장애아동 조기발견 및 서비스 체제의 개선 방안 = Future Direction of Early Identification and Services for Young Children with Special Needs

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Identifying young children with special needs as early as possible through systematic and comprehensive procedures is important for early intervention and early childhood special education services. Expanding services to young children with various needs, and coordinating or integrating related services are emphasized in order to prevent disabilities and facilitate child development. In South Korea, there has been concerns among professionals that less than 10% of young children with disabilities receive free public early childhood special education services due to limited early identification system and lack of policy development in improving services for young children with disabilities and their families.
The purpose of this research is to suggest the future direction of early identification of young children with special needs and early childhood special education services in South Korea. In this research, research articles and government reports on early identification and intervention related laws, policies, and procedures for young children with disabilities in Korea as well as model policies and procedures in other countries are reviewed.
It was found that. there are several issues with current policies and practices for early identification of young children with special needs and services for them in South Korea. Limited periodic screening programs and early intervention services are available. Environmentally at-risk children who may demonstrate developmental delays are excluded from the monitoring program under the Maternal and Child Law. There is also no specific regulation on child find or early identification and service integration.
Based on the current issues with regard to services for young children with special needs, the following areas for policy development are suggested: a) a referral system to identify young children with disabilities; b) definitions and criteria for including a child in the tracking system and early intervention services; c) system to register, track, and manage identified infants and young; d) a case manager or service coordinator model, and e) collaborative interagency committee model which would be responsible for coordinating various services including public awareness and child find activities. To provide comprehensive and coordinated services to young children with special needs and their families, a coordinated tracking system is needed to ensure that they receive continuous and appropriate services to improve health and developmental outcome. To facilitate organizing of the interagency committee, it is suggested that an integrated tracking database management system be developed through interagency collaboration.