[Hope Center to Abolish Poverty and Increase the Rights of Women Workers]
Single parent families, fly high with the wings of hope!
- Outcomes of women single parent families care services
by Jung Moon-ja, vice chairperson of KWWA
Preparing better job conditions for women single parent families
98% happy with the quality of services
A satisfaction survey showed the care service was a substantial support for single parents families.
․ Survey conducted between November 5th and 17th, 2007.
․ Targets: 164 women single parents families in the 5 regions who received the care services.
․ Satisfaction level : 98.2% were satisfied with the services.
* Changes after receiving the care service
|
In what fields |
Questions |
Answers (total participants: 164) |
|
․ Economic sides |
① I can find a job (including self employers) |
52 persons (31.7%) |
|
② I can receive job training. |
26 persons (15.9%) | |
|
③ I can save costs for child care, academies and nursery. |
79 persons (48.2%) | |
|
④ I can save cost for caring disabled children. |
13 persons (7.9%) | |
|
․ Emotional sides |
① I feel better because my children can be taken care of safely. |
99 persons (60.4%) |
|
② I can spend a spare time. |
127 persons (77.4%) | |
|
③ I am more confident because I can talk with others and so become more open minded. |
48 persons (29.3%) | |
|
④ I am happy because my home is cleaner. |
100 persons (61.0%) | |
|
․ Changes in family relations |
① My kids have better personality (and are emotionally stable). |
93 persons (56.3%) |
|
② My kids have better scores. |
39 persons (20.1%) | |
|
③ My kids can manage their homework and materials needed at school by themselves. |
44 persons (26.8%) | |
|
④ My kids and patients are more hygienical. |
53 persons (32.3%) | |
|
⑤ foods and refreshments for my kids and patients can be solved. |
77 persons (47.0%) | |
|
⑥ Patients become better in a case that you are a care worker. |
4 persons (2.4%) | |
|
․ Human relations |
① I feel better because I can meet those who are in similar situations through beneficiaries' meetings. |
47 persons (28.7%) |
|
② I can spend a more time talking with my families. |
67 persons (40.9%) | |
|
③ I can have higher trust on human beings because I can meet warm-hearted people. |
90 persons (54.9%) | |
|
․ Participation in programs |
① I can have better knowledge because I can receive more training. |
65 persons (45.1%) |
|
②My quality of life becomes higher because I can join several activities. |
62 persons (39.6%) | |
|
③I feel solidarity is important. |
66 persons (37.8%) |
Various programs along with care services operated
A variety of programs including training, campaigns and meetings in addition to care services were provided to single parent families, which makes contribution to producing mutual supports and stronger capability.
First of all, women single parents' meetings have functioned well as venues for mutual encouragement and supports, sharing difficulties such as educations for children together, and exchanging information. These meetings will be continued even after the care services are finalized.
Secondly, KWWA also provided single parent families with diverse training programs in terms of active parent training (A.P.T.), improvement of self-respect and esteem and understanding poor women. When they received the training programs, they talked about themselves and their children honestly in tears and tried to find alternatives.
Thirdly, women single parents' participation in local campaigns and rallies for provoking the increases in supporting single parent families, encouraged each other a lot. During the presidential campaigns, women single parents gather together and made presidential demands by themselves, and they joined campaigns and rallies to publicize their situations. About 130 women single parents belonging to KWWA's regional branches took a part of the first nationwide rally for single parents held on October 7th, 2007.
Fourthly, a variety of programs for women single parent families gave them chances to enjoy with their family members and to talk honestly and to "travel with kids" together. In the spring, KWWA organized excursions with family members, waterside vacation & family camps in the summer vacation, an excursion for viewing autumnal leaves in the fall and sleigh rides, Santa Clause events and year-end parties in the winter. In addition, KWWA tried to provide chances for those who are usually isolated from culture, to carry out cultural activities such as visiting museums, joining musicals, and experiencing mud-flats.
In order to publicize project outcomes
Based on outcomes of our care services KWWA issued a counseling case collection entitled "Single parent families, fly high with the wings of hope" and distributed KWWA's regional branches, authorities related and public authorities. In November 2007 KWWA had a briefing when women single parents from its 5 regional branches and participants in the project attended together. Case manager and developers, women single parents, and child care service workers presented their touching stories and amusing skills by region. In addition, KWWA filmed tearful situations and dream of women single parent families and care services from the 5 regions and presented it in the regional meetings.
KWWA provided a variety of support and assistances for women single parents through care services for the last one year and gained a lot. However, supports for single parent families are not still systematic or good enough, and in future, single parents, themselves, will continue calling for the increase in supports for their independence.
Still unsolved tasks - 5 hopes of single parent families
1. Social integration should be realized through supporting single parent families
▷ Increase and expand scholarships for children from low income single parent families.
▷ Support culture programs including family integration programs for children and single parents.
▷ Establish and increase single parent family support centers to carry out counseling and supports for single parents.
▷ Acknowledge more various types of families.
2. Strengthen vocational training for single parents and expand job opportunities for them.
▷ Expand job opportunities for single parents.
▷ Support cost of living and scholarships for them to focus on job training firmly (for a long period).
3. Prevent poverty through supporting single parents' independence.
▷ Provide assistances for their independence for the first 2 years.
▷ Increase child care support (from 50,000 won to 100,000).
▷ Increase legally standard earning of employed single parents to the level of 150% of minimum wages.
4. Protect the right to health through providing medical supports for single parents.
▷ Support medical costs for low income single parents and their children.
▷ Support care services for employed single parent families.
5. Upgrade single parent families' satisfaction through improving their housing.
▷ Increase the number of public housing offered by local authorities in order to cut the vicious poverty circle because of very heavy monthly rents.
▷ Decrease rent burdens of single parent families through applying different rent systems by wages to public and council housing.