...3. What do family-friendly policies entail The best and highly used perspective when looking at family friendly organisation is how they value work life balance. Callan (2007) added to this issue by mentioning that the behaviour and work climate also affect the level of how the concept of family friendly policies is practised. Influence rather than enforcement is key when it comes to implementing Family friendly policies. In Callan (2007) article we read about how the family-friendly policies affect organisational cultures and employees believes. It’s easy to look at it from work-life balace in “balance’ perspective. Through this notion it is easy to deduce that this refers to finding equilibrium between your work and personal life. This...
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...to this is the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is also how the government predicts how much many a family may be able to contribute to their children’s higher education. Bridget Terry Long, author of “What is Known About the Impact of Financial Aid?, Implications for Policy” summarizes how FAFSA will take two students who are considered identical, but somehow will have two different outcomes depending on the colleges he or she may attend. Also, according to the article the amount of need, along with a combination of the student's EFC, will determine the type of government grants and other loan programs he or she will be eligible for (6). It seems as though FAFSA does not dig deeply enough to truly determine if the aid given to families is realistic enough to be considered...
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...Policy and Legislature that affect Family and Consumer Science Birdie Bell December 11, 2014 Dr. Lynda Martin POLICY AND LEGISLATURE THAT AFFECT FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCE Family and consumer sciences are an important academic discipline that students in most of North America take as a humanity subject (Brotherson & Duncan, 2004). The aim of this paper is to identify the policies and legislation on families in the United States and consumer science and examples will be used to illustrate these clearly. Federal and State laws on Families The United States Supreme Court has long made a pronouncement that the family law belongs to the individual states within the nation’s federalist system. Even if the federal government has as well undertaken regulation of issues that affect families, initially in a sporadic manner and then in a more consistent manner, the Court has made an affirmation of the primary role of the state in defining family. A large number of commentators show of appreciation of this authority allocation, presenting an argument that that it plays an important role in promoting family pluralism by showing to honor to local values and choices. However, others point out that federalism creates “equality by design” (Laura, 2014, p. 1835). Therefore, a large number of commentators present an argument that deference to states play a role of insulating courts and federal agencies from the disorderliness of family life, thus demeaning the family relationships’...
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...Family Demographic Shifts and Their Policy Implications Changing Patterns: Since the 1960s, the structure of the average American family has become increasingly unstable as a result of major demographic changes. Marriage rates have fallen over the last few decades while divorce rates have remained high. At the same time, the percent of non-marital births in the U.S. has risen steadily, from approximately 5% in 1960 to 41% in 2011. In addition to this instability, family structures are becoming increasingly complex as rising numbers of single parents pursue new partners and have more children. Importance: The potential negative impacts of these shifting demographic patterns upon the well-being of children are of particular concern to policy makers. Surveys indicate that children living in single parent households are more likely to live in poverty than children living in married households. According to the 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS), only 9% of married-couple families with children lived in poverty while 41% of single-mother families with children did so. Children born to unmarried parents also experience greater instability and complexity in family structure as a result of the shifting relationships of a parent. Over 30% of children born into single-parent households experienced 3 or more partnership transitions by a parent. Policy Implications: Strong correlations between parental marital-status and child well-being seem to encourage policies aimed...
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...Examine the approach and policies of governments towards families During the period 1945-1970’s the government attempted to develop the welfare state by adopting an approach that was highly interventionist. Over the last fifty years, the state has changed considerably. It has gone from being a ‘big’ state in years between 1945 – 1970, to a state which gives minimal state support in the years between 1980 and 1990 and an enabling state from the years 1997 -2010. The welfare state is a social system whereby the state assumes primary responsibility for the welfare of its citizens, as in matters of health care, education, employment, and social security. A social policy is simply a proposal or an initiative that is put into practise by a political party or a government that relates to any area of social life, and in this case the family. One policy the government introduced was the welfare state. The welfare state was introduced by Attlee’s government after their election victory in 1945, in response to the Beveridge Report of 1942. Beverigde was a British economist and social reformer who were closely associated with the development of the welfare state. The welfare state was created by the labour government to end poverty and look after everyone from the ‘cradle to grave’. The main parts of the welfare state included NHS, child benefits, job seekers allowance, and pensioners for elderly, education, state housing etc. The government’s purpose was to actively intervene in...
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...which way social policies have an impact on family. A social policy is an action or plan adopted by the government to overcome problems or weaknesses in society, as discrimination, racism and poverty. It is usually based on laws, which provide the framework for agencies to follow. A good example of social policies are the one adopted by William Beveridge in the 1940's, after the Second World War, trying to fight the five "giant evils" of after war Britain, such as poverty (Want), unemployment (Idleness), bad housing (Squalor), not efficient educational system (Ignorance) and bad health care (Disease). Although social policy is a general term which does not refer only to programmes on family, social policies always can affect households, either directly or indirectly. For example a direct policy on family can be any law regulating marriage (such as the Divorce act, 1969, or laws on same sex marriage,while indirect ones affect other aspects or istitutions of society which, however, are linked to family or at least to certain members of the household. (E.g. Policies on education have a crucial impact on children socialization and therefore on their approach to other member in any institution of society) Besides, social policies are indicative of current ideological tendencies in society, since they help family institution to achieve a social accepted asset. As an example New Right perspective perpetrates a conservative view on family, assuming that nuclear family model is the...
