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Public Policy, Work, and Families:
The Report of the APA Presidential Initiative on Work and Families  

  
  RECOMMENDATIONS
  For Employers
  For Public Policies
  For Schools &
    Communities
  For Working Families

Aligning Public Policies, Schools, and Communities With the Realities of Contemporary Families and the Workplace

There has been a steady increase in the number of adults who work outside the home, with the greatest increase in the number of working mothers, especially mothers of young children. The dual demands of work and family have created strains for many working families and their employers. The simultaneous changes in family life and the demands of the workplace have not been coordinated in ways that allow working families to care for their children or older family members or promote returns on investments for employers. At the same time, the wage gap that divides workers with complex and technological skills from workers in manufacturing service and manual jobs has widened, creating a large group of low-wage earners, often referred to as the working poor. The working poor lack necessary job skills and often basic skills in English and other basic areas because of low levels of education and, sometimes, recent immigrant status. An additional challenge for many working poor is the location of jobs in the suburbs, while they live in the inner city or in locations without public transportation. The new technological demands of the workplace and knowledge economy mean that every generation needs more education than the preceding one just to stay in the same socioeconomic place. Lifelong learning has gone from slogan to necessity, which means education is inextricably entwined with work and family issues.

This report is a summary of social science research on the challenges working families and their employers face. The work product of the APA Presidential Initiative on Work and Families, it includes specific research-based recommendations on how the workplace, schools, and communities can create policies that will positively interact with the makeup of the 21st century American family.

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