Participated in annual conference of Korean Parents Association for the Handicapped.

Funded by International Friends for the Developmentally Disabled (IFDD)

□ Purpose of the visit

ㅇ It was a fact-finding trip to the Korean Autonomous Prefecture, China, to see in what way we could assist the service professionals and decision making officials in the field of developmental disability.

□ Date of visit
ㅇ Oct. 30 - Nov. 4, 2006

□ Visitors
◦ Hyunil Juhn, Mr. (President of IFDD), Inyoung Lee, Miss (Executive Director of IFDD) 

□ Itinerary

Date                                Activity
Oct. 30(Mon)         Arriving Yanji
                             Yanbian Science & Technology University

Oct. 31(Tue) Yanbian Association for the Disabled
                             Dong San Won (residential and activity facility
                                      People with developmental disability)

Nov. 1 (Wed)          Tumen City welfare center for disabled
                             Tumen Eun Hae Won (House of the Grace –
                                      Special Ed boarding school for handicapped)
                             Yong Jong City Association for the Disabled
                             Doh Chon JA Ae Won (School for handicapped
                                      Children)

Nov. 2(Thu)           House of Sarang (Love), an orphanage
Yanbian No.1 School for the Handicapped
Yanbian Hahsang Rehabilitation Center for Blinds
House of Suh Kwang (rising sun), a preschool for
          Handicapped children
Session with parents of handicapped children
                            

1.  Some facts on disabilities in China
□ Estimated to be 60 million handicapped out of 1.3 billion total Chinese populations
◦ The disabled are grouped in 6 categories.
◦ Nomenclature - 'person with residual sickness' for the handicapped,
          'handicapped person on intellectual power' for intellectual disability
     'solitude sickness' for autism, sometimes classified as psychiatric sickness.
 
□ The disabled in Yanbian prefecture
◦ Estimated to be 108,000 out of total 2.18 million population

□ Welfare system for the disabled
◦ Civil Affairs Ministry equivalent to welfare ministry in Korea
 - Establish policies on welfare system
◦ Association for the handicapped
- As an organization established by the Civil Affairs Ministry, deals with  
 welfare related matters for the handicapped.
- Mr. Deng Pufang(son of Mr. Deng, former prime minister) created these systems.
- Record keeping and maintenance of disabled population, arrange services, manage institutions, disseminate and carry out policies from central government
- Association structure:  Central - Sung(roughly equivalent to state), Joo ( county), City, District.
- The chief of association is called 'chairman of board, elected for 5 year term, but seems they are appointed to the position out of communist party members, as the final official position as a party member
- Payments to the employees are from government, budget for activities is about $25,000 for 2006.

□ Current  welfare  situation        
◦ Census was taken place recently , but the results have not been published,  disability rate is estimated to be 7.5% of total population          
◦ Policies are established by central government, then top down to local governments to carry out.             
◦ Basic living expenses are paid to the disabled who has no other source of income, about $15 a month. (For reference, a laborer earns about $100 a month.)            
◦ Presently, cataract operations and residential assistance for the disabled are taken place.
◦ There are severe shortages of social workers, physical and other therapists, special education teachers.

□ Welfare for the handicapped in Yanbian area
◦ There are welfare centers in 6 cities and 2 counties, but not nearly enough to meet the needs.
◦ The situation is deemed better than other parts of China, owing to relatively active contacts with Korea and other foreign countries.
◦ Organizations for the handicapped are established, but not very active due to lack of financial resources.

2. Welfare establishments
□ Dongsan won
◦  Location: 2nd floor of 5-story building for Yanbian Association for the disabled, Yanji City
◦  Operation:  A Korean Charitable organization, managed by Mrs. Ha.  
◦ Clients: Multiple sclerosis, intellectual disability, developmental disability, age 8 – 25 yrs. old
◦ Capacity: 64, currently 50
◦ Activities take place in the same space at the 2nd floor of the building.  Activities include training for average daily activity, language, on numbers, computer, marshal art, sewing, and handicraft.
◦ Finance:  Supports from Korea, and fee from residents, about $25 a month.

