1. Chapter 4
© Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
Policies and Practices Biased Toward Individual Rights over Family Responsibilities

2. Chapter 4 Outline U.S. Individualism Permeates Policymaking
© Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
Chapter 4 Outline
U.S. Individualism Permeates Policymaking
How Policymaking Affects Families
Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
Supreme Court Decisions
Federal, State, and Local Laws
Workplace Policies
Organizational Practices and Operating Procedures
Professional Training
Data and Theories
Summary

3. U.S. Individualism Permeates Policymaking
© Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
U.S. Individualism Permeates Policymaking
The United States is one of the only countries without a specific mention of family in its constitution.
No federal agency assumes sole responsibility for families.
No federal or state government has charters or declarations that set forth family aims and principles.
Piecemeal policies are passed that respond to specific individual needs without a comprehensive vision for families.

4. How Policymaking Affects Families
© Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
How Policymaking Affects Families
Ecological Family Systems Theory
Family functioning is shaped by the larger contexts in which families operate. (Bronfenbrenner, 1986; Minuchin, 1974)

5. Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
© Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
Case studies of how families experience policies within workplaces, schools, and service systems
Supreme Court decisions
Federal, state, and local laws
Workplace policies
Organizational practices and operating procedures
Professional training practices
Data and theories

6. Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
© Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
Supreme Court Decisions
Extension of equal protection and constitutional autonomy rights into family decisions such as marriage, child custody, and reproduction
Shift in family law toward treating family commitments as private contractual arrangements
Federal Laws
Policies designed with the individual but not family in mind
Policy eligibility varies by family structure, often in unintended ways
Lack of policies that recognize and value work in the family in the same ways as work in the formal labor market

7. Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
© Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
State Laws
Many family policies are now determined by states (e.g., child welfare, health insurance, family preservation, K-12 education, marriage, divorce, property distribution)
State policy decisions privilege some types of families over others, often in unintended ways
Local Laws and Service Provision
City ordinances; zoning rules; local education boards
Community organizations; family service providers

8. Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
© Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
Workplace Policies
Are hiring decisions, flexibility, overtime requirements, and health benefits family friendly?
Organizational Practices and Operating Procedures
Are laws implemented as intended?
Are programs administered, financed, and staffed in family-friendly ways?
Is program philosophy and practice generally more individualistic or familistic?

9. Implementation Considerations
© Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
Implementation Considerations
Multiple program components shape how policies are implemented and how they affect families
Governance
Who makes the implementation decisions and how the decisions are made
Mission and Goals
Statement of philosophy, goals, and objectives
Financing
Nature and type of funding (e.g., open-ended entitlement, matching grants)
Administration
Contract, procurement, and personnel systems; accountability and supervisory structure
Staffing
Qualifications and training of staff; job descriptions; and staff development plans
Service Models
Assumptions, targets, and models of service delivery
Data Collection
Planning, monitoring, and accountability; what data are collected, how they are used, and how they coordinate with other related data
Program Evaluation
Which family members are included, and what family benchmarks and outcome measures are collected

10. Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
© Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
Professional Training
Family policy not prioritized by fields and institutions relevant to policy (e.g., economics, political science, law)
Lack of attention in secondary and higher education to how families contribute to their members and to society
Little training provided to teachers on how to involve parents and serve families with diverse needs
Human service professionals mainly trained in individualistic approaches to treatment and service delivery

11. Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
© Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
Examples of Family Marginalization in Policymaking
Data and Theories
Lack of data collected on key aspects of family life
Family outcomes neglected or inconsistently measured
Family data often collected from only one family member
Who is targeted in data collection has not kept pace with the full range of changing family demographics
Capturing the dynamic, multifaceted nature of family relationships is challenging; complex analyses needed to represent the reciprocal nature of family interactions
Data limitations slow the development and refinement of theoretical frameworks that can inform policy decisions

12. © Routledge/Taylor & Francis 2014
Summary
Policies and practices in the U.S. are approached primarily from an individualistic frame.
Families are largely considered a private matter, but are profoundly affected by the public environment in which they operate.
Families provide many functions for the good of society, but they perform these valuable functions mostly on their own.
Families are more effective in supporting, educating, and caring for their members in the context of family-friendly policies and practices.