Family Impact Institute Using Research to Build Better Public Policy for Families

About Us

The Family Impact Institute provides policymakers and professionals with nonpartisan, solution-oriented research and a family and racial equity lens on many of the complex issues being debated in state legislatures across the country. FII was founded in 1999 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension and continues the family impact mission of the federal Family Impact Seminars, which operated from 1976 to 1998 in Washington DC. The Family Impact Seminars aim to:

• Build greater use of and respect for evidence in policymaking,
• Encourage policymakers to examine policies and programs through a family impact and a racial equity lens, and
• Provide an opportunity for policymakers to build relationships across party lines

FII provides a number of resources for policymakers, practitioners, and others who work to use research to build better public policies for families.

• To assist policymakers, we disseminates research and policy reports that provide a family impact perspective on current policy issues.
• To assist those who enact and implement policies and programs, we have available procedures for conducting a family impact analysis and a number of checklists for examining how responsive policies, programs, and institutions are to family well-being.
• To assist professionals who want to create better dialogue between researchers and policymakers, we provide technical assistance on what it takes to connect with policymakers, and how to establish Family Impact Seminars in their own state.
• To assist those who work with policymakers, we conduct original research with policymakers on how they use research in their decisions and with professionals on what knowledge, skills, and attitudes are needed to communicate timely, high-quality information to policymakers in an accessible format.

FII promotes a family perspective in state policymaking several ways:

• We provide technical assistance to professionals conducting Family Impact Seminars for state policymakers in their state capitols.
• Our website serves as a clearinghouse of information about what a family perspective is, how to conduct a family impact analyses, and what tools and resources are available.
• Our website facilitates resource exchange for instructors who teach about family policy and train the next generation of family policy professionals.