□ House of Love, an orphanage
◦ Location: Yanji City
◦ Director: Rev. Kim, Hakwon from Korea         
  ※2nd Director dispatched from government,        
◦ Clients: Orphans, abandoned children, with and without disabilities
◦ Current residents: total 64 - 3 infants, 8 toddlers, 10 preschool,  5 in kindergarten, 25 in school.  13 disabled, 
◦ Main services: Orphaned or abandoned, care,  free clinical services, free feeding, free bathing, etc.
◦ Finance: Support from Korea and U.S.           
◦ Difficulties in operation: Shortage of professional staff, difficult to entice Korean professionals in various therapies and special education.  Equipments for therapies and rehabilitation are needed badly.

□ So Gwuang House (House of Rising Sun)
◦ Location: Yanji City
◦ Operated by: Catholic Order of Sisters
◦ Clients: developmentally disabled children prior to school ages.
◦ Presently serving 20 children
◦ Primary Services; early intervention, early education, speech and recreation therapy, music and art therapy
    “Motto: Early discovery, early training, early education”
◦ Financing: a fee of about $25 is charged, depending upon parents’ income.  Rest of budget comes from the Catholic Order.
◦ Difficulty : Shortage of professional manpower.  Presently, they are training  Korean Chinese and Chinese in the area.

□ Doe Chon boarding School for handicapped
◦ Location:  Yong Jung City, Jilin
◦ Clients: About 20 Hearing and developmentally handicapped children
◦ Primary Service: Boarding and education
◦ Financing: By fees from families, little help from government
 ※ The facilities were in need of repair and individualized education seems lacking.

□ Tumen City Welfare Center for the Handicapped
◦ Location: Tumem City, Jilin
◦ Run by : Association for the handicapped, Tumem City
◦ Primary Services:  Treatment and rehabilitation
 ※ Difficult to retain licensed physical therapies.  

□ Ha Sang Rehabilitation Center for Blinds
◦ Location:  Yanji City
◦ Run By: Ha Sang, an NGO from South Korea since 1993
   ◦ Clients : Visually handicapped Korean Chinese
 ◦ Accomplishments: 50 graduates from 7 sessions, presently 8th session with 8 students.
◦ Services: Training while boarding for daily living, massaging, acupuncture and Chinese medicine.  The students receive education and training by Korean Chinese faculties from Yanbian University, become licensed practitioners after graduation.
◦ Difficulties : Not enough financial assistance from Korea, difficult to keep supply of manpower from Korea.

□ Discussion
◦ Most of facilities in the Prefecture are operated by and with the support from Christian Missionaries from South Korea and U.S.
◦ Institutions we visited housed developmentally disabled adults in spaces built for office space.  Training and education activities seemed not adequate.  We did not find any severe and profoundly disabled persons in any facilities.  We can only imagine where they are and how their situations are.
◦ The difficulty felt by most facilities operated by Korean missionaries was abject lack of professional manpower, rather than financial support.

3. Education for handicapped children
□ Yanbian No. 1 School for Special Education
 ◦ Location: Yanji City
◦  History:  Started as the school for deaf in 1959. In 2000, classes for the intellectual handicapped were added.
※ Foreigners may not operate education institutions in China, elementary education (1 through 9 years of school) is compulsory.
◦ Student body : 47 deaf, 62 developmentally disabled
  ※ Only mildly disabled children, but not good enough to enroll to regular school, are admitted to this school.  Because of shortage of special education teachers trained for higher developmental disability, only mildly disabled children are accepted to the school.  Some students may transfer to regular school when their ability to learn improves enough.
◦ System : 9 years ( 6 years elementary, 3 years middle school)  36% commutes from home, 64% boarded.
◦ Faculty: Total number of teachers 44 ( includes 11 special education teachers)
◦ Difficulty in running the school: Shortage of trained professional therapists and special education teachers.

