family policy

A nation’s principles and planned procedures that are intended to influence or alter existing patterns of family life. Technically, all of a nation's social policy concerns (such as income maintenance, housing, education, and defense) affect families. Thus, the term family policy generally focuses more on issues such as fertility rates and family size, child care for working parents, care of older people, foster care programs, and income maintenance programs for families, as in family allowance. A nation's family policy may be explicit or implicit.