Challenges and Policy Implications for Expanding Family-Based Care for Children in Out-of-Home Care

Abstract

In Korea, more children in out-of-home care are living in residential facilities than in family-type care settings. The rate of out-of-home care children living in residential facilities remains far too high by international standards. In response, the government embarked on the initiative of deinstitutionalizing out-of-home care and promoting family-type care in 2022. In this article, I examine issues facing the promotion of foster family placements as a representative family-type care alternative and discuss what needs to be done to improve the situation. I base my account on a literature review of relevant reports, policy notes, and statistical data, as well as interviews with local-level child care officers, care management workers at foster care placement support centers, and foster parents.