Gyeonggi, Seoul, and Incheon Form 'Capital Area Childcare Council'...Joint Response to Low Birth Rate and COVID-19

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province is forming a 'Capital Area Childcare Council' with Seoul and Incheon and jointly responding to changing childcare environments such as low birth rate and COVID-19.

On the 15th, Gyeonggi Province held the first meeting of the 'Capital Area Childcare Council' at the Gyeonggi Province Women and Family Foundation in Suwon with officials from Seoul and Incheon, sharing excellent childcare policies and discussing government improvement tasks.

This regional council was established to jointly improve related issues as the three neighboring cities and provinces are bound together as one living sphere and physical childcare boundaries have become ambiguous.

A typical example is a parent in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province using childcare facilities in Seoul for commuting to Seoul, or a resident of Songpa-gu in Seoul using nearby Gyeonggi Province childcare services.

Gyeonggi, Seoul, and Incheon discussed at this meeting ▲efforts to resolve blind spots in childcare policies targeting households residing in boundary areas between regions ▲sharing of three regional excellent childcare policies and specialized childcare programs ▲discovery of common childcare suggestions for the capital area and joint recommendations.

In particular, Gyeonggi Province shared ▲expansion of 'childcare facility operation support' and business improvement measures to resolve operational difficulties of small-scale private and home childcare centers ▲plans to systematize budget allocation standards for director-level positions at childcare facilities ▲plans to conduct actual conditions surveys on labor environment of childcare staff and establish dedicated agencies for grievance handling of childcare staff according to the 'Ordinance for Protection and Enhancement of Rights and Interests of Gyeonggi Province Childcare Staff' enacted last year, as measures to improve childcare service quality and enhance rights and interests of staff.

The Capital Area Childcare Council will hold regular meetings in the future and establish a practical cooperation system for active sharing of achievements from the council's activities.

Ji Ju-yeon, Director of Women and Family Affairs of Gyeonggi Province, said, "We have established a channel for jointly discussing and sharing childcare policy issues in the capital area and jointly responding to overcome childcare facility operational difficulties," and added, "Through regular council meetings, I hope the three organizations will share excellent policies with each other and jointly develop childcare service development models suited to regional circumstances."