The "Gyeonggi-do Idolbom Metropolitan Support Center," operated by Gyeonggi Province, marks its first anniversary. Over the past year, the center has provided care services to more than 18,200 children in the province, establishing a robust care safety net in Gyeonggi-do.
The Idolbom Support Program is a key initiative of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, designed to address the demand for childcare arising from gaps in home-based care and to supplement blind spots in childcare services.
In June last year, Gyeonggi-do established the Metropolitan Center within the Gyeonggi-do Women and Family Foundation and launched various care support projects with the goal of creating the "Gyeonggi-do Idolbom Service Happiness Platform."
Currently, Gyeonggi-do’s Idolbom Service offers a variety of programs, including hourly care, full-day infant care, support for children with infectious diseases, and institutional linkage services. As of the end of April this year, a total of 18,214 children from 10,146 households in the province have used the services 3,664,550 times (an average of 229,000 cases per month), and 5,698 caregivers are active in the program.
The Metropolitan Center oversees 32 institutions that provide Idolbom services in 31 cities and counties across the province. Over the past year, the center has carried out comprehensive support projects to strengthen the quality of services at each institution, including regular inspections, practical competency training for staff, psychological and emotional support, and labor consulting. The center is also actively conducting diverse promotional campaigns to improve service accessibility.
In addition to service providers, the center has enhanced the quality of caregiver operations through collaboration and inspections with educational institutions that train caregivers.
In particular, over the past year, the center has conducted 19,455 telephone, mobile, and on-site inspections to prevent child abuse and fraudulent claims, thereby contributing to the enhancement of care service quality. To improve the work efficiency of service provider staff, the center has also developed and distributed three types of automated allowance payment form programs, and continues to make efforts to address challenges in the field.
Kim Hyesoon, CEO of the Gyeonggi-do Women and Family Foundation, stated, "We will continue to do our utmost to build a dense, field-oriented care safety net through the Idolbom Metropolitan Support Center, and to make Gyeonggi-do a place where both parents and children can be happy."
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