Since the 1970s, policy-makers and advocates for mothers, fathers, and children have attempted to remedy some of the inherent problems of divorce_such as conflict over the children, delegation of decision-making responsibiities, poor communication skills, and lack of knowledge about children experiencing divorce_through state-level legislation for divorcing or divorced families. These policies have taken the forms of mandated mediation, legal presumptions for particular custodial arrangements, child support orders, divorce education programs for parents, and parenting plans. Mending Broken Families introduces social policies for divorced families by discussing their history and provides the first comprehensive assessment and review of their effectiveness.
Emily M. Douglas is assistant professor in the Master of Social Work Program at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. Her background is in public policy and her work addresses social policies that affect children and families.
Mending Broken Families provides an excellent integration of social policy issues with the psychological literature related to divorce and custody. There are many publications dealing with the legal aspects of social policy as it relates to divorceas well as other publications related to the psychological impact of divorce on children. This is one of the few books that addresses the relationships between both aspects of divorce and custody issues....