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THE CARING FAMILY POLICY AGENDA
CENTER FOR PARTNERSHIP STUDIES
www.partnershipway.org
The purpose of
the Caring Family Policy Agenda is to encourage a nation-wide
public dialogue on ways all of us – individuals, corporations,
and every level of government – can support and strengthen the
American family, the foundation of our nation. The Caring Family
Policy Agenda is as practical as it is principled. It is based
on the shared core moral principles of both religion and
humanism: caring, compassion, justice, and nonviolence. We want
to stimulate the development of family policies, including
legislation and ballot initiatives, needed for a healthy,
equitable, and productive society.
Families are the
primary transmitters of values. It is in families that new
members of society – children – receive their primary education
about what it means to be a human being. It is in families that
people develop the core belief systems that consciously or
unconsciously affect how they engage in all facets of their
lives – from the personal to the political. In a
well-functioning democracy, policies that support and encourage
mutual responsibility, accountability, equality, and caring in
families must be a political priority. Government and business
policies must also ensure that families can provide the good
caregiving that produces the high quality human capital
essential for a productive, well-functioning economy.
The Caring
Family Policy Agenda consists of measures that support:
- A Bill
of Rights for Children that includes the right to
loving care, shelter, nutrition, education, health care,
freedom from violence, and a clean environment.
- Caring
Family Values based on partnership, mutual respect,
nonviolence, and a high valuing of caring and caregiving.
-
Family-Friendly Governments and Workplaces needed
for healthy, prosperous families and a healthy, prosperous,
postindustrial economy.
The family is
essential for human survival, well-being, and development. As
societies change, many of the needs and problems of families
also change. Policies that effectively address these needs and
problems must be a top political and economic priority. The
result will be a nation that lives up to the American ideals of
democracy, equality, and justice for all.
I
Bill of Rights for
Children
A just and
democratic society that values children must recognize that
children have certain basic rights: the right to loving care,
shelter, nutrition, education, health care, freedom from
violence, and a clean environment. Initiatives for implementing
this Children’s Bill of Rights include:
-
Education for Responsible, Loving Parenting. Based
on scientific findings about best parenting practices, this
education will ensure children’s welfare and their optimal
development.
-
Education for Abstinence and Responsible Contraception.
This education will help ensure every child is wanted.
-
Prenatal, Natal, and Postnatal Care for All Mothers and
Babies. This social investment is extremely cost
effective and ensures children have a fair chance to grow up
healthy.
-
Protection of Children from Family Violence.
Children have the right to protection in their own families
and in foster homes. They must also be protected from
violence in schools and when they are in state custody.
- High
Standards for Professional Training and Living Wages for
Childcare workers and Early Childhood Teachers. This
is an essential investment in our children’s future.
-
Universal Preschool Education. Studies show that
high quality preschool education is the foundation for
success in school and is basic to life-long learning.
-
Quality Educational Reform. Education focusing on
the needs of each child rather than on high stakes testing
is necessary for children to realize their potentials.
- Laws
that Phase Out Corporate Practices that Harm Children.
Harmful practices such as toxic dumping and other forms of
environmental pollution, marketing unhealthy food and drinks
to children, advertising aimed at children, and violent and
other irresponsible TV and film “entertainment” must be
phased out to protect our children.
II
Caring Family Values
Families based on
partnership, mutual respect, nonviolence, and a high valuing of
caring and caregiving are foundational to a free, equitable,
democratic society. Initiatives to support caring family values
include:
-
Respect for All Caring Families. The important issue
for a healthy, democratic society is not the structure of
the family but how its members treat one another. Respect
for families should include all caring families, including
single parent and same sex families.
-
Education for Healthy, Nonviolent Family Relations.
This is critical to stop the global pandemic of violence
against women and children, which takes millions of lives
and teaches children it is acceptable to use violence to
impose one’s will on others.
-
Enforcement of Domestic Violence Laws and Increased Funding
for Shelters for Battered Women and Children. This
is an important step toward ending cycles of family
violence.
-
Support for Equal Partnership between Women and Men.
Equal partnership in the family is a model and foundation
for equality and democracy in every sphere of life.
- Access
to safe and legal reproductive health services
including the right to choose an abortion.
-
Caregiver Subsidies and Tax Credits. These measures
give visibility and value to the socially essential work of
caring for children, the elderly, and other family members.
- Social
Security for Mothers and Other Unpaid Family Caregivers.
This will help ensure that elderly women in the United
States are not twice as poor as elderly men, attract men to
do more caregiving, and reward this most essential human
work.
III
Family-Friendly Governments and Workplaces
High quality
human capital is central to a productive economy. Particularly
in the postindustrial age, the most important capital is not
land or machines, but people. Studies show that worker
productivity rises exponentially when there is a life/work
balance. Investment in families and children ensures a strong
economy and a healthy society. This is an investment that the
nation must make. Our businesses cannot carry it alone and still
compete in a global economy. The following initiatives are
concrete ways of making this investment:
-
National Health Insurance. A national health care
system focusing on wellness and prevention of illness is
essential for individual as well as national well-being. It
is unfair to put this burden solely on employers. It is our
job as a democratic nation.
- State
Supported Child Care. Tax and other incentives for
employers to provide good childcare are an investment in the
high quality human capital needed for the postindustrial
economy.
-
Universal Paid Family Leave for Full and Part Time
Employees. This includes family and medical leave
for fathers and mothers as well as for caregivers of elderly
parents, and should be funded by the state and employers.
-
Inclusion of the Caregiving Work Done in Households in GNP
and Other Measures of Economic Productivity.
Statistical analyses show that the ignored value of this
unpaid work is one of the largest contributors to economic
productivity.
- Living
Wage Legislation. Enacted at the local, state, and
federal levels, this should also include equal pay for work
of equal value.
-
Workplace Rules that Enable Parents to Spend Time with
Children. This includes flex time, telecommuting,
and adequate vacation and sick leave.
Compassionate Family Values for All Americans
The Caring Family
Policy Agenda is essential to build strong healthy families and
a just, caring and prosperous society. We invite you to join us
in making this agenda a reality. For More Information, Please
See
www.partnershipway.org
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