The center, which was set up by the bureau with the help of volunteers in the eastern city, will offer a variety of services to foreign single mothers, including a care hotline and information on social services and resources in the county, as well as various free education courses, including computer and cooking classes and job training programs.
The social affairs bureau said that according to the Ministry of Interior's statistics, there were 6,170 foreign spouses residing in Yilan County as of last July, many of whom urgently needed instruction on adapting to the local culture and customs, as well as on how to play the role of a mother in Taiwanese society.
The bureau said the Yilan County divorce rate doubled from 1.33 percent in 1996 to 2.66 percent in 2006, with many of the divorces involving foreign spouses. Furthermore, many foreign mothers are unmarried or bereaved, it said.
