아동복지정보화정책의 현상과 과제

Information Policies in Child Welfare : Current Trends and Tasks

The purpose of this research is to assess current trends in Information Policies in Child Welfare in Korea, and expose potential problems as may arise in hopes of providing foundational material for the future establishment of these policies. Specifically, three questions arose during the research : 1) The current state and direction of Information Policies in Child Welfare and which points that may potentially be problematic, 2) What are the specifics of child welfare, and the status quo/background of such Information Policies, and finally 3) The areas of future research on this topic. The scope of the research comprises the start of Information Law in 1996 to the conclusion of this research in the 3^rd quarter of 1999. Children under the age of 18 who fall within the protection of Child Welfare laws constituted the majority of research subjects. The methodology in which this research was conducted was first through an analysis of academic written works on the matter, as well as information available via the Internet. These served as a core basis for much of the research. However, telephone interviews as well as personal interviews were made with the subjects themselves when felt necessary. The major findings of the research are as follows : 1) The general aims of current Information Policies on Child Welfare correlated positively with Welfare Information Policies. 2) However, Child Welfare Information Policies in Korea are at a severely rudimentary phase, with only the Edu-Care Net in place. Furthermore, it should be underscored that even this was implemented through civic efforts, not by government initiation. The Polices that are being pursued would allow for State-Protected Children Management System, but this has been suspended due to a lack of funding. 3) Therefore, future Information Policies in Child Welfare should emphasize the priority on the part of the Ministry of Welfare to take an assertive role in supporting the push for information structure development. To this end, full collaboration between government-civic groups-academia is deemed critical. Insofar as the actual implementation of these Information Policies are concerned, aspects including the development of a hardware-based Information Infrastructure is necessary. In regards to this, factors that need to be augmented include : ① Expansion of State-Protected Children Management System under ward protection, ② Education on information management for child welfare workers, and ③ Development of Database to provide services for the betterment of children and families under hardship. ④ These points should be addressed immediately and fully in order to insure the happiness of welfare recipients throughout Korea.