Family Policy A Relational Approach

1534.3.9

Organizations are the dominant social invention for generating resources and distributing them. Relational Inequalities develops a general sociological and organizational analysis of inequality, exploring the processes that generate inequalities in access to respect, resources, and rewards. Framing their analysis through a relational account of social and economic life, Donald Tomaskovic-Devey and Dustin Avent-Holt explain how resources are generated and distributed both within and between organizations. They show that inequalities are produced through generic processes that occur in all social relationships: categorization and their resulting status hierarchies, organizational resource pooling, exploitation, social closure, and claims-making. Drawing on a wide range of case studies, Tomaskovic-Devey and Avent-Holt focus on the workplace as the primary organization for generating inequality and provide a series of global goals to advance both a comparative organizational research model and to challenge troubling inequalities.

Analyzing the critical juncture of family-centered policy and practice, this book places the universal institution of the family in a global context. By including a conceptual framework as well as practice components, the authors offer an original multimodal approach toward understanding family-centered policy practice from an international perspective. It provides grassroots strategies for activists and practical guides for both students and practitioners and includes cutting-edge interpretations of the impact of globalization on families, social workers, and other helping professionals and advocates.

First, let me say that this edition is a wonderful expansion and thus an improvement on the first edition. The comprehensiveness of this new edition makes it a worthy addition to the literature and enables it to be the basis for an entire course. . . . I especially like the organization of the chapters vis-à-vis each other. Chapters 2, 3, and 5 will be especially beneficial to me and my students. They cover material that I covered in the past but I couldn′′t do a good job without having something for the students to read. I think this [focus and integration] is a strength of the book especially in chapters 2-7. Chapter 7 really ties things up nicely. Another strength of the book is its use of examples from recent policy debates to illustrate the concepts being discussed. In general, the text does a good job here [implications and applications] especially as the health care reform and welfare reform examples are included. --Ray Forgue, Chairman, Family Studies Department, University of Kentucky "I like this updated version of Understanding Family Policy and would definitely use it. . . . The approach taken in this edition has a more `universal′′ appeal in that it lays good groundwork to understanding family policy. . . . An excellent addition is the question section at the end of each chapter. It will help the student highlight important concepts covered and also provide a good start for discussion. . . . I think Dr. Zimmerman has done a great job of integrating the concepts, referring back to points made earlier, summarizing previous thoughts, and moving on to new ones. . . . The examples to illustrate points are good. . . . I have used Understanding Family Policy . . . and plan to use the new edition." --Catherine A. Solheim, Department of Family and Child Development, Auburn University "In the author′′s words, ′′this is a book about family policy and different ways of thinking about and its effects on families.′′ In this second edition, Shirley L. Zimmerman introduces new theoretical frameworks and applications that reinforce the link between family theory, policy, and practice. Also new to this edition are a glossary and a listing of study questions at the end of each chapter intended to stimulate discussion and to be adapted to readers′′ situations and work settings. The book, geared toward students in social work and family and policy studies, also provides examples from recent policy debates to illustrate its concepts." --Journal of Social Work Education Highly successful in its first edition, Understanding Family Policy, Second Edition introduces new theoretical frameworks as well as applications of theory. Shirley L. Zimmerman has incorporated the recent history of family policy and reinforced the link between theory and the everyday life experiences people have with the policy process. Also new to this volume are a glossary and study questions at the end of each chapter, useful for stimulating reflections and discussion on the book′′s twin subjects--families and family policy. Personal examples of policy research have been replaced with more generic and less time-bound examples. New topics include overriding issues: gender, race, ethnicity and culture, interest group theory, and other family frameworks for assessing family well-being including symbolic interaction, family stress, conflict, feminist and cultural theories. An excellent resource for offering conceptual tools for analyzing family problems, policies, and consequences, this second edition is essential for students and individuals in the areas of social work and family and policy studies.

This new edition captures the evolving, post-pandemic landscape of family policy—the transformational changes that have occurred within contemporary families and the social, economic, and racial/ethnic disparities that have grown across families. The book draws on policies from around the globe to make an evidence-based case for family policy and its contributions to families and to society. Bogenschneider tackles a significant challenge of our times—the polarization of politics—including why it occurs and how professionals can bridge the divide. Beyond the basics, the book provides best practices for turning analysis into action by drawing on cutting-edge research and a point of view often overlooked in policy books—the voice of policymakers themselves. Imbued with hope yet fundamentally realistic, Bogenschneider applies a relationship-based and strikingly nonpartisan approach for those who want to make a positive difference for families, whether they engage local policymakers in towns, cities and counties; state/national lawmakers; or decision-makers in businesses, nonprofits and philanthropy. Accompanied by updated, web-based teaching materials and a family impact toolkit, this is core reading for undergraduate and/or graduate courses in family or social policy taught in human development and family studies, psychology, counseling, social work, sociology, public policy, political science, and education. It is also essential reading for professionals and policymakers interested in pursuing better public policy for families in all their diversity across the lifespan.

