[Background]

- The Child Welfare Act has been amended to institutionalize the Cooperative Care Centers as a new type of child welfare facility (promulgated on April 1, 2025, and effective on October 2, 2025), delegating the establishment of necessary workforce standards and other provisions to the enforcement decree.
- To ensure the stable operation of the Cooperative Care Centers, the establishment of minimum standards is required.

[Regulatory Details]

- Provisions regarding the workforce and other matters related to Cooperative Care Centers, as delegated by the Child Welfare Act (effective October 2, 2025).

1. Reason for the Proposal
In accordance with the amendment of the Child Welfare Act (promulgated on April 1, 2025, and effective on October 2, 2025), which designates the Cooperative Care Centers as child welfare facilities, this proposal aims to establish workforce standards for the centers. It also seeks to create a legal basis for the Core Psychological Support Teams to provide psychological services for high-difficulty cases that child protection agencies are unable to support directly, ensuring the smooth implementation of the project.

2. Main Contents

a. Establishment of a legal basis for the Core Psychological Support Teams (New Article 42, etc.)

- The governors of cities and provinces will be able to designate child protection agencies that provide psychological services for high-difficulty cases, and new provisions will be introduced regarding the placement and qualification standards of staff.

b. Establishment of workforce standards for Cooperative Care Centers (New Article 52 and Article 52-2, etc.)

- New standards for the placement and qualifications of staff at Cooperative Care Centers will be established.

c. Abolition of the Senior Counselor position at child protection agencies (New Annex 8 and Annex 10)