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During the past decade, the appropriate role of government in society has been subjected to a sweeping reevaluation throughout the world. An important element in this ongoing debate has been a reappraisal of the form and magnitude of public social welfare policy. The essays that make up this volume examine a variety of aspects of this topic as it applies to family policy in the United States, including both the political debate over who should be served and how programs should be funded, and the intellectual questions surrounding the nature of social organization and its role within the state.
Divided into three major subject areas, the work reexamines basic elements of current policy debate surrounding family life. The first section explores fundamental features of family policy, considering whether there is a conflict of interest between adults and children in fashioning social policy, and outlining the parameters of a feminist family policy. The second section examines the linkage between ideology and action. Among the topics covered are the link between state political culture and family policy, latchkey children, treatment of the nation's elderly and its link to a mythical past, abortion, and family policy in the People's Republic of China. The final section analyzes a number of specific policies, including AFDC program cutbacks, the decline in family planning resources, nonfamily-based care, and joint custody arrangements, and attempts to trace their impact. A concluding chapter examines the future of family policy. This work will be a valuable resource for both students and professionals in the fields of public policy studies and sociology, as well as an important addition to public and academic libraries.
List of contents
Introduction: Thinking about Family Policy by Richard C. Hula
The Normative Context of Family PolicyBalancing the Policy Interests of Children and Adults by John Scanzoni
A Feminist Approach to National Family Policy by Patricia Spakes
Linking Ideology to ActionThe Policy Functions of Family Policies in Three States: A Comparative Analysis by Shirley L. Zimmerman
State Initiatives in Family Policy by Steven R. Wisensale
Latchkey Children and After-School Care: A Feminist Dilemma? by Clifton P. Flynn and Hyman Rodman
Translating the Problems of the Elderly into Effective Policies: Filial Responsibility by Doris E. Dinkins Ford
Abortion and Family Policy: A Mental Health Perspective by Gregory A. Wilmoth, Danielle Bussell, and Brian L. Wilcox
Women Under the Collective: The Exigencies of Family Policies in China by Jean Robinson
Exploring ImpactsPost-Mortem on the Deterioration of the Welfare Grant by Theresa Funiciello and Sanford F. Schram
Reagan's Federalism and Family Planning Services: Implications for Family Policy by Deborah R. McFarlane
Child Support and the Feminization of Poverty by Andrea H. Beller and Seung Sin Chung
Child Care in America: Retrospect and Prospect by Sally Lubeck and Patricia Garrett
Rethinking Joint Custody Policy: Option or Presumption? by Clifton P. Flynn
Policy Implications of Involving Parents in Head Start by Robert K. Leik, Mary Anne Chalkley, and Nancy J. Peterson
The Future of Family Policy: A Postscript by Elaine A. Anderson
References
Index
About the author
ELAINE A. ANDERSON is Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Development, University of Maryland, College Park. She has conducted research on work policy and family development at different life stages, the homeless, and AIDS education. She has contributed chapters to several books on family studies and has published articles in the
Journal of Marriage and the Family,
Criminology, and
Journal of Housing for the Elderly, among others.
RICHARD C. HULA is an associate professor for the Institute of Urban Studies at the University of Maryland--College Park. He has written numerous articles, books, and book chapters on privatization, urban public policy, and related issues.
