Gyeonggi Province will provide up to 500,000 KRW per month for cooling and heating expenses from July to September and November to December to child care facilities and child protection treatment facilities in the province that are expected to face difficulties in facility operation due to public utility fee increases.
The support targets include 25 child care facilities and 1 child protection treatment facility in the province. The support criteria are based on facility size: facilities with 20 or fewer people receive 100,000 KRW per month, those with 21 to 50 people receive 300,000 KRW per month, and facilities with 51 or more people receive 500,000 KRW per month.
The support period covers five months this year: three months for cooling expenses (July to September) and two months for heating expenses (November to December).
Currently, national government-subsidized facilities such as child group homes (160 locations in the province) receive support for cooling and heating expenses (up to 500,000 KRW per month) according to central government plans, but child care facilities and child protection treatment facilities, which are provincially delegated facilities, do not receive such support. Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province plans to alleviate the operational burden on these facilities through temporary support.
Joo Yeon, Director of the Women and Family Bureau of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Although this measure is not sufficient, we hope it will help ease the difficulties of child care facilities that serve as the last line of defense for child welfare in the local community," and added, "We will strive to make Gyeonggi Province a place where children, including those residing in the facilities, can grow up healthy and happy."
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