Seoul Child Welfare Center Restructured as "Metropolitan Child Protection Control Tower"

Building Korea’s First Integrated Child Protection System
Providing Comprehensive Emotional Support for At-Risk Children
Expanding “Community Psychological Treatment Centers” to Four Locations

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on August 23 that it will significantly strengthen the role of the Seoul Child Welfare Center to proactively respond to the child protection environment. Starting next year, the city will focus on intensive treatment for high-risk children, integrated support for public adoption, and enhanced response measures to child abuse.

Despite a decline in the child population, 48% of children (719 out of 1,497 as of 2025) living in Seoul's child care facilities are experiencing borderline intelligence and problems such as ADHD or emotional and behavioral issues. Furthermore, as more children are experiencing complex psychological and emotional difficulties such as depression and anxiety, there is an urgent need to establish a comprehensive mental health support system that spans from early detection to professional treatment and recovery, going beyond just counseling and therapy.

Since the reorganization of the public adoption system last July, difficulties on the ground have emerged, such as lack of information before and after adoption, procedural delays, and insufficient post-adoption management—contrary to initial expectations. As a result, there is a growing need for systematic support throughout the entire adoption process so that adopted children and their families can settle in stably as a new family unit.

In response, Seoul City will restructure the Seoul Child Welfare Center, which has been responsible for providing temporary protection and counseling to children in need since its establishment in 1963. The main initiatives are: ▲Enhanced intensive treatment for high-risk children and those in emotional or behavioral crisis; ▲Support for the entire process of public adoption and foster care; ▲Strengthened field response to child abuse; ▲Integration of temporary protection functions.

First, the city will enhance specialized psychological support for high-risk children who are victims of abuse or experiencing emotional and behavioral problems such as ADHD, depression, or anxiety. The number of psychological counseling centers operating under the current child welfare center’s community psychological treatment center will increase by three, bringing the total to four regionally. Additionally, a new "Healing and Recovery Camp" for mental health will be launched.

The city will newly introduce an "Integrated Adoption and Foster Care Service," in which the center will provide metropolitan-level support for public adoption tasks carried out by district offices, and expand home-based care for children in need of protection. Since the reorganization of the public adoption system last July, domestic and international adoptions—which were previously handled by private agencies—have been transferred to public agencies that include the Ministry of Health and Welfare, local governments, and the National Center for the Rights of the Child. Accordingly, the integrated management capability of local governments throughout the adoption process has become increasingly important.

To enhance field response to child abuse, the city will support frontline work in district offices, specialized child protection agencies, and child shelters. Currently, district offices each operate a child abuse case review committee. These efforts are designed to prevent regional disparities in protection services for abused children caused by differences in workforce and resources between local governments.

The city will also integrate the currently dualized temporary protection functions—for infants and toddlers (Child Welfare Center) versus elementary to under-18 children and adolescents (Child Blue Center)—into the Child Blue Center. By the end of this year, remodeling and recruitment of staff to create a dedicated living space for infants and toddlers within the Child Blue Center will be completed. Starting in January next year, a unified temporary protection system for all ages will be officially launched.

Ma Chaesook, Director of the Women and Family Affairs Office of Seoul Metropolitan Government, stated, "Through functional improvements to the Child Welfare Center, Seoul will take the lead in advancing the public protection system so that not a single child is left behind. We will do our utmost—not only to ensure the safety and healthy growth of children, but also to carefully support both frontline staff and caregivers—so that we can make Seoul a city where all children are happy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.