We had witnessed numerous changes of the family structure, occurring in Croatia and in the world, for the last twenty years. Increase in divorce rates and age of first time marriage, a greater tendency of couples to cohabitate and new family have been formed. In Croatia, single parent families are a specific group that is becoming an important factor in the society. However, poor material circumstances, insufficient state care, upbringing of children and coping with all the demands of working and parenting roles are only a few problems facing single parents in modern times.
In the total family population, there are 188 001 or 15% single parents in Croatia (Population census 2001) – out of which 83% or 156 036 are mothers with children, and 17% or 31 965 fathers with children.
Organizing projects aimed at single parents represent the most significant activities in the social care area of NGO Flight: workshops and counseling for single parents have been developed since 2004 to meet the needs of single parents. Also, we have published the second edition of the book “For and About Single Parent Families”, available on the web site, in Croatian.