보호종료아동의 자립지원에 관한 아동복지법의 문제점과 개선방안

초록

It is the responsibility of legal parents that children be brought up physically, emotionally and psychologically, and mentally healthy to grow up as such adults as are capable of self determination in the spirit of self responsibility and social solidarity. In the case where children are exposed to harm of neglect and abuse because legal parents do not properly discharge their responsibility, the state shall step in to assist parents for bringing up their children or to care for children with replacing legal parents. Where it looks after children by separating them out of their family, the state shall be social parents to serve as reasonable corporate parents. When looked after children leave care provided by local authorities at the age of 18, it shall be the state’s responsibility as social parents to support care leavers to successfully transit to adulthood. This paper analyses legal provisions in the Children’s Welfare Act on the support to care leavers under transition to adulthood and its service delivery system, whereby it seeks to make clear that the purpose of legal provisions on the support to leavers do not take into consideration the role of the state as social parents. Then, this paper suggests what it means by the role of the state as social parents and what supports the state should provide in which way to discharge its role properly. This paper argues that a systemic division of roles for corporate parenting among diverse organizations and departments of the local authority is indispensable so as to discharge its responsibility as reasonable social parents. Based on these findings, this paper proposes the reformation of the Children’s Welfare Act.

키워드