Awarded First Place Among 17 Cities and Provinces Nationwide Under the Ministry of Health and Welfare
Operation of Protective Infrastructure, Customized Protective Facilities, and Family-Based Protection Support Projects
Busan City ranked first among 17 cities and provinces nationwide in the Ministry of Health and Welfare's '2023 Excellent Local Government Evaluation for Establishing a Child Protection System' and received the 'Grand Prize.'
The Ministry of Health and Welfare annually evaluates and awards local governments' efforts to establish child protection systems, targeting 17 cities and provinces and 229 cities, counties, and districts nationwide, to strengthen the public nature of child protection by local governments.
In this year's evaluation, in the city and province category, ▲Grand Prize went to Busan City ▲Excellence Award to Incheon City; in the city, county, and district category, ▲Grand Prize to Nowon-gu, Seoul ▲Excellence Award to Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju ▲Merit Awards to Dalseo-gu, Daegu; Yongin City, Gyeonggi; Jeonju City, Jeonbuk; Gumi City, Gyeongbuk; and Yangsan City, Gyeongnam.
Through this Grand Prize award, Busan City was recognized for its efforts so far to establish a public protection network where children in need of protection can be safely cared for.
The evaluation consisted of nine detailed indicators across three evaluation areas: ▲operation of city and province child protection systems ▲support for city, county, and district tasks ▲expansion of child protection infrastructure.
This year, Busan City worked hard to build a solid child protection infrastructure by newly establishing one shelter for abused children and one child protection specialized agency, and operating seven group homes dedicated to abused children staffed with clinical psychological counselors.
Additionally, to prevent any gaps in the child protection network, Busan City manages the monthly status of admissions to child care facilities comprehensively and supports coordination among districts and counties for children requiring facility transfers.
Furthermore, various policies are implemented to ensure that protected children can be cared for in a family-like environment, including monthly childcare allowances for foster children, psychological support for adoptive families to encourage adoption, and programs to improve adoption awareness.
Mayor Park Hyung-jun stated, “This Grand Prize award is the result of the joint efforts of Busan City, districts and counties, and related facilities for children in need of protection,” adding, “Our city will continue to do its best to create ‘a city where every child is happy and a city where people want to live again, Busan.’”
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