Family Policy Matters: How Policymaking Affects Families and What Professionals Can Do

Bogenschneider, K. (2002). Family Policy Matters: How Policymaking Affects Families and What Professionals Can Do. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 279 pp. Cloth ISBN: 0-8058-3535-0 $69.95; 279 pp. Paper: ISBN 0-8058-3536-9, $29.95. As we approach the 10th anniversary of the United Nations' International Year of the Family (1994) and close in on the 25th anniversary of the first and only White House Conference on Families (1980), we must remind ourselves that the field of family policy is relatively new. Prior to 1980, there was little written about families from a public policy perspective, and there were few centers and institutes devoted to families. Today, most major research universities support such centers, family policy can be found in most university curricula, numerous articles on the subject now appear in some of the most prestigious professional journals, the National Council on Family Relations maintains both a section on family policy and its Public Policy Committee, and more books are written on the topic with each passing year. A recent and significant contribution to the field is Karen Bogenschneider's Family Policy Matters: How Policymaking Affects Families and What Professionals Can Do. Presented in a well-organized and readable format, the book stands as a carefully constructed bridge between theory and practice and between policy and programs. It is appropriate as core reading for graduate seminars and upper division undergraduate courses. Divided into four major sections, the work will be useful as a reference book for educators, researchers, policy makers, extension specialists, service providers, and advocates. Although three chapters are not authored solely by Bogenschneider, continuity and style are maintained. In Part I, "The Rationale for Family Policy," Bogenschneider posed many important questions and then responded to each. For example, questions include: Do we need a family perspective in policy making? Is policy making focused more on families than individuals? What is family policy and what is meant by a family perspective in policy making? Do families matter and are family issues a legitimate focus of policy making? Not only are these questions important but Bogenschneider also did an excellent job answering them through the use of practical and meaningful examples. She was particularly skilled in addressing controversial issues without being controversial. In Part II, "Applying a Family Perspective to Current Policy Issues," Bogenschneider focused on parenting, health care, and a list of issues most likely to be debated in the early part of the new millennium. These include work and family conflict, long-term care of the elderly, family poverty, the future of marriage, and family diversity. all of these issues are currently at the top of most political agendas, and they should certainly be included in any syllabus designed for a family policy course. The discussions of parenting in chapter 6 and health care in chapter 7 were particularly informative and thought provoking. Although major issues of the future were identified in chapter 8, selective supplemental reading will be necessary if the text is adopted for classroom use. …