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...Of all industrialized nations, the United States is the only country to not have a law granting paid family leave for mothers’ with a newborn. It was not until 1993, did the U.S. enact the Family and Medical Leave Act which allows workers time off to: bond with a newborn child; treat their own serious health condition; or care for a family member with a serious health condition. The intent for FMLA is to allow workers to balance family life with job obligations, but without wage replacement, many are unable to afford unpaid time off. Further, FMLA’s eligibility requirements exclude a substantial portion of the working population, primarily part-time, temporary, and vulnerable low-wage workers. Some states, such as California have taken action to ameloriate these pitfalls through paid family leave programs using state temporary disability insurance funds. California has been a frontrunner in many public health initiatives including being the first state to provide a comprehensive Paid Family Leave (PFL) program with “a wage replacement requirement for the time parents take to bond with a newborn or adopted child” (Cohen, 2011, p.2 ). This analysis will further examine California’s paid family leave program including its’ provisions, strengths, weaknesses, and its’ overall potential to be used as a template for future federal policy. Limited leave taking in the United States is largely a result of the eligibility restrictions for job-protected leave under FMLA and the inability...
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...which social policies affect family life A social policy is a law implemented by the government to benefit society. Most social policies will affect families in some way or another. There are 2 types of policies, direct and indirect. A direct policy has a direct and immediate affect on the family, and an indirect policy is other policies not directly aimed at families but may still have an affect on them. Social policies have attempted to promote the nuclear family, such as those introduced by New Labour and the Conservative government, although New Labour are more accepting of family diversity. The New Rights ideology has influenced government policies. They argue that policies have weakened the nuclear family leading to family diversity and more problems for family members. The New Right have the view that social policies should avoid doing anything that might undermine the 'natural' and self reliant nuclear family and will often criticise many government policies for undermining the family by providing over generous welfare benefits e.g. council housing for teenage mothers. The New Right argues that social policies like the legalization of abortion and the availability of the contraceptive pill is the beginning of family decline. They also state that equal opportunities and equal pay lows distract women from their 'natural' career as a mother. The New Right feel that policies like this is causing a decline in the traditional nuclear family, resulting in the family not fulfilling...
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...New right ideology has always viewed state policy as the reason why the traditional family institution is in decline in Britain today. Whether this is an accurate reflection on state policy will be assessed in this essay. Functionalists have always had a traditional view on family ideology where there is a clear segregation of tasks between the man and the women which is seen as natural or God given. But through the introduction of government policies in order to cater for the changing image of the family, functionalists feel that this is causing the nuclear family as an institution to be in decline. They believe that the 1960s and the 1970’s was a big turning point for the decline in familiar ideology as the state introduced policies such as the legalisation of abortion which was seen as women lessening their commitment to the family and the availability of the contraceptive pill. This introduction had a significant effect on the family as it undermined the family as private institution where important decisions could be made. Other policies such as the role of social workers through the local government, as discussed in item B were “if social workers feel that the upbringing of children is not provided properly children could be temporarily or permanently taken into care”. This has an effect on the nuclear family in particular because it means that the family’s privacy is undermined. Functionalists such as Howard argue that the state and the media have made marriage have less...
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...Assess sociological views of the impact of government policies and laws on family life. There are many different views of how government policies and laws affect family life among different sociological theorists. Some view government policies as positive whereas some see the impact as positive. Feminists argue that many government policies promote the patriarchal family and reinforces the women’s economic dependence on a man. Policies such as tax benefits and maternity leave are seen as negative policies as they promote the ideology of women being the main childcares in a relationship. Women are entitled to 9 months maternity leave whereas men are only able to receive 2 weeks paid paternity. Consequently, this means women are forced to be the parent that stays at home to look after the child as a couple would not be able to have financial stability if the man stayed at home for 9 months without pay. The new right also do not support these policies however for different reasoning. Feminists have a negative view on policies that insinuate that they have to care for their elders, as they believe the role of a caregiver to the sick and elderly should be shared between men and women equally and should be a women’s obligation. Although feminists are against laws that enforce the inequality between men and women they support policies that allow women to be independent from a patriarchal relationship, for example the divorce reform act and working tax credits. The divorce reform...
