36 public and private social welfare workers receive case management training focused on early intervention and resource referral using real counseling cases
Seoul's Dongdaemun-gu has launched an initiative to strengthen the skills of frontline welfare workers so they can identify and support residents struggling with social isolation and reclusiveness.
The district office said Wednesday it held a case management skills training session for 36 public and private social welfare workers at its in-house academy.
The training was designed to deepen participants' understanding of isolated and reclusive households — people who tend to avoid outside contact or conceal their difficulties, making them easy to miss in the welfare system — and to sharpen their ability to respond in the field.
The curriculum covered the concepts and characteristics of isolation and reclusiveness, along with four core practice areas: identifying and understanding potential clients, building rapport through counseling, early intervention and case management, and linking clients to community welfare resources.
The district office brought in an instructor with hands-on experience counseling isolated and reclusive youth as well as a background in counseling psychology. The session centered on real cases and shared approaches tailored to clients' circumstances and psychological profiles, as well as methods for building trust — all aimed at improving on-the-ground applicability.
The district office said it hopes the training will help welfare workers detect isolated and reclusive households early and connect them to meaningful support through individualized counseling and sustained case management.
"Isolated and reclusive households are hard to find unless someone reaches out first, which makes the skills of frontline workers absolutely critical," Dongdaemun-gu District Mayor Choi Dong-min said. "We will continue to provide education and support to strengthen the expertise of case managers, and we will deliver tailored welfare services that match the needs and circumstances of households in crisis — so that no resident is left behind and we can build a warm, inclusive community."
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