Basic concept of social welfare, from the narrowest perspective, is a carrying on the consultation and action programs for the public charges. From the broader point of view, it is a planning and executing of the laws, systems and policies regarding the income security, medical security, leisure and others for the public charges including the people in the lowest class. It is right to take social welfare, based on the broadest meaning, as the pursuit of happiness of the entire people of a country. In this study, public services was tested on the children with developmental disability whose age were under 18.
Survey questioning parents who have children with developmental disability, living in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on what kind of welfare services are needed was conducted. Major issues of the questionnaire were about economic burden, psychological burden and administrative aids that they needed when they brought up their children with developmental disability.
Although Yeongdeungpo-gu researched for this study has been providing children with developmental disability with many administrative aids in diversified fields, actual number of children who receive benefits is small compared to that of total disabled children. Additionally, such benefits as monetary aid and health and medical care are not for them only but for entire disabled children and the children with developmental disability, therefore, is merely a part of them. In this case, it is not reasonable to say that the aids are for the children with developmental disability only.
As shown, administrative services of Yeongdeungpo-gu for the children with developmental disability has basic programs but they seem to be quite limited and still lack of professionality in execution and the extent of the aid. What the study intended to is to propose an improvements in administrative services by suggesting legally, systematically and politically better idea needed to operate effective administrative aids for the children with developmental disability.
Improvements in administrative services provided by Yeongdeungpo-gu for the children with developmental disability are as follows; First of all, in terms of finance, budget for social welfare and that for health and medical services of the local government should be put together same as in the United Kingdom and Sweden.
Secondly, in psychological aspect, psycho-sociological approach as well as that of material service should be applied to supporting the children with developmental disability. Also are needed professional manpower and sharing of informations about administrative services for the children with developmental disability. And reinforcement of case management too.
Thirdly, regarding the improvements in administrative aids, those in three areas are needed. Importance of the social welfare delivery system should be recognized more clearly by the government. And Ministry of Public Administration and Security has to alter their perception toward public service personnel for the administrative aids for the disabled children. It needs professionals in this field rather than general public service officials. The last one is that integrated service system of social welfare and health and medical administration should be established.(*)