13 community service centers within Gangbuk-gu, and donation boxes will be installed in Songjung-dong and Songcheon-dong. Gangbuk-gu will deliver donated items to vulnerable neighbors such as elderly living alone, disabled people, and multicultural families through the Gangbuk Food Bank and Market. Donated items will be transparently managed through a computerized system and evenly distributed to vulnerable groups.
Donated items should be tangible goods that are easy to secure safety, such as rice, ramen, canned food, soap, and detergent. Fresh food, frozen food, food with damaged packaging that may spoil at room temperature, and food nearing expiration cannot be donated.
The Lunar New Year Food Sharing Event will run until the 28th, just before the Lunar New Year holiday. Gangbuk-gu plans to regularize the holiday sharing event to spread a culture of donation and encourage voluntary participation by residents.
Gangbuk-gu Mayor Park Gyeom-su said, "I hope that through this Lunar New Year Food Sharing Event, the underprivileged can feel the warm affection of neighbors," and added, "I ask for many residents' participation so that everyone can have a happy Lunar New Year in the Year of the Black Tiger."
Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) announced that it will provide childbirth support funds of up to 2 million KRW to encourage childbirth in families with disabilities and help stabilize their lives.
Geumcheon-gu enacted the 'Seoul Geumcheon-gu Childbirth Support Fund Ordinance for Families with Disabilities' in July last year to reduce the economic burden on families with disabilities, who incur higher costs during pregnancy and childbirth than non-disabled families.
According to the ordinance, starting this year, Geumcheon-gu will provide 1 million KRW to mothers with severe disabilities classified as grades 1 to 3 and 500,000 KRW to other families with disabilities for maternal and newborn health care. An additional 50% will be added for multiple births such as twins.
This amount is separate from the 1 million KRW childbirth support fund supported by national and city funds.
The payment target is families with disabilities who have resided in Geumcheon-gu for more than one year as of the newborn's birth date. Applications can be made following guidance at the community service center during birth registration and will be paid within 15 days. Applications must be submitted within one year of the birth date to receive payment. This support can be received concurrently with the childbirth congratulatory money (First Meeting Voucher) provided by the district.
Geumcheon-gu Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon said, "I hope the childbirth support fund for families with disabilities, implemented from this year, will be a practical help for healthy childbirth of babies and mothers," and added, "We will continue to prepare various policies to reduce the economic burden on families with disabilities."
Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) is encouraging a strong leap into the second act of life through a public contest for operators of the 'Middle-aged Employment-linked Vocational Education Program' until January 28.
The Middle-aged Employment-linked Vocational Education Program is a distinctive job support project of Yangcheon-gu that supports employment after completing training courses. Last year, through a project contest, the district operated courses for nursing care worker certification and Silver Cognitive Play Instructor training in our neighborhood, achieving a total of 25 successful employments.
The contest targets are ▲corporations and individual businesses with experience operating employment-linked programs for middle-aged people (over 10 million KRW), ▲vocational training institutions with systematic education programs for middle-aged reemployment, and ▲corporations and individual businesses with plans to train and hire skilled workers needed in industrial sites.
The application deadline is January 28. Application documents can be downloaded from the public notice board on the Yangcheon-gu website, completed, and submitted via email to the person in charge (youngeun1379@yangchoen.go.kr) or by mail to the Yangcheon-gu Job Economy Division. However, documents received by mail are valid only if they arrive by Friday, the 28th.
The district will comprehensively review ▲whether the project improves middle-aged employment rates ▲project feasibility ▲project execution capability, and plans to select the final operator in February.
The project period is from March to December, and the operator will receive up to 25 million KRW in subsidies through a contract to run the program.
For more details about the public contest for the middle-aged employment-linked program operator, please contact the Job Economy Division.
Yangcheon-gu Mayor Kim Soo-young said, "I hope many high-quality education programs that provide practical help for middle-aged employment activities will be recruited through this project contest."
Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) signed a temporary housing facility designation agreement with representatives of six private lodging facilities in the district for rapid emergency relief in disaster situations.
Six private lodging facilities, including Arirang Hill Hotel Dongdaemun, participated in this Seongbuk-gu temporary housing facility designation agreement. A Seongbuk-gu official said, "With this agreement, in case of disasters causing evacuees, we can provide faster relief services by utilizing pre-designated independent temporary housing facilities."
The main contents of the agreement include establishing a rapid emergency relief cooperation system, operating temporary housing facilities, and supporting necessary expenses.
Thus, Seongbuk-gu has moved away from the traditional method of accommodating evacuees in collective temporary housing facilities such as schools, government offices, and senior centers, and by providing independent temporary housing facilities, it can protect privacy, manage hygiene, prevent group infections, and minimize evacuees' safety concerns and inconveniences.
In addition to supporting temporary housing facilities during disasters, Seongbuk-gu helps evacuees return to normal life before the disaster by providing disaster relief supplies (emergency and cooking relief sets) and psychological recovery support center services.
Seongbuk-gu Mayor Lee Seung-ro said, "Starting with this agreement, we will gradually expand the designation of temporary housing facilities considering population distribution and residents' accessibility by region, and do our best to respond quickly and efficiently to various disaster situations and ensure stable living for evacuees."
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