Social Policy and the Family

• Functionalists think the state shouldn't intervene with the family too much if it is functioning correctly
• Functionalists say policy should tackle dysfunction like divorce and domestic violence
• Marxists are critical of state policy and say many beneficial policies act as a smokescreen to keep workers happy
• Donzelot says the state is able to police the family via different institutions that monitor how children are being socialised. Safeguarding then allows them to intervene if this does not align with what they want
• Liberal feminists aim to change state policy to create greater equality for women
• Radical feminists might say some policies reinforce gender roles such as by treating women as the primary caregiver
• Policies have helped women escape abusive families
• Different parties will have different aims with family policy
• Child Support Agency 1993 - conservative policy that made absent parents contribute financially to the upbringing of their children
• Section 28 1988 - schools could not teach homosexuality as an acceptable family structure
• Civil Partnership Act 2005 - labour policy gave same sex couples an equivalent to marriage
• Repeal of section 28 - 2003
• Shared parental leave - coalition policy that allowed parents to split paid time off however they liked
• Same sex marriage 2013 - only passed with cross party support
• Conservative policies in recent years have considerably cut benefits including to the family
• Paid maternity leave reinforced gender roles, but shared parental leave meant this could be split differently and women could return to work sooner
• The divorce reform act made it easier to divorce, which allowed the family to become more negotiated
• Policies like sex discrimination and equal pay mean women can pursue careers more easily and have more financial power, which gives them a more equal footing in the family
• 30 hours of free childcare for children over 5 allows mothers to keep working
• Career aspirations of women means marriage is getting delayed and cohabitation is more popular
• Contraception and legalised abortion means women have greater control over when or if they have children, affecting family size and fertility rate
• Easier divorce means there are more lone parent families
• Policy legalising and supporting homosexuality, as well as IVF and adoption, have allowed same-sex families to become more common
• The welfare state has protected lone parent families, but recent governments have sought to cut benefits out of fear of creating a welfare dependent underclass
• Over time policies have made children dependent on their parents for longer
• Costs of tuition mean students are financially supported by parents during university
• Zero hour contracts and temporary employment may have seen the rise of boomerang kids, where children return home if they struggle to support themself after education
• Educational policies may impact the disappearance of childhood
• Cuts to benefits may mean more children are suffering from material deprivation
• Cuts to social care mean there is a lack of carers for children
• Children may be caught up in conflict in the family, such as parents getting divorced
• The Children's Act promoted and protected the rights of children
• Contraception and abortion may make society more child-centred as more children are in smaller families and get more attention
• Marketisation of education has meant parents may get more involved with schooling to help their children get ahead
• Migration policies may separate children from their families