『어린이찾아주기 종합센터』업무 평가 = Program Evaluations of the Child Find Center

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The program of missing children has become a social concern in Korea. Newspapers have reported frequently the problem of missing children. Parents of the missing children themselves organized group trying to find their missing children by visiting nation`s child caring institutions. The government has thus worked out a basic plan to encounter this problem, and committed Korea children`s Foundation to do the child finding program as of May 1, 1986. Thus the child finding efforts of this society came to have an official channel into Korea Children`s Foundation Center for the Missing Children. For the past three years from May 1, 1986 up to April 30, 1989, a total of 43,624 children`s cards has sent from child welfare institutions in the nation. 2,938 parents or relatives of the missing children came to this center to look for their missing children through reviewing the cards. 1,170 people came to this center to report missing of their children. As of April 30, 1989, 727 missing children have been reunited with their parents. In this center we are keeping children`s cards sent from child welfare institutions in 15 cities and provinces. Those cards are grouped by project and by year. Computer is well utilized for the child finding process. All names of the missing children are input into the computer, and it got easy for us to identify the missing children. Children who are on the list to be adopted overseas must be checked by this center which is aimed at prohibiting the adoption of the missing a certificate of confirming public relations work for child child finding process is very much important. We utilize television, radio, newspaper, magazine, posters, cigarette packs, soft drink packs for our public relations work. As to the reason for occurrence of the missing children, we found children are missing because of their parents` carelessness, children`s mental weekend, parents abandoning their children, children of divorced parents, etc. For the preventation measures, we urge the parents to be careful to their children when outgoing, or to put name card on their children`s breast with address and telephone numbers. When missing children occur, all the community people should take immedicate measures to help the parents find their missing children effectively. Social education is also needed to let the people know the importance of preventing children from missing. When the missing children can not be returned to their families, they should be cared at the institutions for their lives. Prompt report should be made to police box or to temporary child protection center when their children become missing. The number of the missing children is on the decrease due to joint efforts of all people concerned, but there are still many missing children. Cooperative efforts by government, voluntary agencies, and general public are highly needed. The function of this center is very much important.