Ministry to expand child protection workforce, parenting education

The government presented a plan Friday to expand child protection workforce and parenting education so as to better prevent and cope with child abuse.

In a policy meeting with relevant ministries, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it would implement an on-site inspection until end-June on 1,153 infants aged 0-3 with no records of receiving medical check-ups or vaccinations.

The ministry also plans to increase the workforce to protect children by 22 percent to 835 from the current 684 within the year, and build four more child protection facilities, putting the total number at 60.

Some 3,000 professions including employees at child care support centers will be designated as compulsory reporters of suspected violence against children. Currently, 1.68 million professions are under such legal obligations.

Parenting education is to be enhanced so that all those applying for state subsidies for day care and child-rearing will be required to take online lectures on parenting starting from July.
 

These reinforced measures follow the child abuse prevention plan released in March, reflecting the growing public anxiety over a series of violent crimes committed by parents against their children.

In March, the government unveiled a set of plans including home visits to long-term absentees from schools and a supervising network for children suspected to be at high risk of being exploited.

“The number of reports on suspected child abuses and the consequent rate of stern punishment for the offenders has soared since the government plan was announced,” said Education Minister Lee Jun-sik, touting it as a “progress.”

The number of reported child abuse cases stood at 2,152 in April, up 45.5 percent from the same period a year earlier. Of the total number of child abuse suspects, 7.4 percent were reported to prosecutors, up 21.5 percent from the same period in 2015.

By Ock Hyun-ju  (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)