Exploring Support for Children with Borderline Intellectual Functioning Residing in Group Homes in South Korea

Background and Purpose: Group homes constitute a crucial component of Korea's out-of-home care system, accommodating 25% of the total out-of-home care child population in such care. Children inhabiting group homes often encounter a spectrum of environmental, social, biological, and psychological risk factors, both antecedent to and following protective intervention, significantly impacting their developmental trajectories. Statistics indicate that approximately 22% of children in group homes are estimated to have borderline intelligence. Additionally, 13% of children seek extended protection due to needing more time to prepare for independence, particularly those with borderline intelligence. Since 2020, heightened attention has been directed toward children with borderline intelligence in Korea, prompting local governmental and educational entities to enact pertinent ordinances. Nevertheless, an established official support infrastructure or specialized organization catering explicitly to children with borderline intelligence in out-of-home care facilities, such as group homes, remains conspicuously absent. The purpose of this study is to scrutinize the existing support framework for these children and offer pragmatic and policy-oriented recommendations through In-depth Interviews with workers.

Methods: Convenience sampling techniques were used to recruit the participants. the Korea Group Home Council facilitated the identification of pertinent group homes and associated workers responsible for children with borderline intelligence. In-depth Interviews were conducted with six workers from three distinct group homes between August 22, 2023, and August 31, 2023 (n=6). Each interview lasted between 1 to 3 hours per participant, initially taking place face-to-face and transitioning to online platforms, such as Zoom, when necessary. All interviews were digitally recorded, and transcripts underwent thematic analysis using TAGUETTE and ATLAS.ti 24. To ensure validity, peer examinations were conducted by three researchers.

Results: Thematic analysis yielded three principal themes and seven subordinate themes. The First theme, 'Characteristics', encapsulated two subthemes: (1) Children with complex and high-risk symptoms.; (2) Requisite for individually tailored interventions. The second theme, 'Growth Support', comprised two subthemes: (1) Imperative of patience and iterative pedagogy.; (2) Extension of protection to facilitate adequate preparation for independence. The third theme, ‘Operation', comprised three subthemes: (1) Readiness to engage in overtime with significant accountability.; (2) Securing resources through the establishment of an internal council within the region.; (3) Essentiality of reevaluating and enhancing the effectiveness of worker training and accreditation mechanisms.

Conclusion and Implications: This study highlights the challenges faced by children with borderline intelligence in group homes and the workers who care for them. Effective support for children with borderline intelligence necessitates collaborative efforts among existing support agencies and the establishment of a central coordinating entity to ensure service quality and workforce proficiency. Moreover, considering the prolonged and personalized assistance necessary to promote independence among children with borderline intelligence, it is essential to integrate various resources to develop customized self-reliance plans tailored to each child's requirements.