family issues have become more complex, and in the past decade we have seen a shift of public opinion regarding government policies that deal with them. Increasingly, it seems, Americans are looking for public solutions to family concerns that as recently as 10 years ago were considered private problems.
Reasons for this shift of opinion are rooted in changes in society itself. The dramatic increase in two-earner and single-headed families means that an unprecedented number of people need help in caring for their children and dependent family members. The dramatic increase of women in the work force and the aging of the U.S. population also have an impact.Current policy issues tend to center around three areas: parental leave (time off work for one or both parents at the birth of a child), child care and long-term health care.
A report compiled by the Communications Consortium, a public interest media center based in Washington, D.C., takes a look at recent public opinion polls on family issues. According to the Consortium, polling data indicates:
-When we entered the 1980s, Americans felt that day care was a family responsibility. Only 40 percent of working women said companies should share in the responsibility of providing day care, and the public did not want the federal government to spend more money on day care. Today, 87 percent of Americans agree there should be a joint effort between private employers and government on care-giving services.
-Family issues are all too often still defined as exclusively women's concerns, although attitudes are changing. Most Americans believe that fathers, as well as mothers, need parental leave upon the birth, adoption or serious illness of a child. Polls show that a majority of men (52 percent) want more federal dollars spent to assure adequate day care for working parents, compared to 62 percent of women.
-The transformation of American families is bringing about a shift in public opinion, with a growing demand for a public policy that reflects the disappear ance of free, round-the-clock family caretakers. The number of families with both parents working has risen from 16.2 million in 1972 to 25.2 million in 1989 - or about 45 percent of all American families. The number of single-parent families headed by women has also increased from 6.6 million in 1972 to 10.9 million in 1989. Employed-single-parent families account for 15 percent of the total.
-Support for families has become a mainstream position. Few Americans now believe that the federal government should assist only low income families with their child care costs (17 percent). Nearly three-quarters of the population (73 percent) says that the federal government should help both low and middle income working parents.
-The public also expects business to do its share. The majority of Americans (57 percent) believe that companies should make child care available as an employee benefit; 89 percent say employers should be encouraged to adopt flex-time and part-time work schedules; 80 percent say there should be community child-care centers financed by both public and private sectors.
Child-care services made it onto the political agenda during the 1988 presidential campaign. At that time, two out of three voters said they were more likely to support a presidential candidate who supported child-care services. Two-thirds of the public now say they expect major steps will be taken to provide better care for children during President Bush's term in office.
The issue that has emerged first, however, has been parental leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act, which would require companies to grant workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child or for family medical emergencies, was recently passed by both the House and the Senate.
Bush has said he would veto the bill. And an attempt to override the veto likely won't come until after the July break. Opposition to the bill has largely come from the business community, which objects to federally mandated workplace benefits. Some people feel this is an issue that should be worked out between employers and employees without Congressional intervention.
But the debate surrounding the bill, and the support it has generated from workers and families, is a symbol of the times. We can expect to hear much more about family issues in coming months.
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Additional information)
Public solutions
Help parents pay for day care if they can't afford it
Yes 55%
No 30%
No opinion 15%
Require employers to allow parents to take time off to be with their children when they are newborn or ill
Yes 74%
No 19%
No opinion 12%
Help people pay for nursing hoxjmes or other long-term medical care
Yes 71%
No 17%
No opinion 12%
Parental leave
"Parental leave of up to 10 weeks must be given legal status so that parents don't get penalized on their job as a result of having children and taking time off to get to know and care for their children better."
Agree: Disagree Not sure
Total 83% 15% 1%
Men 79% 19% 2%
Women 87% 12% 1%
Parents 87% 13% 1%
Non-parents 82% 16% 2%
East 84% 15% 2%
Mid-West 84% 15% 2%
South 84% 15% 1%
West 79% 19% 1%
"Employers should be encouraged to include parental leave as a standard part of benefits that parents, especially mothers, receive."
Agree Disagree Not sure
Total 90% 9% 2%
Men 88% 11% 1%
Women 91% 7% 2%
Parents 95% 5% 0%
Non-parents 89% 10% 2%
East 90% 9% 2%
Mid-West 91% 9% 0%
South 90% 8% 2%
West 88% 10% 2%
Profile of the American family
1989 profile Millions
Total families 64.8
White 55.6
Black 7.2
Hispanic Origin 4.7
Married-Couple families 51.0
Wife& Husband Employed 25.2
Husband Only employed 11.1
Wife only employed 2.5
Families maintained by women 10.9
Families maintained by men 2.8
Families with kids 6-17 16.9
Married couples 12.3
Maintained by women 3.8
Maintained by Men 0.7
Survey of public opinion on key family issues
Support a joint effort between private employers and government: 87%
Fathers as well as mothers need parental leave: 77%
Believe the government should provide parental leave: 74%
The federal government should help low and middle income working parents with child care: 73%
Believe the federal government should help pay for long term care: 71 %
Should pass a family leave bill: 62%
Believe companies should make day care available to their employees: 57 %