Suwon City Improves Policy on Home Returns for Child Abuse Victims

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Suwon City announced on the 24th that from next month, it will strengthen child-centered protective measures when deciding on home returns for abused children, including actively reflecting the opinions of psychological experts.

The city conducted a comprehensive fact-finding survey on the operation of the Suwon Child Protection Specialist Agency and the child protection system, and established a plan to strengthen on-site investigation of child abuse and protective measures for victimized children, which will be implemented starting in July.

This follows ongoing cases where abused children are re-victimized after being returned home.

The city will independently improve protective measures and promote field investigations and protective measures centered on the child's interests.

Abused children are placed in protective facilities and receive emergency care. Subsequently, when guardians complete the home return program and request the child's return home, the local government must decide whether to allow the return.

In this process, the city will add a safety net that further respects the child's opinion by having psychological experts confirm the child's intention to return to their original home, in addition to existing home return program regulations.

When victimized children initially enter a protective facility, the plan includes reflecting the opinions of psychological counselors and focused observation during the protection period, as well as additionally considering the opinions of pediatric psychiatrists after the completion of home return training.

Additionally, children with abuse experience living in homes will be classified as priority case management targets, and the policy will be to investigate for re-abuse through unannounced home visits.

Expansion of dedicated personnel is urgent. Currently, eight staff members at the Suwon Child Protection Specialist Agency handle notification intake and on-site investigations, processing an average of 110 cases per person annually. When multiple reports are received on the same day, there are limitations in conducting same-day on-site investigations.

Additionally, nine staff members handle victimized case management, managing an average of 60 cases annually. When intensive management of serious child abuse victims is necessary, it becomes difficult to include existing management targets.

In particular, with the revision of the Child Welfare Act, when the full deployment of child abuse investigation civil servants and dedicated child protection personnel is implemented in 2022, it was identified that 18 and 8 personnel, respectively, are needed in Suwon City.

Accordingly, the city plans to recommend to related government agencies including the Ministry of Health and Welfare that it increase dedicated personnel and budget support for child abuse investigations and case management to strengthen expertise and public responsibility.

A city official stated, "We will do our best to enhance public responsibility for child abuse victim protection with a system strengthened to prioritize children's interests."

Meanwhile, the number of suspected child abuse cases reported to the Suwon Child Protection Specialist Agency last year was 1,042. Of these, 642 cases were determined to be abuse. In 506 cases, biological parents were the perpetrators. From January to the end of May this year, 302 reports were received, with 198 cases determined to be abuse. In 148 cases, biological parents were the perpetrators.