An NHK TV program on April 12 evening and newspaper articles on the following day reported about the situation of ‘young carers’ of families. Many people are unfamiliar with the phrase. Until today people have been unaware of the issue exactly, leaving many problems unsettled.
CREATE COUNSELING AND SUPPORTING SYSTEM FOR YOUNG CARERS
A ‘young carer’ is explained on the HP of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare; ‘there is no legal definition. It means those younger than 18-year-olds who help cooking, cleaning and washing and look after family members who have physical and mental impairments on the daily basis. People they help include sick and disabled parents, grandparents and siblings’.
One in every 20 students
The situation surrounding these young people has not been well reported before. Last March a private entity, Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd, released a report. It is the Investigation and Research Report on Young Carers, which was conducted under the project of the fiscal 2020 to support adolescents and their education.
The company had held questionnaires in 2018 and 2019, too, asking local governments about policies on children who need help. But it has not looked into directly the youth who actually take care of their family affairs. In March this year it surveyed among the 2nd-graders of junior high schools and those of high schools, including evening and correspondence high schools.
The results show that 5.7% of the 2nd-graders of junior high schools, which counts 55 thousand approximately, and 4.1% of the 2nd-graders of high schools, which counts 42 thousand, are engaged in this type of works.
Students reply, in a higher degree, that they are poor or not good in health, and they are sometimes absent from school or go to school late and return home earlier.
The 2nd–graders of junior high school students spend 4.0 hours a day on the family affairs on the average, and the 2nd-graders of high school students, 3.8 hours. When it is over seven hours a day, majority of them answer: they are ‘physically very hard’ and ‘mentally tough’, and they have ‘no time to relax’. They have never been given advice. It is assumed that many are left unprotected though they need help.
Government has set up a project team
The government organized a taskforce March 17; it is the Project Team to Assist Young Carers in their Welfare, Care, Medical Service and Education, being under co-chairmanship of two vice ministers of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education. The team will start working in May, incorporating chiefs of the bureaus and sections of the two ministries.
In the above-said report of the private entity municipal governments reply on their policies to young carers: 17.7% of them extend certain services, while 82.0% do nothing to help them. Local governments should create a counseling and supporting system immediately, not waiting for instructions from the state’s government.
「ヤングケアラー」とは、厚労省ＨＰで「法令上の定義はないが、一般に本来は大人が担うと想定されている家事や家族の世話、感情面のサポートなどを日常的に行っている１８歳未満の児童。ケアの対象は障害や病気のある親や祖父母、きょうだい等」とする。
今までヤングケアラーの実態は把握されてなかったが、三菱ＵＦＪリサーチ＆コンサルティングが３月に「令和２年度子ども・子育て支援推進調査研究事業」として行った「ヤングケアラーの実態に関する調査研究報告書」を公表した。
同社は、２０１８年度、１９年度と自治体に「要保護児童対策地域協議会アンケート」を行っているが、直接児童を対象とした調査はなかった。今回、「中高生の生活実態に関するアンケート」を行った。対象は、中学２年生と全日制高校２年生、定時制高校の２年生相当の生徒、通信制高校の生徒。
ヤングケアラーに該当するのは、中学２年生５ ・７％＝約５万５千人、全日制高校２年生４ ・１％＝約４万２千人で、２０人に１人となる。
家族の世話をしている場合、健康状態が「よくない・あまりよくない」と、欠席・遅刻・早退が「ある・たまにある」と回答した割合が高い。平日１日当たりに世話に費やす時間は、中学２年生は平均４・0時間、全日制高校２年生は平均３ ・８時間で、７時間以上になると「身体的にきつい」「精神的にきつい」「時間的余裕がない」との回答割合が高くなっている。しかし、世話に関しての相談はしたことがないとの回答は多い。援助が必要なのに、放置されたヤングケアラーが多いと想定される。
政府は３月１７日、「ヤングケアラーの支援に向けた福祉・介護・医療・教育の連携プロジェクトチーム」を厚生労働と文部科学の両副大臣を共同議長に、両省の局長・課長をメンバーとして発足させた。５月を目途にＰＴの取りまとめを行うとしている。
先の報告書で、市町村で「何らかのヤングケアラーに関する取組みを行っている」は１７・７％、「特にしていない」が８２・０％に及ぶ。自治体には国の指示待ちでなく、ヤングケアラーが相談できる体制と支援策が早急に求められている。
英訳版↓
No. 1210 Young Carers
An NHK TV program on April 12 evening and newspaper articles on the following day reported about the situation of ‘young carers’ of families. Many people are unfamiliar with the phrase. Until today people have been unaware of the issue exactly, leaving many problems unsettled.
CREATE COUNSELING AND SUPPORTING SYSTEM FOR YOUNG CARERS
A ‘young carer’ is explained on the HP of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare; ‘there is no legal definition. It means those younger than 18-year-olds who help cooking, cleaning and washing and look after family members who have physical and mental impairments on the daily basis. People they help include sick and disabled parents, grandparents and siblings’.
One in every 20 students
The situation surrounding these young people has not been well reported before. Last March a private entity, Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd, released a report. It is the Investigation and Research Report on Young Carers, which was conducted under the project of the fiscal 2020 to support adolescents and their education.
The company had held questionnaires in 2018 and 2019, too, asking local governments about policies on children who need help. But it has not looked into directly the youth who actually take care of their family affairs. In March this year it surveyed among the 2nd-graders of junior high schools and those of high schools, including evening and correspondence high schools.
The results show that 5.7% of the 2nd-graders of junior high schools, which counts 55 thousand approximately, and 4.1% of the 2nd-graders of high schools, which counts 42 thousand, are engaged in this type of works.
Students reply, in a higher degree, that they are poor or not good in health, and they are sometimes absent from school or go to school late and return home earlier.
The 2nd–graders of junior high school students spend 4.0 hours a day on the family affairs on the average, and the 2nd-graders of high school students, 3.8 hours. When it is over seven hours a day, majority of them answer: they are ‘physically very hard’ and ‘mentally tough’, and they have ‘no time to relax’. They have never been given advice. It is assumed that many are left unprotected though they need help.
Government has set up a project team
The government organized a taskforce March 17; it is the Project Team to Assist Young Carers in their Welfare, Care, Medical Service and Education, being under co-chairmanship of two vice ministers of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education. The team will start working in May, incorporating chiefs of the bureaus and sections of the two ministries.
In the above-said report of the private entity municipal governments reply on their policies to young carers: 17.7% of them extend certain services, while 82.0% do nothing to help them. Local governments should create a counseling and supporting system immediately, not waiting for instructions from the state’s government.
May 18, 2021