민간 한부모지원단체의 활동현황과 방향성 모색에 대한 연구

Abstract

This study was carried out to review the birth and current activities of NGOs supporting single parent families and to investigate workers’ perception of challenges and solutions in terms of providing services for single parent families. Researchers collected data through individual interviews with 10 leaders of support organizations for single parents and asked questions like establishment year, goals and missions, number of members, activities, budget, tasks and visions. This study found that private support organizations for single parents were established due to the rapid rise of single parent families after the economic crisis in Korea who had serious psychosocial problems. In early days, these organizations had focused their services on psycho-emotional support, however they changed focus on economic support and awareness improvement programs to help single parent families by using diverse promotion strategies. However, their organizations experienced barriers to carry out various activities because of negative perception of single parent families in Korea and their lack of human and material resources. Moreover, the organizations faced identity dilemma between feminism movement and welfare assistance and hardly expanded their activities due to policy exclusion of single parent families in Korea. In order to cope with their difficulties, participants sought multilateral alternatives, such as securing project funding, building social networks with other organizations and specializing their programs by establishing a vision statement. In conclusion, researchers discussed welfare movement of private support organizations for single parent families as future direction.