- Event Title: Community Success Stories for Unwed Mother-Child Support Workshop
- Organizers: Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network (KUMSN), Aeranwon
- Date and Time: February 26, 2009, 10:00 AM ~ 5:00 PM
- Location: Auditorium, Community Chest of Korea Building
- Summary:
♣ Community Success Stories for Unwed Mother-Child Support Workshop
- Speaker: Dr. Cheryl Mitchell (University of Vermont Professor, Ph.D. in Social Policy, Deputy Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Human Services)
- Registration Fee: 30,000 KRW (Includes certificate, receipt, materials, refreshments. Pre-registration 24,000 KRW)
- Contact: Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network (KUMSN) Phone 02-734-5007, Mobile 011-5210-8637 E-mail hjkumsn@yahoo.com
- Speaker Profile: Cheryl Mitchell, Ph.D. in Social Policy, is currently a research professor at the University of Vermont. However, before becoming an academic, Dr. Mitchell dedicated over 30 years to welfare work in the fields of children, families, housing, and disability services. In 1979, she founded the Parent and Child Center in Addison County, Vermont, and spent the next decade passionately working on programs to support teenagers who had experienced pregnancy and child-rearing. Additionally, she established a master’s program at the University of Vermont to train teachers and social workers, contributing to the education of future professionals. From 1993 to 2003, Dr. Mitchell served as the Deputy Secretary of the Vermont Department of Human Services, gaining extensive experience in child welfare, parenting, youth, disability services, and community-based welfare programs. In the 1970s, Vermont, like Korea, faced issues of significant discrimination against unwed mothers and lacked social support. However, over time, the social stigma was reduced, and support for unwed mothers increased, with Dr. Mitchell playing a key role in this transformation.
- Workshop Overview: In our society, unwed mothers are still confronted with the belief that abortion or adoption are their only viable options. This implies that the children of unwed mothers are often fated to be either aborted or adopted. In this context, this workshop seeks to explore and discuss the best forms of support that would allow pregnant women and their unborn children to live as healthy and contributing members of society, without being discriminated against simply for not adhering to the traditional institution of marriage.
- Schedule: 09:30 - 10:00 Registration
10:00 - 10:10 Opening
10:10 - 10:20 Welcome Remarks: Dr. Richard Boas (Founder, KUMSN), Sangsoon Han (Director, Aeranwon)
10:20 - 11:30 Session 1: History of Unwed Mother-Child Support in Vermont
11:30 - 12:15 Session 2: Introduction to the Parent and Child Center Program
12:15 - 13:30 Lunch
13:30 - 14:30 Session 3: Best Choices for Women, Children, Families, and Communities
14:30 - 15:30 Session 4: Planning and Managing Community-Based Support Programs for Unwed Mothers
15:30 - 15:45 Break
15:45 - 16:45 Session 5: Emotional, Social, and Economic Support for Unwed Mother-Child Families and Considerations on Adoption and Unwed Father Responsibility
16:45 - 17:00 Closing
* Each session will include a brief presentation by Dr. Mitchell, followed by discussion and Q&A with participants.
Founded in 2008, the Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network (KUMSN) held its first workshop to discuss the necessity of introducing programs that support unwed mothers living within the community, as groups that are different from those residing in mother and baby homes. This marked a significant shift from facility-based care to community-based support. Dr. Cheryl Mitchell, who led the workshop, shared her expertise from transforming U.S. welfare policies in the 1970s, transitioning the focus from institutionalization and adoption to supporting unwed mothers through local community centers.
Workshop Brochure
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