Family Professionals and Family Policy: Strategies for Influence

Abstract

To effectively influence family policy, family professionals must understand their unique resources and potential roles in family policy making. Most family professionals are not paid lobbyists, elected representatives, or consumer advocates; for most, the policy process was a minor, or non-existent, part of professional training. Rather, family professionals often first engage the policy-making process in response to a specific issue that is relevant to their roles as family therapists, educators, and researchers. Once engaged, family professionals who understand family policy decision making will be most able to make solid, valuable contributions. This article has several objectives: (a) to provide a basic model of decision making as it relates to family policy activities, (b) to identify strategies for family professionals who wish to be active and influential in family policy decision making, and (c) to explore common barriers to effective communication with policy makers and to identify successful approaches to such communication. The model and strategies presented here may be most useful to family professionals who are newly engaging in policy activities, as well as to those who are active but not specifically trained, or interested, in policy studies as a separate field of inquiry. Most of the discussion and examples are drawn from local and state level family policy. FAMILY POLICY Definitions of family policy range from very broad to very specific. Broadly defined, family policy is everything that governments do that affects (Zimmerman, 1992a, p. 3). More narrowly defined, family policy refers to objectives concerning family well-being and the specific measures taken by government bodies to achieve them (Aldous & Dumon, 1991). This range of definitions has a common element: concern with how government policies affect families. Whatever the definition used, interest in family policy has increased dramatically in recent years (Aldous & Dumon, 1991; Zimmerman, 1988, 1932a). Organizations committed to advancing family policy agendas represent all points on the political spectrum from ultraconservative to ultraliberal. Consumers themselves are part of the growing number of advocacy groups. Private and government agencies are also active in this political agenda setting; agency leaders generally invest considerable energy in advocating for programs and budgets that are intended to serve families and individuals across the lifespan (Coyne, 1993). Professionals in the family sciences are likewise becoming more visible in the growing arena of family policy (Aldous & Dumon, 1991; Monroe, 1991). To most effectively influence family policy, family professionals must understand their unique resources and potential roles in family policy making. A MODEL OF DECISION MAKING A simple, yet powerful model of decision making in human services identifies three dimensions that are present in all decisions: values, politics, and capability (Miringhoff, 1982). In this model, values reflect what people believe should be. Politics reflects what can be supported (much as Lasswell, 1936, de. fined politics as who gets what, when, and how). Finally, capability reflects service technology or what is known and actually possible to do to address a human problem. Although values, politics, and capability dimensions are present in all political decisions, the most effective decisions give priority to the capability dimension because this dimension addresses the fundamental question, we know how to solve this problem? (Miringhoff, 1982). For example, the capability dimension of decision making is concerned with such questions as: Do we know why family poverty occurs and how to effectively reform welfare? Do we know how to reduce teenage pregnancy? Do we know how to effectively reduce domestic violence? A strong research base and applied experience enable family professionals to be exceptionally well prepared to address such capability questions. …