ABSTRACT
This chapter describes existing United States (US) public policy regarding families’ caretaking obligations and other welfare needs. It discusses the costs of the US leaving families to deal with their members’ dependency issues largely without state support. The chapter considers conceptual and political challenges to implementing more supportive policies in the US. The United States’ family-work reconciliation policies fare poorly when compared against other countries. The US has adopted the same hands-off posture to helping families meet their members’ dependency needs in other public policy spheres beyond work-family reconciliation. The view that families should properly support their members without state assistance also underlies the mandate of the US child welfare system. The United States’ hands-off approach when it comes to supporting families produces a range of negative consequences.