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...Examine the ways in which laws and social policies affect family life. There are many different ways in which laws and social policies affect family life. Laws and social policies affect different cultures. In Russia a new policy was introduced in 1917, the new Communist Government wanted to destroy the patriarchal family structure; the patriarchal family structure was seen as an obstacle to true communism and socialism. The Russian Government changed these laws to make abortion and divorce easier for men and women, equal rights for women was also introduced as well as communal nurseries that were provided by the state. The goal of the changed laws was to break down the traditional family in order to give people more freedom and to reduce the inequalities that were produced between the rich and poor. As a result of this the traditional family did break down, there was a rapid increase in divorce and abortions, as people began to search for the ‘ideal’ freedom and equality. The Government realised that things were beginning to become chaotic so there was a policy change. The government took drastic action by tightening divorce laws and making abortion illegal. The government also said that parents who had more children were awarded allowances. China’s population control policy was introduced under the intention to reduce the population in an over-crowded country but also to save society. China’s workplaces planning communities’ controlled the women employees menstrual cycle and...
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...Sociologist and political groups all have different views of social policies, some believe that they are a good way of achieving something and others see them as bad because they may only support one view point and not others. To start of here is the definition of a social policy; it is an action, plan or programme that the government puts in place that aims to deal with a problem or achieve a goal. These social policies are mainly based on laws, which provide the framework for agencies to follow. The first social policy that will affect the family is marriage. There are different laws in place to discourage certain behaviour inside marriages, a few examples of these would be; marriages must be monogamous where only one person can be married to one person at one time, in the UK it is illegal to marry or have children with your brother/sister but is legal to marry and have children with your first cousin, etc. Laws like these would have an effect on a family as having an affair on your partner is illegal and therefore if this happens then the marriage may breakdown and may end up in a divorce. Divorce is another social policy that will have an effect on the family. Divorce was granted legal in 1857 but it was very hard to get one up until the late 1960’s which made divorce become more popular as it was easier to declare. However, a divorce can only be granted if one of the following applies; Adultery – when one partner has a sexual relationship with another whilst in a marriage...
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...dilemmas for families and communities as they attempt to adjust to the social consequences of rapid industry change. Drawing on a social capital perspective and a case study of 12 Westland families, this project examines how rural families bring balance to aspects of the three actions defined by Arendt as being essential to “the human condition”: family, work and community life. The findings reveal significant insights into how social capital is effectively reproduced in times of change. These insights are discussed in terms of their social policy implications. Fifty years ago Hannah Arendt (1958) published The Human Condition. In this work she contended that there are three types of action required to be “fully human”. The first two of these actions, engagement in family life and paid work, are necessary for human existence in contemporary society. The third action she called vita activa, or public life: a life that is actioned within jointly built civil spaces. Within these spaces we are capable of debate, we share actions and we resolve collective dilemmas (Arendt 1958). Arendt reminds us that the absence of, or over-attention to, any one aspect of the human condition is likely to be problematic. A half a century on from Arendt’s original thesis, public policy continues to debate aspects of vita activa and democratic governments still seek to engage vita activa in economically and socially productive ways. Working out the shifting balance between family life, paid work...
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...Evaluate the impact of Government policies and laws on family life in Britain (20 marks) Social policies are the measures taken by state, or Government, bodies such as schools and welfare agencies. They are usually based on laws introduced by Government. Laws and policies can have both direct and indirect effects on the family. There are many Government policies that can either benefit of have a negative impact on the family. These come from many different movements in Government, such as: New Right, New Labour and Coalition - these can be criticised by different types of sociologists such as Marxists and Feminists, which I will be expressing throughout this essay. The New Right have a Functionalist view on the family. They believe strongly in the advocation of the nuclear family and the other family criteria that they present, such as - as presented by the sociologist George Murdock - A heterosexual couple as part of a nuclear who engage in a socially acceptable sexual relationship, economic cooperation (or being self-sufficient) and provides basic functions such as socialisation, discipline and morality. The “Child Support Agency” was enforced in 1993, and forced natural fathers to provide for their own children financially in the event of a parental split. The Government fund this agency to ensure that the child is financially supplied to ensure good health and quality of life as they grow up. The impact that this had on the family is that the biological fathers are...
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...Currently, in the UK, the family is a fairly unregulated sphere of life, compared with different societies such as China. Laws and social policies in Britain today tend to encourage or discourage certain types of families, rather than actively enforcing them like China’s one child policy. Government agencies and institutions only seem to take an active role on policing areas of family life when things are perceived to have gone wrong, such as regulating the fair distribution of assets following the breakdown of a marriage. Most current social policies in the UK come from a New Labour perspective, as this party have been in power for almost 12 years. Therefore, many of these current social policies encourage the existence of the family, although not just in the nuclear form endorsed by the New Right. For instance new labour modified the law so that unmarried cohabiting couples, both heterosexual and homosexual, had the right to adopt on a basis equivalent to that of a married couple. This has made adopting easier for unmarried couples with fertility issues, but the biggest change to have resulted from it is that homosexual couples can now, fairly easily, adopt children, leading to a much more diverse range of families. This change has been heavily criticised by New Right thinkers, who claim that it further undermines the nuclear family, by removing the restriction on unmarried couples from adopting children. They also claim that, due to not being raised in the “natural”...
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