KIHASA has released the May issue of the Health and Welfare Policy Forum, No. 319. (The articles are available for download here.)

Summary of the FOREWORD: "Policy Directions for Youth in Crisis and Social Vulnerability," Song Kyungwon, Director, Youth Policy Coordination Office

Youth is the pillar of society and the time of life for one to prepare for launching into society. As the period of preparation for life ahead gets longer, as it does now, people in their youth come to face yet more challenges posed by reality and, as a result, young people in crisis and vulnerability have emerged in larger numbers and in more diverse types. It is a change of note that our society has now started identifying and supporting vulnerable young people, such as those in isolation and seclusion and young family caregivers, who have thus far been left out of social attention. While the vulnerability is not unique to this stage of life, it should be noted that it can have a greater impact as it occurs at a pivotal time when individuals have the greatest potential for growth and development. The agenda of youth in crisis and vulnerability should go beyond the social marginalization of a specific group and have as their ultimate goal to solve problems that are common to society as a whole and across all generations. Policy frameworks that focus solely on phenomena such as "young adults in isolation and seclusion" or "lonely deaths" among middle-aged people are likely to stop short at micro-level policy prescriptions, leaving out the underlying cause that is "the marginalization and isolation of the individual." The crisis and vulnerability that are linked to people in their youth did not come on suddenly in their youth. They often trace back to instabilities in family environments and socioeconomic background in their childhood or adolescence. Therefore, intergovernmental cooperation is crucial in identifying and addressing factors that span the life course. The painful issues faced by at-risk and vulnerable young adults are the same as those experienced by all Koreans: employment, housing, education, and health. It is a harsh reality that there are young people who are struggling with life's problems and young people who are at risk and vulnerable who find it difficult to overcome the barriers of reality. I sincerely hope that the analyses and policy proposals in this issue of the Health and Welfare Policy Forum will serve as an important starting point for rethinking the situation faced by young adults in crisis or vulnerable situations, and for creating alternatives that benefit the entire generation, not just youth. 

MONTHLY FOCUS

Article I: "The Living Conditions of Isolated and Secluded Young Adults: Policy Options for Supporting Them," Kim Seonga, KIHASA

In this article, I aim to find out the direction of support at the level of central administrative agencies by identifying the vulnerable life conditions of isolated and secluded young adults. Isolated or secluded young people lack meaningful social relationships with others and social support that can help them in times of difficulty. Isolated or secluded young adults have lower overall life satisfaction levels and experience multidimensional vulnerabilities. Youth-friendly support is needed to prevent young adults from being isolated or secluded. In order to support isolated and secluded young adults, we should have policy goals for their recovery and social integration based on stable institutional foundations such as regular surveys and legal grounds.

Article II: "The Current State and Improvement Directions of Aftercare for Youth in Transition to Independent Living," Kim Jisun, Korea Social Security Information Service

In recent years, there has been increasing social interest in young adults in preparation for independent living, for whom support from the government and the private sector has been steadily expanding. The system of aftercare for youth in transition to independent living has undergone a substantial transformation as a result of the recent establishment of agencies dedicated to providing support for those youth and staffing them with professional officers. These changes have brought both expectations and bewilderment to the field. In this article, we examine the current status of the aftercare of young adults preparing for independence, focusing on whether they are kept in contact after they are aged out of foster care, and discuss ways to achieve effective support.

Article III: "The Current State of Adolescent and Young Adult Family Caregivers and Its Implications for Policy," Ham Sunyu, KIHASA

Adolescents and young adults who provide care for family members report doing housework more often and having lower life satisfaction levels than their non-caregiving counterparts. The majority of adolescent and young adult family caregivers are depressed, with half reporting having difficulties with their studies, careers, or planning for the future due to caregiving. Among them, difficulties were greater for primary caregivers and those with long caregiving hours. Despite this, these family caregivers wanted to spend on average 14.3 hours a week caring for their family in need of care, and they reported that caring for their family was very important to them. Given their actual caregiving hours of 21.6 hours per week, there is a need to relieve them of their excessive caregiving burden while still allowing them to live with their families in the community.

Article IV: "The Current State of Adolescent Parents and Its Implications for Policy," Lee Sang Jung, KIHASA

 Adolescent parents are young people in their early youth―a socioeconomically vulnerable phase―who have to juggle school, work, pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. Adolescent parent families, however, have not been looked upon as a policy target group in their own right, with the support given to them provided in limited ways via such support programs as those intended for grandparent families and single-parent families. As a legal basis on which to provide support for adolescent parents has been laid with the amendment made in March 2021 to the Youth Welfare Support Act, I attempt in this article to discuss the current state and characteristics of adolescent parents, analyze the policy support programs that are in place for those young people, and make policy suggestions to provide improved support for adolescent parents.

Article V: "Unwed Adolescent Mothers' Academic Engagement, Preparedness for Independent Living, and Policy Needs," Byoun Soo-Jung, KIHASA

This article examines unwed adolescent mothers’ academic participation, preparedness for independent living, and economic participation and identifies their policy needs. For this, I used data on a total of 252 unwed adolescent mothers aged 15 to 24. Unwed adolescent mothers continuing their studies accounted for about one-fourth of the survey subjects. The majority of those teenagers were attending school or preparing for a general educational development exam. Most of the subjects reported difficulties in continuing their education due to their childrearing responsibilities, but they also thought that in order for them to become self-reliant, they needed to attain educational levels higher than their current educational level. Most of the subjects cited their childcare responsibilities as the main reason why they could not participate in economic activities or vocational training. Although they thought that education was important for self-reliance and desired a job where they could work while raising children, the reality was that their financial difficulties kept them from continuing their education or participating in vocational training. In order for unwed adolescent mothers to continue their education, not only education support but also other types of support should be provided in a comprehensive manner, including support in childcare and financial assistance, so that they can juggle their roles as students and mothers.

POLICY ANALYSIS AND TRENDS

Article I: "Perceived Current and Future Levels of Digital Technology Application in the Health and Social Welfare Sectors," Oh Miae & An Suin, KIHASA

In the few years since the outbreak of COVID-19, digital transformation has been unfolding in earnest with the spread of remote interactions and contactless culture, with the biotechnology sector gaining ground. Additionally, science and technology policies have been announced to turn the massive environmental changes and crises that emerged after COVID-19 into opportunities. Digital technology is being developed and applied in response to the changing environment of the times. The discussion in this article is based on a survey we conducted of health and welfare experts as well as science and technology experts with a view to understanding the extent to which digital technologies are used in health and welfare policies. Although the experts' perceptions of the current level and future significance of digital technology in the health and welfare sectors varied across different policy areas, there was a general tendency to perceive digital technology as more significant in its application than it is now.

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