 
□ Tumen Eun Hae Won, School for the Handicapped
◦ Location: Doh Moon City, Jilin Province
◦ Operated by:  A Korean Christian missionary in the US, started in 2003
◦ Clients: The intellectually disabled aged between 8-18
◦ Present number of residents : 13
◦ Primary service: special education, boarding
◦ Financing: Korean missionary, administration by the city’s association for the handicapped  
◦ Difficulties: Shortage of trained workers and special ed teachers

□ Yanbian University, Special Division for Handicapped Adults
◦ Location: 3rd floor of the Association building, Yanji City
◦ Run by:  Association for the Handicapped of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
◦ Present enrollment: 20, higher education for the handicapped
◦ :Operation:  Because of problems of adaptability, the university is using the association building.   It may  move to the university campus in the future.

□ Discussion
 ◦ Census shows that there are about 50 special school for handicapped in each Province in China, the capacity is not nearly enough for a country with the population of 1.3 billion.  The emphasis of the special education seems to have been started for the hearing impaired, for they could be productive individuals given some training and education.
 ◦ Because of this underlying social emphasis, lower priority seemed to have been given to developmentally disabled and moderate to severe handicapped population who require various professional training for the social services. Naturally the productivity of individuals in these groups would be  lower, even with special training and education.   
 ◦ Boarding facility in special ed schools seems to indicate that even those with mild handicaps are isolated and segregated from general community.
 ◦ Demand for special education seems to gradually increase.  However, because of the shortage of special ed teachers and therapists, it may take some time to have a infrastructure for sound basis for special education in China.

4. Jobs and Employment of the Disabled
□ Welfare enterprise  - Koryo Banchan, a food company
◦ Location:  Yanji City
◦ Operation: A privately owned, Korean Chinese, welfare enterprise (Over 50% of employees are of some form of disability.)
◦ Products: Kimchi, and other Korean side dishes,  individually packaged per serving size  
◦ Disabilities of employees:  Among total 15 employees, over 50% have physical or hearing impaired..
◦  Benefit for welfare enterprises:  80% tax reduction from normal 13% tax on the profit
◦ Wages : About $120(900 yuan) per month
  □ Welfare enterprise – Vinyl factory
◦ Location: Yanji City
◦ Operation : Privately owned by a Korean Chinese
◦ Types of handicaps: hearing and intellectual disability
  ※ The degree of disability seemed low.
◦ Wages:  500-700 yuan per month, wages guaranteed even when there is no work.
◦ Working environment : problems with noise, air and heating during cold season.
□ Discussion
◦ Census report shows employment among handicapped population is 81.5%, thanks to the government policy promoting employment through welfare enterprises, quota system for employment, and private enterprises starting 1990. 
◦  However, the number seems to be based on the those whose disability is mild enough to be employed.    

5. Meeting with parents of handicapped children
◦ Participants: 9 parents with school age children, and a social worker  from Korea
◦ Subjects of discussion
 ◊ Education and welfare, social acceptance for the handicapped children in Yanbian

 -  Presently there is no school they can go in the area.
 -  Misunderstanding and prejudice against their children in society, and passive attitude among parents.
 ◊ Need for better special education school than existing boarding school

Conclusion
□ Welfare situation of the disabled in China
◦ The society in general has insufficient consensus on welfare of the disabled. The definition and classification of disabilities are not properly established, and the census data are incomplete.
◦ Concept of special education in China includes boarding of the children in segregated facilities, and the students are not dealt individually for their unique educational needs.  The idea of inclusion and normalization of disabled persons seem foreign to Chinese society.
◦ Those who are in special schools and employed in welfare enterprises are only with mild physical or developmental disabilities.  One can only imagine where more severe or profoundly disabled persons are and how they are treated. 
◦ We can hope for positive changes in welfare for the disabled in China due to;
   ⑴ Fast economic growth of the society in general,
   ⑵ Development of investment concept of ‘social welfare’
   ⑶ Possible positive outcome from Beijing Olympic and Para-Olympic
   ⑷ Growth of middle class.
◦ But the situation for those with severe and developmental disability will be the last one to improve among disabled population when one considers the fact that the recognition of the need in general society is not sufficient, and labor productivity is considered as the paramount factor for worthiness in Chinese society. 

□ In aiding welfare for the disabled in China from outside
Particulars in Chinese society

◦  An effective program for aiding Chinese system should have;
   △ Clear understanding of the local situations △ Own supply of skilled professionals for some time △ Close relationship with Chinese government △ Policy backing of Chinese government for supply of skilled workers and professionals.