Nurture & Support

Jun 21

WILDFLOWER HOUSE FOUNDER TALKS ABOUT THE DRAMATIC RISE IN CHILDREN WHO NEED CARE

Located not far from the coast in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, Wildflower House—known as Nonohana-no-ie in Japanese is a privately-run children’s home established in 1985 that cares for children of all ages—infants through high school. Some 57 children are presently living at the home.

*Founder and general director Misao Hanazaki (left) and facility director Mitsutaka Nakao.*

The facility has been recognized and awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization as well as the prime minister and emperor of Japan. As an independent non-profit, it receives some financial support from the national and local governments, but it is not enough to cover all expenses, with additional funds needed for things such as building repairs, educational opportunities, and extracurricular activities.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) has donated to Wildflower House a number of times since 2007, and those donations have paid for, among other things, a floor-heating system for part of the home’s great hall.

In March 2016, we talked to founder and general director Misao Hanazaki and facility director Mitsutaka Nakao to learn more about the home. The following are edited excerpts, and data has been updated.

Tell us about the children living at Wildflower House.

Hanazaki: About 85 percent of our children were taken into protective custody because they were abused or neglected by their parents. Indeed, we see that, nationwide, about 80 percent of the children in children’s homes are there because of abuse or neglect. Japan has 600 children’s homes with about 39,000 children under care.

How have things changed since you opened the home?

Hanazaki: Thirty years ago, there were very few children who came to us because they were being abused. In those early days, we had lots of cases where the father had custody after a divorce, but found himself too busy with work to look after the children, or both parents had a serious illness at the same time. In these situations, once the parents’ lives settled down, they intended to start taking care for their children again.

Nakao: I’ve been here 20 years. In the early days, parents would often come to visit their children. Sometimes on weekends, parents would come out and help us mow the lawn with their children, help us cook, or they’d play sports with their children outside—things like that.

Hanazaki: That’s right. There were lots of cases in which the parents were sick or financially constrained, but they still wanted to participate in the care of their children. They even formed a group to allow parents from various families to come together to talk and do things for the children and Wildflower House. But recently, the number of children who come to us because of abuse has really skyrocketed. Of course, they can’t be allowed to see their parents anymore.

Has child abuse really become that bad?

Hanazaki: Yes. If we look at the figures from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, we see that, in 2013, there were about 73,800 cases in which the child welfare authorities got involved. There were 88,800 in 2014, and during the pandemic year of 2020 the number topped 100,000 for the first time, with police reporting 106,960 cases. That means the current level is about six times the year 2000 figure of 17,700 cases.

Could more people become foster parents?

Hanazaki: Currently, there are fewer than 10,000 people registered as willing to become foster parents nationwide, and only about 6,000 children living with foster parents. So, looking at the total number of children in (broadly defined) protective custody, we see that 85 percent of them are in children’s homes, and only 15 percent are with foster parents. The fact that it is so hard to get more people to become foster parents is a distinguishing aspect of child welfare in Japan, and it’s something I think we need to look at.

Why has abuse increased so dramatically?

Hanazaki: One reason is that many parents today were themselves abused as children, and they end up doing the same—it’s a vicious cycle. Another is that, as a result of divorce, the number of single-mother families has been increasing, and over half are impoverished. The mother is often forced to work multiple jobs and is unable to look after her children. Exhaustion and stress lead to child abuse or neglect.

Another is that there seems to be an increase in the number of children with mental or developmental disabilities, or ADHD, and parents find it difficult to communicate with them. This also ends up in abuse.

How do privately- and government-run homes differ?

Hanazaki: Here in Chiba Prefecture, there is one government-run home, while there are 19 privately-run homes. The government makes payments to the latter based on the number of children living there. These payments are divided into a portion to cover staff salaries and a portion to cover the direct care expenses of each child.

But the government uses a lower rate per staff member and per child for privately-run homes than what is allocated to the government-run facility. There, the staff are paid in accordance with the (generous) government employee pay scale, and this usually works out to be more than what the government gives the private homes to cover staff salaries. Further, the government facility operates on a higher staff-to-child ratio than the government uses when calculating the payment made for staff at a private home.

Roughly how much money does a private home get from the government?

Hanazaki: Private homes receive a combined so-called sochihi payment from the national and local governments. This is basically calculated as a certain amount per child plus an additional amount for staff salaries, calculated at the rate of one staffer for every four children. This staff-pay allotment is far too low and is a real problem for private homes.

I should add that the national government does give a supplement to cover the cost of psychiatrists and family counselors should we hire them.

How do you cover the other half of staff costs?

Hanazaki: There’s nothing we can do except ask for donations. Some homes that don’t receive enough donations will reduce the number of staff overall, or the number of staff on night duty, but I absolutely do not want to compromise our children’s care or safety.

Fortunately, because we receive donations from the ACCJ, as well as directly from various foreign capital companies in Japan and private individuals, we somehow manage to get by without cutting staff.

But we really can’t do it with just the donations, so we end up having to save on our non-personnel operating costs wherever we can and apply those savings to staff salaries. For example, when we receive donations of food, we can move some of our food budget over to cover staff salaries. By saving here and there, we somehow manage to pay our staff.

How much of your budget depends on donations?

Nakao: Our annual budget is about ¥300 million. The government payments we receive comprise about 95 percent of that, and donations from organizations and individuals cover about three percent.

How else do you use donations?

Hanazaki: We use them to cover the cost of extracurricular activities for our children. Because of the donations we receive, they can attend juku (cram school) and participate in other activities along with their friends from school who are not living at Wildflower House. This is psychologically very important for them.

Lots of our children have come to us from troubled homes where they didn’t have a quiet place to study. Some weren’t even going to school. I really want to ensure that these children get at least basic academic skills.

Nakao: Starting a few years back, the government began giving us additional payments to cover extracurricular activities and juku costs for our middle-school children—but these payments are only for middle school. Of course, our high schoolers participate in extracurricular activities and go to juku, too, so we must cover those costs with donations.

When they are able to participate in activities outside school, they can form friendships and connections with children and their parents from various schools in the area—not just their own—and the connections they make with others in the area are really important.

With the help of the donations we receive, we’re going to keep doing our best to create an environment in which our children can grow up healthy and enjoy good life experiences as they become young adults.