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

Teaching Family Policy – Definitions & Dimensions

Students and faculty alike often struggle with what “family policy” is and what it is not. Denise Skinner of the University of Wisconsin-Stout details below definitions that she uses to help students understand what is within and outside the parameters of the field.

What is “FAMILY POLICY?”

• Public Policy
  Social Policy
  Family Policy
• Family policy is fundamentally concerned about the family as the basic social institution

Family Policy as:

• A perspective – for understanding and thinking about the actions of government and consequences of these actions for families
• A process – of collective decision making
• A field of activity – the wide range of family-related programs that result from policymaking (e.g. family preservation, family and medical leave, income supports)

Family Policy

• Is a course of action directed at the family (including marriage and kinship) with the intent of guiding, influencing, determining:
• The structures it assumes

  The functions it performs

  The processes of change

  The behavior of its members

Types of Family Policy

• Explicit – those policies in which the consequences for families are deliberately structured
• Implicit – those that have nonfamilial objectives but which nonetheless affect families

Explicit Family Policy is directed at:

• Family Composition: Childbirth, marriage, divorce, adoption, foster care
• Economic Support: Families’ abilities to provide for their dependents’ basic needs (food, shelter, health and clothing)
• Development of Children: Parents’ ability to nurture, rear, educate children
• Family Care: Families’ ability to care for members and relatives who are chronically ill, frail, or have disabilities
• Partner Relationships: Families’ ability to foster and maintain committed, stable partner relationships

Policymaking Arenas

• Level of Government
  Federal
  State
  Local (county, city, school board)
• Branch of Government
  Legislative
  Executive
  Judicial

Dimensions of Family Policy

• Policy to maintain the status quo or as a force of change?
• Policies for family groups and systems for individuals?
• Policies that see the family (children) as a public or private institution?
• Policies that are targeted or universal?
• Policies at the macro-level (economic support, housing, etc.) or micro-level (care giving, nurturing)?
• Policies that promote treatment strategies or preventive ones?
• Policy at the federal, state and/or local level?

References

Eshleman, R. (1991). The family: An introduction. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Jacob, F. & Davies, M. (1994). More than kissing babies? Current child and family policy in the United States. Westport, CT: Auburn House

Minnesota Coalition for Family Policy (1999). What is family policy. St. Paul, MN: Author.

Zimmerman, S. (1988). Understanding family policy: Theoretical approaches. Newberry Park, CA: Sage.

Zimmerman, S. (1992). Family policies and family well-being: The role of political culture. Newberry Park, CA: Sage.