가정 밖 청소년 지원 및 개입에 대한 미국의 정책과 시사점

Abstract

This study examines legal systems for runaway youths protection in Korea and the U.S. and to deduce implications for Korea. In Korea, 「Act on the Protection and Support of Missing Children, etc.」 regulates the recovery of runaway youths and their return to home; 「Youth Welfare Support Act」 lays legal foundations for youth shelters as welfare support for runaway youths; and 「Juvenile Act」 enacts the protective detention of a juvenile as judicial measure. The support policies for runaway youth in the U.S. are comprehensive in the way that they are implemented through cooperation among police, community and governmental departments. At the same time, such policies are customized for individual youth. In the U.S., the federal government is mainly in charge of welfare assistance, and 「the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act」 provides three protective measures, including basic center program, transitional living program, and street outreach program. In contrast, the intervention of state governments tends to be a mix of welfare assistance and judicial protection, and the judicial protection varies from state to state. For example, temporary custody of runaway youths is a typical means of judicial protection in California. These interventions in the U.S. can provide Korea with several implications. First of all, the Korean government should prepare measures for funding related to welfare support and regulations for effective support system so that the local government can practically help runaway youths and encourage the youths to return to their homes. Also, judical protection, such as protective detention, should be used to transfer runaway youths to shelters or homes for the purpose of realizing the welfare of runaway youths, not for the purpose of punishment.