ABSTRACT
The policy implications are manifest and deal directly with the main features of family policy as it originally was introduced in the 1930s and consolidated in the 1940s, relaying heavily on tax-rebates and on child allowances. The phenomena of changing families and changing family policies do not coincide with the boarders of the European Union, they overlap and they are vaster and wider, they tend to be more universal. Gauthier has documented that some European countries have developed family policies, based on the fear of population decline. The issue of family responsibility and family involvement in the developments tends to become an issue with policy relevance. The negotiation element is also reflected by changing divorce procedures with emphasis on so-called family and divorce mediation. The changes in family organization have been documented, suggesting a dramatic change from an organization characterized by hierarchy and a command structure, to an organization characterized by decision-making through processes of negotiations.
