ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to increase appreciation for the policy arena, increase consciousness about the effect of policies on both personal life and professional endeavors, expose and confront biases that define "us" and "them", and enhance the savvy necessary for making a positive impact on the social environment of children and families by affecting social policies. It outlines the role of ideological, cultural, and institutional macrosystems in providing the values and norms that shape policy. The chapter discusses children and their microsystems and mesosystems as intended targets of some social policies and as unintended targets of many others. "Social policy" is a broader term encompassing everything from a cultural consensus to a particular business policy. The chapter examines some of the implications of the United States' pluralistic culture for family-related social policies and also the relationship of some current family-related social policies to the ideology of pluralism.
