한부모가족을 위한 외국의 법과 정책

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In Korea, the government provides economic assistance to low-income single parent families according to the Act of Support for Single Parent Families. However, the scope of beneficiaries is very limited with lacking welfare contents. Thus single parent families still have to endure various difficulties in everyday life. The purposes of this study were to investigate the support policies for single parent families in others nations and find their implications for Korea's case. Although there were differences among the foreign nations' policies according to their own ideas of social welfare and policy directions, they as a whole provided the following implications: First, they provided support for single parent families through the existing delivery system of social welfare service and thus succeeded in removing a social stigma branded on them and helping them take root as one of the diverse family types. Considering that one of the great difficulties that single parent families face is a social stigma, the Korean government must pay attention to that in implementing related acts and policies in future. Secondly, the recent trend in policies for single parent families is a shift from welfare to workfare. The goal is to help them get a job to be independent and graduate from public aid. And finally, the cases of the foreign countries all revealed their first consideration of children's welfare through the governments' direct and indirect support for child upbringing in many different forms. Given that the economic hardship of single parent families can be passed down the children, it's inevitable to think of children's issues in setting up and implementing policies for single parent families.