In Restorative and Responsive Human Services, Gale Burford, John Braithwaite, and Valerie Braithwaite bring together a distinguished collection providing rich lessons on how regulation in human services can proceed in empowering ways that heal and are respectful of human relationships and legal obligations. The human services are in trouble: combining restorative justice with responsive regulation might redeem them, renewing their well-intended principles. Families provide glue that connects complex systems. What are the challenges in scaling up relational practices that put families and primary groups at the core of health, education, and other social services? This collection has a distinctive focus on the relational complexity of restorative practices. How do they enable more responsive ways of grappling with complexity than hierarchical and prescriptive human services? Lessons from responsive business regulation inform a re-imagining of the human services to advance wellbeing and reduce domination. Readers are challenged to re-examine the perverse incentives and contradictions buried in policies and practices. How do they undermine the capacities of families and communities to solve problems on their own terms? This book will interest those who harbor concerns about the creep of domination into the lives of vulnerable citizens. It will help policymakers and researchers to re-focus human services to fundamental outcomes at the foundation of sustainable democracies.

How can you assess the effects of existing government policies on families? Are there ways to predict the effects of future policies upon the family? Challenging the view that governmental social programs have been detrimental to family life, Zimmerman provides empirical evidence to show that attitudes toward the governments′ role in relation to families are associated with the political cultures of different states. She also illustrates the relationship between states′ political cultures and the kinds of family policies states enact. Important guidelines are suggested to aid in the development of a policy agenda that will enhance the well-being of individuals and families, regardless of where they live. Family Policies and Family Well-Being examines findings from several independent but related undertakings including: a survey of family professionals living in states with different political cultures; an analysis of family legislation enacted by three states with different political cultures; and an examination of the relationships between states′ policy approaches to families and individual and family well-being and the role of political culture. Exercises are provided to encourage the reader to carefully scrutinize the main issues. Exploring the connections between family policies, individual and family well being, and political culture, this volume is important reading for professionals and students in social work, political science, public policy, family studies, and public administration. "Timely, thought-provoking, well-organized, and clearly written in an engaging and upbeat style. . . . The strength of the book lies in its versatility. It can be used in both undergraduate and graduate courses in politics, policy, and research methods. It can also serve as a model, or certainly as point of reference, for both novice and experienced researchers. Each chapter ends with a series of questions and exercises, and the appendixes include a glossary of terms (always a good idea), a chart of all 50 states categorized according to their respective political cultures, and a ready-made survey for anyone wishing to replicate Zimmerman′s study." --Family Relations "This . . . important book follows earlier work by the author . . . who is increasingly recognized as an expert in family policy. . . . [It] is highly recommended for professionals and scholars in the family field, and for upperclass and graduate students. Among its assets are the exercises at the end of each chapter which encourage careful scrutiny of the issues raised." --Journal of Marriage and the Family "Zimmerman is highly qualified to assess the subject of family policies and family well-being. Her ambitious study defines family policies as everything governments do that affect families. Zimmerman examines explicit and implicit policies, intentional and unintentional consequences, direct and indirect effects, and manifest and latent family effects. . . . Zimmerman explores the relationship between political culture and marital ties, teenage births, poverty, suicide rates, and welfare expenditures at a state level. The writing style is easy to read. There is a list of references and a glossary of terms used in the text. Advanced undergraduates." --Choice "The strength of this book lies in its versatility. It can be used in both undergraduate and undergraduate courses in politics, policy, and research methods. It can also serve as a model, or certainly as point of reference, for both novice and experienced researchers. Each chapter ends with a series of questions and exercises, and the appendices include a glossary of terms (always a good idea), a chart of all 50 states categorized according to their respective political cultures, and a ready-made survey for anyone wishing to replicate Zimmerman′s study." --Family Relations "The book will be most useful for readers interested in the connection between government and its family policies and programs. . . . Zimmerman makes the book appealing by including a glossary of terms and numerous tables, using current examples, providing relevant exercises, writing the book in first person, and explaining how the book can be used to understand the political culture of one′s own community." --Canadian Home Economics Journal

"This engaging collection gathers theoretical and empirical insights from leading family policy experts. The authors - representing diverse countries, disciplines, and methods - bring to life the volume's innovative conceptual framework, which is organized around policy institutions, both public and private. The volume closes with a call for new lines of research that should inform family policy scholars for years to come."--Janet Gornick, Professor of Political Science and Sociology, and Director of the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA "Featuring exciting contributors from a range of often-siloed scholarly disciplines, countries and cultures, this Handbook offers nuanced insights into how interacting societal inequality factors influence family policy enactment to reinforce or improve inequality outcomes across gender, class, and nations. It is ambitious, broad-reaching, and succeeds in providing a strategic view within and across nations to inspire thoughtful evidence-based policy implications to improve societies in the future."--Ellen Ernst Kossek, Basil S. Turner Professor of Management, Purdue University, USA This open access handbook provides a multilevel view on family policies, combining insights on family policy outcomes at different levels of policymaking: supra-national organizations, national states, sub-national or regional levels, and finally smaller organizations and employers. At each of these levels, a multidisciplinary group of expert scholars assess policies and their implementation, such as child income support, childcare services, parental leave, and leave to provide care to frail and elderly family members. The chapters evaluate their impact in improving children's development and equal opportunities, promoting gender equality, regulating fertility, productivity and economic inequality, and take an intersectional perspective related to gender, class, and family diversity. The editors conclude by presenting a new research agenda based on five major challenges pertaining to the levels of policy implementation (in particular globalization and decentralization), austerity and marketization, inequality, changing family relations, and welfare states adapting to women's empowered roles