Suwon's "Together Care Ecosystem" Makes Both Children and Parents Happy

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Parents facing school breaks face a dilemma. Where can they leave their children? How will meals be handled? This is an even greater concern for dual-income families with young children in elementary school or below. Suwon City operates "Together Care Centers" to address this issue.

▲ Children Happy, Adults at Ease

Located in the center of Humanssia Apartment Complex 16 in the Homaesil District of Gwonseon-gu, Suwon City Together Care Center No. 1 has opened its doors.

Originally, this space was a community facility for residents. After receiving resident approval, the 180 square meter area, which had been used as a recreation facility including a ping-pong table, was remodeled and began operating as a Together Care Center from late August of last year.

As a result, both first-time parents and children who previously had to shuttle between academies until their parents got off work were able to use the Together Care Center.

During vacation periods, children are cared for from 9:00 a.m. (from 10:00 a.m. during the school year) to 7:30 p.m. The center provides snacks to hungry children, arranges their academy schedules, helps with homework, and offers various special activities based on their interests.

Kim Sun-mi, who entrusted her first-grade daughter to the center, said, "The school's care classroom had been on the waiting list since enrollment with no end in sight, so it was such a relief to be able to leave my child with Together Care Center and work with peace of mind." She added, "I can leave my child there until late, so I don't feel anxious even if traffic is bad on my way home from work, and my child has adapted well and enjoys using the center."

Jo In-hee, director of the Together Care Center, stated, "The Together Care Center provides gap-filling childcare services needed by dual-income and multi-child families, and with the consideration and affection of local residents as well as support from volunteer residents in the area, it is fulfilling the original function of small-scale community-based childcare."

▲ Expanding to 20 Together Care Centers by 2022

The Together Care Centers are part of Mayor Yeom Tae-young's campaign promises for the seventh term of Suwon City administration.

The city began installing and operating Together Care Centers that provide continuous care for children ages 6-12 from general families in need of childcare, offering post-school learning programs and experiential activities. It opened Center No. 1 in Homaesil Complex 16 with a capacity of 30 children.

Unlike Community Child Care Centers where vulnerable children have priority, Together Care Centers prioritize lower-grade students, dual-income families, and multi-child households regardless of income level. These families can use care facilities free of charge by only paying for meals and snacks.

Initially, the government planned to provide 70 million won in national funds and 50 million won in city funds per facility, with operations to be self-funded. However, to provide quality care, the city added an additional 80 million won in city funds, bringing the total to 200 million won and making it available for operational expenses in addition to facility costs.

The city aims to install 20 Together Care Centers by 2022. This year, it plans to operate 6 additional centers—2 in the first half and 4 in the second half.

In particular, to overcome the difficulty of securing vacant public facilities to be used as care spaces, the city plans to actively respond by utilizing facilities within residential apartment complexes.

▲ Building Suwon's Comprehensive Care Ecosystem

According to the "Changes in Suwon's Demographic and Social Characteristics Over the Past 10 Years" announced by the Gyeonggi Regional Statistical Office at the end of October last year, Suwon's total fertility rate as of 2018, which is comparable to a metropolitan city, is 0.99. This figure reflects the crisis of a demographic cliff caused by ultra-low birth rates.

In this survey, citizens cited the burden of child-rearing costs (30.7%) and insufficient conditions and environments for work-life balance (24.4%) as causes of low birth rates, confirming that low birth rates and childcare issues are closely connected.

In fact, the city faces a severe shortage of childcare for elementary school students. As of 2018, there are approximately 68,000 elementary school students, but only about 9.7% benefit from public childcare services including elementary school care classrooms, community child care centers, and other care institutions.

To address this, the city established a goal of filling gaps through building a comprehensive care ecosystem that encompasses various childcare programs and worked to specify its plan.

In July of last year, the city enacted the "Suwon City Together Care Support Ordinance," systematizing childcare further. In September, it established the Suwon Regional Care Council, composed of private experts and related organizations, to formulate a comprehensive care plan.

Accordingly, key initiatives for building an all-day care ecosystem in 2020 include ▲Community Child Care Centers for vulnerable children ▲Together Care Centers providing care services regardless of income ▲Baby Care Support Programs where caregivers visit homes with childcare gaps ▲Community Childcare Sharing Centers for building local childcare communities ▲Suwon Model Village Schools utilizing vacant school facilities for community education ▲Youth After-School Academies providing comprehensive services to vulnerable youth ▲Reading and Culture Programs for children utilizing community libraries in the area.

Mayor Yeom Tae-young stated, "If Together Care Centers are helpful to residents in need of childcare for children, we plan to expand them further" and "We will do our best to create welfare services needed by residents."