CHD4615 Family Policy Exam One 01 28 2015 Chapter One o Are families a public or private matter 1 Families are the primary institution that we learn about commitment private life 2 There are public resources or institutions that affect family o we are leally obligated to our spouse and children 3 Beyond that families do society good o Why families Why policy Families are the basic unit of American society Families in various forms are something that everyone can relate Policy has the potential to dictate the environment that families live to in o Environment affects family while family effects the environment Ex Smoking the environment affected families when it was a cool thing to do now that we know how bad smoking is for our health we families affect the environment smoking by putting policies in place where smoking is illegal now in certain situations o What difference can be made in shaping policy Occupy Movement Collective Bargaining Protests Egyptian Revolution Tea Party Movement Student Led Smoking Ban Census data on unpaid work Pro Democracy Protests Sit in on Inclusion of People with Disabilities Equal Schools to White Students Ousting of Cuban President Other o Abortion o Child labor laws o DUI laws o Headstart o No texting while driving movement created momentum for the policy o How likely is it that family policy will shape your career and life You may choose a career in direct practice or policy Whether you seek it in a career or not you will be influenced by How you view policy will impact how you view your job and life o 61 of Americans say financial security is extremely o 49 say job satisfaction is extremely important o 91 say loving family relations are extremely important policy satisfaction important o Comparison Americans are o Twice as likely to rate family as more important than their o 30 are apt to rate their family as more important than their unprecedented popularity of the value of families but family policy jobs financial security is not popular Family Policy is still not a term that has the status of economic or environmental policy o Most family polices are focused on the economic effect o Is American policymaking focused more on individuals or families Most are focused on individuals o United states is one of the only countries that does not mention family in its constitution English monarchy Deliberate to avoid patronage system based on wealth of lineage This created a sense of individuality Established structure of government and laws to not include families o There is no single agency devoted exclusively to families on a national level in comparison to Department of Defense Department of Agriculture Department of Labor Department of Health Department of Energy Department of Transportation benefit if there was o unified policies across states o better protection o No Specific Family Policy Legislation responding to individual needs o State Children s Health Insurance program Federal reimbursement to states for health care coverage of children not parents great for kids but kids also need to be raised by healthy adults o Social Security credits and Worker s Compensation for nannies not parent as full time caregivers o Medicaid private insurers cover individual mental health treatment not family marital therapy o 1998 United Nations study of 152 countries the US is 1 of 6 countries without paid family medical leave update now 1 of 4 countries this means you cannot lose your job but you will not be paid o Most family policy initiatives are focused on children Sometimes children and families o Most data collected about individuals not families as a whole o Census data collection Family definition o Defense of Marriage Act leaves out a lot of families o Minimally Adequate care Power to govern children nurture educate train is strongly dependent on the adult s power to exercise responsible oversight Adults rights to privacy should yield only to the degree that each child is safe and receiving minimally adequate care o we as adults give up some individual rights when we decide to have children o Legal Relationship Between Parent and Child Necessary to protect children because as least 1 500 children are murdered annually in the US by caregivers o Children suffer or prosper at the hands of others o Children are born dependent on others o Children do not receive full benefits of the law until they reach a certain age But they are born with some legal protections o Children s job is to simply grow up in the best way their circumstances permit o Individual Rights v Parenting Our democracy places emphasis on the rights of the individual so does society Independence means making our own choices without interference unless those choices unreasonably infringe on the interests of others Governmental intervention on private conduct is acceptable unless there is clear justification that harm is being caused Governments cannot act in an arbitrary random and capricious malicious manner without facing the prospect of legal redress for damages caused however o Parents can and do act arbitrarily and capriciously to the detriment of their children without risking the possibility of legal censure unless result is excessive Parents owe a variety of fundamental duties to their children as they are growing o Care o Support o Non interference with the child s development By accepting and taking on any duty a person may waive at least some of their rights to object to interference if s he performs that duty to the detriment of another Parental duties normally are assumed by deliberate action Parents must be given extensive authority o To meet the child s developmental needs o To enable the parents to contend with the demands of parenting o becoming a parent is based off a deliberate act of having sex therefore we must accept the duty of parenting Presumption that parents want to act in the child s best interest o Basis for Parental Rights o why social workers have a stigma b c many are exhausted or don t have this assumption o Society s Involvement in Children s lives For a variety of reasons some parts of family life are private o no right to privacy in the constitution privacy is not absolute it is a right exercised by individuals families are comprised of individuals but are more like a corporation acceptable involvement o home visits western Europe routine practice o mandatory reporting laws o school attendance o sharing of privileged information o doctor patient o