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Two Questions To Consider

How to Bring a Family Perspective to Policymaking By Karen Bogenschneider The Policy Institute for Family Impact Seminars. Two Questions To Consider. What is the family angle on the policy issue(s) you are interested in? Why do the Seminars focus on families?. The Questions We Will Address.

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Two Questions To Consider

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  1. How to Bring a Family Perspective to PolicymakingByKaren BogenschneiderThe Policy Institute for Family Impact Seminars

  2. Two Questions To Consider • What is the family angle on the policy issue(s) you are interested in? • Why do the Seminars focus on families?

  3. The Questions We Will Address • Do policymakers and the public think families should be a theme in policymaking? • Is U.S. policy focused more on individuals or families? • Should we promote a family focus in policymaking? • How can you bring a family perspective to your policy issue(s)?

  4. Cast Your Vote! What percent of American adults say that loving family relationships are extremely important to them? • 91% • 75% • 61% • 49%

  5. Cast Your Vote! What percent of American adults say that their financial security is extremely important to them? • 91% • 75% • 61% • 49%

  6. Cast Your Vote! What percent of American parents say that government is currently doing a great deal to help them? • 47% • 33% • 25% • 6%

  7. Cast Your Vote! What percent of American parents think that government could be doing a great deal about their concerns or worries? • 47% • 33% • 25% • 6%

  8. Yet family policy is still not a term that has the status of economic or environmental policy.

  9. (2) Is U.S. Policymaking Focused More on Individuals or Families? • The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) provides health care for children, but not their parents. • Nannies are eligible for Social Security and Workman’s Compensation, but not unemployed mothers. • The U.S. is one of only six countries that does not have paid family leave.

  10. Do SCHIP program guidelines provide an incentive to marry or not to marry? For juvenile offenders, are family approaches more effective than those that target individuals? Do eligibility criteria for prescription drug programs affect decisions to marry? Are consumer health savings accounts more attractive to individual or families? Are Medicaid recipients primarily individuals or families? What Questions does a Family Impact Perspective Raise?

  11. Why do the Seminars Focus on Families? • The United State has no explicit national family policy or a comprehensive vision for families. • National advocacy groups tend to focus on individuals—children, retired, veterans, women—not families. • No national group consistently provides unbiased, nonpartisan information on families to policymakers.

  12. (3) Why Should We Promote a Family Perspective in Policymaking? (1) Family approaches can be more effective than approaches focused on individuals.

  13. 7.5 Nurse-visited Comparison Group 5 1.6 1.3 0.58 0.54 0.45 0.29 0.18 0.2 Mother's use of AFDC (in years) Mother's subsequent births Mother's arrests Reports of child abuse or neglect Child's arrests Olds Home Visiting Graph

  14. A) Parents only •  Problem solving •  Communication •  Limit-setting •  Supervision •  Discipline • B) Youth only •  Self-regulation of behavior •  Developing personal space •  Setting limits •  Solving problems • D) Self-study materials •  Free access to videos and written materials C) Parents and youth Cast Your Vote! Which treatment approach works best for improving school behavior and preventing substance use among teens?

  15. (3) Why Should We Promote a Family Perspective in Policymaking? • Family approaches can be more effective than approaches focused on individuals. • Family approaches can be more efficient than approaches focused on individuals.

  16. How Efficient are Families? The family is the most powerful, the most humane, and by far, the most economical system known for building competence and character. Urie Bronfenbrenner, 1986

  17. (3) Why Should We Promote a Family Perspective in Policymaking? • Family approaches can be more effective than approaches focused on individuals. • Family approaches can be more efficient than approaches focused on individuals. • Families can bring an essential moral quality to public life.

  18. (3) Why Should We Promote a Family Perspective in Policymaking? • Family approaches can be more effective than approaches focused on individuals. • Family approaches can be more efficient than approaches focused on individuals. • Families can bring an essential moral quality to public life. • Families can bring an important and unique perspective to policymaking.

  19. (4) How Can You Bring A Family Perspective to Your Issue? • Ask yourself the following three family impact questions: • Do families contribute to my policy issue(s)? • How are families affected by my policy issue(s)? • Would involving families in the solution result in better policies?

  20. Is This Much Ado About Nothing? It takes only a moment’s reflection to realize that policymakers do not have a choice about whether to affect family life. They already do through their actions and their inactions.

  21. Two Questions To Consider • What is the family angle on the policy issue(s) you are interested in? • Why do the Seminars focus on families?

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