1. Family Sociology Families, the State & Social Policy Professor Connie Gager

2. We think of the family as a private place, but the family is also a public institution in terms of the contribution of families to the public good. What are some of the ways that families contribute to the public good ? ◦socializing children to be the next generation of workers or ◦caring for ill or aged members of the family. Families, The State & Social Policy

3. In other words families produce PUBLIC GOODS. Much social policy is aimed at families Social policy is a policy for dealing with social issues Many of these social policies involve families ◦Head Start ◦Family Medical Leave Act Families, The State & Social Policy

4. Family Policy The goal of family policy is to promote family well-being These policies can be at the federal, state or local level Family policies are agreed upon courses of action aimed at producing an objective such as:  Reducing teen pregnancy  Reducing poverty  Helping families balance work and family

5. Families, The State & Social Policy When most people think about aid to families they think about welfare – i.e. assistance to the poor— but government assistance for families is NOT just for the poor 10/14/20155

6. The government helps all families, not just poor ones: Some specific examples:  Social Security is paid to all elderly who worked, regardless of financial need.  Each year, more than 25 million parents deducted part of their out-of-home child care costs from their income taxes.  In the same year, 30 million taxpayers deducted the interest they paid on their home mortgages. The Family and the State

7. Much of the public policy aimed at families has long historical roots Long history of debate over where we draw the line between public and private As we have talked about – the line between public and private has shifted over time The Family and the State

8. Families, The State & Public Policy Until the Great Depression, the widely held view was that government should NOT intervene in family affairs Since then - substantial legislation has been passed to protect workers and their families These programs are collectively referred to as Social Welfare

9. Social Welfare We speak of the U.S. as a welfare state: a capitalist government that has enacted numerous measures, or policies, to protect workers and families from the harshness of the Capitalist system These include: 1) Social Security 2) Unemployment compensation 3) Minimum wage

10. Social Security Act of 1935  Social Security, pensions for elderly  Unemployment compensation  Aid to mothers with dependent children (ADC)  Later became AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children)  The program we call “welfare” or TANF today Government Assistance in the United States

11. Welfare What assistance does the U.S. government currently provide to poor families?  income assistance  food stamps  rent subsidies  health insurance Assistance is mainly to single parent families (and these are mainly female-headed)

12. What Caused Sweeping Reform? Attitudes towards women’s roles ◦More acceptable for women with children to work ◦Since nonpoor mothers were working, those on welfare should be too Characteristics of recipients ◦Not widowed, but rather, single mothers  Divorced or never married ◦Deserving vs. undeserving poor  Hand-up vs. hand-out  Racial composition had changed

13. Families & Poverty Despite many initiatives and billions of dollars, the percentage of people living below poverty has changed little over the past 30 years 196913.7 197912.4 198913.1 199812.7 200111.7 200312.4 200412.7 201014.3 Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

14. Poverty in the U.S. In 2010, nearly 44 million families were in poverty Your likelihood of being poor and of receiving welfare is associated with your race and ethnicity http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty04/pov04hi.html

15. Race and Ethnicity of Parents Receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families 2002 Source: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/annualreport6/chapter10/10figbdata.htm

16. Families, Public Policy, & Poverty How do we define poverty? How would you calculate the line that separates the poor from the nonpoor? Who are the deserving poor and why has the definition changed? Who is more likely to be in poverty today – children or the elderly? 10/14/201516