Alternative Care to Family-Based Care for Children in Out-of-Home Care: Experiences and Challenges

Abstract

Amid the changing characteristics of children in out-of-home care and the changing trends in child policies within and outside the country, child welfare facilities in Korea have been called upon to move toward downsizing and deinstitutionalization. To further this progress, the government is proceeding with policies aimed at promoting family-type care settings where out-of-home care children can grow in a family-like living environment. However, what ‘family-like living environment’ in foster care means remains subject to different interpretations. Moreover, as the necessity of and dependency on residential-facility-based care persist, the transition to family-type care remains in progress. In this light, this paper examines earlier attempts at downsizing foster care facilities as a move toward family-type care, discuss group-home programs that aim ultimately to return children back to their own families, and draw implications from policy.