earticle

영어

To understand fully characteristics and changes of social welfare service policy, it is necessary to examine overall aspects of public payment, provision agency, and quality assurance system. Accordingly, this study examines how the characteristics of these have changed, how these changes have been associated with each other, and what are the policy challenges of social welfare services in Korea, focusing on the adult home care services. In Korea, the characteristics of public payment, provision agency, and quality assurance system seem to be more fragmentary and mixed. As public competence of provision has been weak since early stage in Korea, Korean government has expanded the role of private sector consistently to create new jobs and then have changed ways of financing. Public quality assurance system was also further strengthened to improve users’ choice and manage the social services market. The trend to provide public financing directly to users will more increase. But there must be a break as a result of individualized funding. It should be filled up with social capital to build a community with full participation. The role of public sector as a service provider in Korea has been minimal and the role of private sectors, especially for-profit private providers, continuously expanded. It became thus important to protect worker’s working conditions, to escape overcompetition not to extinct solidarity consciousness, and to keep the role of public sector as a service provider to some extent. Quality assurance system seems to be consolidated. It is then necessary to arrange for minimal common standards, to construct systematic and professional quality assurance systems, and to make an importance on user-centered perspectives.