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Publications Catalogue
Position Papers -- Family
For position papers on other topics, please click below:
Community Education Public Health Security in a Post-9/11 World
Responsible Fathering: An
Overview, Conceptual Framework, And Recommendations for Policies and
Programs--For more than a century, American society has
engaged in a sometimes contentious debate about what it means to be a
responsible parent. Whereas most of the cultural debate about mothers has
focused on what, if anything, mothers should do outside the family, the
debate about fathers has focused on what fathers should do inside the
family. What role should fathers play in the everyday lives of their
children, beyond the traditional breadwinner role? How much should
they emulate the traditional nurturing activities of mothers, and how much
should they represent a masculine role model to their children? Is
fatherhood in a unique crisis in late twentieth century America?
Preventing Problem vs.
Promoting the Positive: What Do We Want for Our
Children?-- By Kristin A. Moore and Tamara G. Halle–
Moore and Halle discuss the need to define and measure indicators of
positive child well-being. They argue that it is essential to develop
valid and reliable indicators of positive attitudes, beliefs and outcomes
so that positive development does not continue to be construed as merely
the absence of negative behaviors and outcomes. They also summarize the
insights from practitioners working on youth development programs,
describe the available research on this topic, and suggest a number of
constructs which could be measured and tracked as indicators of positive
development. Such a system of measurement is needed if we want to monitor
children's adherence to parents' (and society's) positive expectations of
them.
Family as Community: Implementing
the "Children First Principle"--Children are often an
afterthought in cases of divorce, however, Katherine Shaw Spaht of the
Louisiana State University Law Center makes a strong case that children
should be given much more consideration. In this expansion of Mary Ann
Glendon's Children First Principle, Spaht introduces the "Family As
Community Act," which calls for a new set of priorities in divorce
cases- and redefining marital property as family property.
Cohabitation: A Communitarian
Perspective--There are currently more than four million
heterosexual couples living together outside of wedlock in the U.S. In
recent decades this living arrangement has lost much of the stigma once
associated with it, and has grown quite popular. What does this trend
mean for society, the family, and the institution of marriage? Linda
Waite of the University of Chicago addresses the positive and negative
consequences of cohabitation from a communitarian viewpoint.
A Comprehensive Approach to Removing
Marriage Penalties--C. Eugene Steuerle of the Urban Institute
has written a paper on the tax penalty on marriage. Steuerle examines
the "crazy quilt" of tax and expenditure policies that impact married
couples and families, the conditions that have led to a tax penalty
on marriage, and options for removing or reducing marriage penalties.
The Task of Religious Institutions in
Strengthening Families --Don Browning introduces the idea of a
"critical familism" for religious institutions, and reviews ways in which
religious institutions can support families and help prevent family
crises. Browning makes specific public policy reccomendations, many of
them novel, including suggestions for rearranging the work week for
dual-income couples.
Opportuning Virtue: Lessons of
the Louisiana Covenant Marriage Law--High divorce rates impact
negatively on children. As Louisiana establishes an option for stronger
marriage, other states are trying to shore up the family through more
coercive means. Communitarians discuss why marriage laws need reform, but
reform that maintains individual autonomy.
A Communitarian Position Paper on the
Family--How can we enable parents to be parents, shore up
commitment to the family, and track down deadbeat fathers? This position
paper examines these issues and numerous other pro-family policies.
Prepared by William Galston, Mary Ann Glendon, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Enola
Aird, Amitai Etzioni, Martha Minow, and Alice Rossi.
Controlling Television: Parental
Filters--Current legislation mandates inclusion of the
"V-Chip" in all manufactured televisions, even though the technology
behind the V-Chip is excessively broad and obsolete. This report argues
that we must move away from heavy handed government intervention and allow
parents to monitor the content of what their children are exposed to on
television and on the Internet.
The Role of Family Involvement--As Roberta Doering discusses in this paper, the proverb “it takes a whole village to raise a child,” holds equally true when educating a child. By developing strong bonds both within and between community institutions, families, and schools, communities are far more likely to foster a healthy and beneficial learning environment for their children to grow in.
Back to the Farm: Raising Livestock, Strengthening Family, and Building Community in Eastern Kentucky--By Suzanne Goldsmith. This case-study analyzes the economic struggles of farming families in isolated areas while recognizing the “proud and rugged individualism” that threatens the small farming area communities. Goldsmith describes the effects of The Small Farms Project, an effort to strengthen community bond, in which low income farmers “join for the animals, but often stay for the community.”
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