Mary Daly Queen’s University Belfast Innovative Ways of Coping with Old and New Challenges: FAMILY POLICY IN FOCUS Mary Daly Queen’s University Belfast

Objectives Identify key family-related practices, behaviours, preferences Identify emerging policy trajectories (policy provision and norms) Identify criteria for setting out a ‘model template’ e.g., major challenges for policy

1. Family-related Behaviours and Preferences Fertility Context of childbearing/rearing Union formation and dissolution Children’s living arrangements Age structure Women’s employment and work-family tensions/conflict

Preferences Preferred fertility Preferred family arrangement Preferred division of labour at home/pressures around this Preferred involvement in paid work Involvement in caring and concerns around this

2. Policy Developments The Policy Field Changing orientations to social policy (eg social exclusion, activation, social investment) Changing actors and political constellations Historical precedents of family policy Changing constituents/priorities of family policy - Child care outside home - Child ‘attainment’ - Child poverty - Employed motherhood - ‘Caring’ fathers

Family policy moving back stage To centre stage comes child policy Normatively, very particular behaviours being encouraged

3. Challenges for Policies Concrete Challenges To adapt/respond to changing family behaviours (what do families ‘need’ from policies to be able to be able to function well?) To reduce gaps/shortcomings in existing policy responses - fertility, care, over-burdening of women, family’s association with poverty, support of transitions, family roles

Developing a Model Template Possible Criteria Sustainability: financial political social policy