Family Policy and Complex Contemporary Families: A Decade in Review and Implications for the Next Decade of Research and Policy Practice

Prior Journal of Marriage and Family decade-in-review articles have grappled with the definition and role of family policy for research and policy practice while emphasizing its value to both. In this article, we begin with a broad conceptualization of family policy that encompasses actions intended to achieve explicitly stated goals for families (explicit policies) and those that affect families without an explicitly stated goal for doing so (implicit policies), which we believe provides a solid framework for guiding and understanding both research and practice in the field. Second, we review major U.S. policy initiatives in the past decade and their documented and potential effects on families. Third, we describe several key aspects by which contemporary families have become more diverse and complex. Fourth, we discuss the implications of ongoing family complexity for public policies. We conclude with a discussion about future research and policy development in the context of contemporary family complexity.     

亲子类节目对流动儿童家庭教育的启示

如今流行的亲子类节目试图寓教于乐,并为此而颇受大众欢迎,其呈现的场景与流动儿童家庭教育的状况在父母角色的缺失、亲子对陌生情景的不同理解、儿童较强的独立选择、亲子社会交往边缘感知的不同等方面相类似。流动儿童教育环境的改善需要政府、社会、家长等各方面的合力,而家庭教育理念则可以借助于亲子类节目的普及来进行一定引导。此类节目尤其有助于流动儿童家长教育理念的革新、家庭教育氛围的营造。     

Lone Parents in Northern Ireland: The Effectiveness of Work Incentives

In recent years social policy in relation to lone parents has placed heavy emphasis on increasing the participation of this group in the labour market. If anything, the newly elected Labour government appears to be more committed to this objective than its predecessor. This paper details some of the findings from a focus-groups exercise with lone mothers in Belfast conducted in 1995. The data underline the limitations of many aspects of the measures taken to encourage lone parents to work and raise questions about the appropriateness of current policy.     

农村独生子女家庭养老保障的弱势地位与对策研究——来自山东农村的调查

利用来自山东省农村的调查数据,比较农村独生子女户父母和非独生子女户父母养老需求满足程度的差异。研究发现,相对于农村非独生子女户,农村独生子女户在家庭经济状况、子女经济供养、日常照料等方面存在明显弱势。应进一步完善农村计划生育家庭养老保障制度,注意处理"普惠"与"优抚"的关系,积极探索独生子女户老人集中供养制度,整合农村集体资源,弥补家庭养老能力不足,用足现有生育政策减少未来独生子女家庭数量规模。     

Parents' experiences with child protection during pregnancy and post-birth

Limited research has directly sought the input of parents involved in the child protection system during pregnancy and with their infants. As the focus of these policies and practices, parents have a unique and important insight not available to others, so it is vital to obtain their input. As part of a larger Australian study, qualitative interviews were undertaken with 13 parents asking about their views and experiences. Parents predominantly became involved with child protection services during pregnancy through a prenatal report. Parents who previously had their newborn removed from their care described it as sudden and unexpected, leaving them distressed and unsupported post-removal, with a growing list of requirements for them to see their baby or for restoration to be considered. Domestic violence was a particular issue of concern for some mothers who expressed distress that their partners, perpetrators of violence, were allowed access to their infant with fewer requirements than for them. Improvements recommended by the parents included greater communication and preparation for the removal, better recognition of improvements in their situations and increased supports to be provided to parents both pre- and post-removal. Parental experiences provide an important guide to improving child protection practice with these families.     

The impact of ‘being assessed’ by a disabled children's team: a personal reflective account

The body of ‘service user’ literature confirms the value of parental perceptions of child and family social work and the insight parents and others can offer. This paper lends my voice to the literature regarding parental perceptions, inspired by the work of Pamela Davies, who provided a personal account of the impact of a child protection investigation. This paper draws upon my experiences of being a father of two ‘disabled children’ and undergoing an assessment of need. This paper seeks to draw attention to issues of choice, power imbalances and the role of expertise. My personal experience of undergoing an assessment was that it was an emotionally fraught process, for the duration of the assessment, our family stress increased and we had a sense of having to ‘battle’ for the support we needed. As such, my personal experience fits well with the wider body of literature, which highlights the increased stress of caring for children with additional needs, the challenges of ‘fitting’ disabled children into the frameworks used to assess all children and the difficulty for parents and professionals in distinguishing between ‘normal’ parenting responsibilities and the additional responsibilities of caring for a disabled child.     

说“禄养”——关于汉代官员养亲问题的考察

"禄养"是指官员以俸禄孝养父母。两汉时期,人们对禄养行孝的养亲方式非常崇尚,即使是那些淡泊名利的志节之士,在身处无力养亲的现实困窘时,有时也会迫不得已而放下身段,入仕求禄以求养亲。但是由于俸禄微薄,对于不少中低级官员来说,以禄养亲依然不易。不少官员为了便于行孝,往往会想方设法将父母迎接至就职地,此即"移亲就养"。但是在实际操作过程中,移亲就养并不容易实现,故有些官员不惜放弃官职以归乡终养。汉代已将"养亲"纳入官员的考核机制之中,但是总体而言,其在相关制度建设方面仍显粗疏。     

Job satisfaction and ‘welfare‐to‐work‘: is any job a good job for Australian single mothers?

This exploratory study sought to assess the job satisfaction of employed Australian single mothers who had mandatory employment participation requirements. In particular, we sought to identify the characteristics of the job and the individual that were closely associated with participant's job satisfaction. Self‐report data on job satisfaction, employment characteristics and parenting stress were collected from 155 employed single mothers. Participant job satisfaction was compared to female Australian population norms and linear regression analyses determined the job‐related and individual predictors of single mothers' job satisfaction. Findings from this exploratory study revealed that single mothers involved in a mandatory welfare‐to‐work program experienced significantly lower job satisfaction than the Australian female population. The individual variable, parental distress, negatively predicted each of the six job satisfaction domains while being employed on a casual basis was inversely associated with three domains (job security, work hours and overall job satisfaction). The Australian government purported that making the transition from welfare to work would improve wellbeing for program participants, under the assumption that ‘any job's a good job‘. However, the relatively low levels of job satisfaction experienced by single mothers in the current study provide little support for this assumption.     

Left behind: How to encourage biological parents' involvement in their children's group homes

This paper addresses the challenges and benefits of involving biological parents in group homes in Israel and presents various means to encourage their involvement in care. Using family systems theories and the concept of co‐parenting, it analyses the fragile and complex relationship caseworkers and foster parents have with biological parents. The paper presents four components that might play a role in encouraging parental involvement to benefit their children's adjustment. The components are demonstrated through case studies and include assessing the family profile; addressing the family's needs within the child's intervention plan; training biological and foster parents; and building co‐parenting between biological and foster parents.