Seoul City Develops 'Self-Diagnosis Checklist' for Family Care Youth... Actively Identifying and Supporting

293 Young Adults Supported Over 9 Months

Seoul City has developed a 'self-diagnosis checklist' that allows young family caregivers to identify themselves for the first time nationwide, actively promoting their discovery and support.

On the 15th, the dedicated organization for young family caregivers operated by Seoul City announced that over the nine months since its establishment, it provided 623 customized consultations and 2,765 pieces of information to 293 young people. This year, the city plans to expand support needed by young family caregivers in cooperation with the private sector and promote publicity to discover and support them more actively.

Photo by Seoul City Family Care Youth Support Project SNS

In August last year, Seoul City launched the 'Dedicated Organization for Supporting Young Family Caregivers' within the Seoul Welfare Foundation, the first of its kind nationwide. Young family caregivers are youths aged 9 to 34 who care for family members with disabilities, mental or physical illnesses, or other issues. The dedicated organization conducts counseling based on the psychological state, income, and living conditions of young family caregivers and provides necessary services such as livelihood, housing, and medical care tailored to individual circumstances.

The city and the dedicated organization developed a 'self-diagnosis checklist for youth' to ensure that no one misses out on help because they do not realize they are young family caregivers. A city official explained, "In fact, the majority of participants in last year’s Seoul City young family caregiver survey focus group interviews realized through the interviews that they were young family caregivers themselves," adding, "Developing a self-diagnosis checklist that allows individuals to confirm whether they are young family caregivers will be useful." The checklist will be distributed mainly in educational settings such as elementary, middle, and high schools.

This year, the city will continue support linked with public and private resources. In the first half of the year, free health checkups will be provided to one young family caregiver and one family member, and medical expenses support is planned for the second half. Starting this month, the city will recruit young people to receive resources worth 480 million KRW for livelihood, housing, medical care, and learning expenses in cooperation with private organizations. Participants include Green Umbrella, Korea Food for the Hungry International, 365mc, Aequan Capital, and Aequan Savings Bank.

Additionally, to help young family caregivers become independent through regular support, 128 households of young family caregivers were selected as recipients of guaranteed income starting last month, and guaranteed income benefits have been paid from April 26 until March next year.

Kim Sang-cheol, CEO of the Seoul Welfare Foundation, said, "We will expand publicity targeting the general public and youth to continuously discover young family caregivers and strive to concretize policies based on case analysis."

Jung Sang-hoon, Director of Seoul City Welfare Policy Office, stated, "Seoul City will actively discover young family caregivers in urgent need of help through more diverse publicity methods and provide systematic support."