Gyeonggi Province Expands Public Childcare Facilities to Total of 650

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province will designate at least 54 additional public childcare facilities this year, expanding the total to 650 facilities.

Public childcare facilities are designated from superior private and home-based childcare centers to receive operational funding and provide high-quality childcare services to infants and young children under strengthened operational standards.

According to the province on the 26th, public childcare facilities are selected annually through screening procedures such as operational stability and expertise of childcare staff, targeting facilities that meet the basic requirements of participating in nine highest-grade categories with ratings or scores within valid evaluation periods and health and welfare evaluations conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Public childcare facilities receive support including ▲400,000 won per month per basic education class ▲600,000 won per month per early childhood class in operational expenses ▲15,000 won per child in education and environmental costs, 30,000 won in operational promotion expenses ▲cooking staff personnel costs by facility size, based on the number of teachers, classes, and current student enrollment.

Facilities are redesignated on a three-year cycle, must maintain the highest grade in childcare facility evaluations, and must comply with strict evaluation standards including active participation in quality management projects.

The province redesignated 29 facilities out of 33 redesignation targets (designation expiring July 31st) in the first half of this year, excluding those closed, discontinued, or ceased operation.

Gyeonggi Province currently has 596 public childcare facilities, and plans to expand to a total of 650 by additionally designating 54 public childcare facilities through a public recruitment process in July.

Yoon Young-mi, director of the Childcare Policy Division at Gyeonggi Province, said, "We will continue to expand public childcare facilities and government-operated childcare facilities to provide high-quality childcare services that parents can trust and rely on."