The city of Incheon will focus on identifying and providing close support to young family caregivers who have fallen through the welfare safety net.
A young family caregiver refers to an adolescent or young adult between the ages of 13 and 34 who either directly nurses or cares for a family member in need of care due to illness, disability, or old age, or who is responsible for the family's livelihood.
A significant number of these individuals are not aware that they fall into the category of young family caregivers, making it difficult to identify eligible recipients. The city plans to actively search for young family caregivers in cooperation with county and district offices, nursing and care institutions, the office of education, medical institutions, and welfare facilities until June 27.
Through the Incheon Youth Future Center, which opened last year, the city is dedicated to identifying young family caregivers and providing close case management. Once selected as a recipient, the family member in need receives care and medical services, while the young caregiver is offered a variety of services such as scholarships, financial and career counseling, as well as psychological support, self-help groups, and healing programs.
In particular, if a household's income and assets are at or below 100% of the median income, the city provides an annual self-care allowance of 2 million won.
An official from Incheon City stated, "We will spare no effort in providing diverse support so that young people do not have to give up their futures due to the burden of family caregiving."
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