ABSTRACT
This final chapter explains why the caregiving demands that today’s families confront require new types of public Family Law that harness the state’s capacity to establish national priorities, develop research-based demonstration projects, shift funding priorities, ensure equality of opportunity through income and tax policy, and implement broad national shifts in education, work, and job training. It describes the pros and cons of different support models and evaluates specific reforms. The recommended reforms include a universal child-support obligation, improved vocational support for support obligors, a public child benefit program, and a reclassification of “preschool” as “school” to ensure that these crucial early education years receive at least the same level of public support available to children in upper grades. The chapter also discusses reforms to education and labor policies that are necessary to ensure that tomorrow’s families can perform their important caregiving roles.
