Gender, Families, and State

Jyl J. Josephson is assistant professor of political science at Texas Tech University.

This book is the first to examine the relationship between families and the state in the United States, both in theory and in practice, using child support policy as a lens of analysis. Drawing on the literature of both feminist political theory and public policy implementation, Josephson analyzes the impact of family law and social welfare policies through several empirical case studies. This is important reading for anyone interested in political theory, public policy, and women's relationships with the state.

Part 1 Families and the State in a Liberal Republic Chapter 2 The United States as a liberal Republican Regime Chapter 3 Families in a Liberal Republic Chapter 4 The Normative Functions of Family Law Chapter 5 Regime Principles and the Families-State Nexus Chapter 6 Public-Domestic and Child Support Chapter 7 Federal Child Support Law and Policy Chapter 8 A Brief History of Child Support Chapter 9 The Institutional Transformation of Child Support Enforcement Chapter 10 The Public Goals of Child Support Enforcement Chapter 11 Data and Studies of Child Support Part 12 Child Support in the States: Maryland and Texas Chapter 13 Toward Administrative Ordering Chapter 14 Implementing Child Support Policy Chapter 15 Cost Savings versus Social Welfare Chapter 16 Performance Part 17 Child Support Policy in Practice Chapter 18 Court Case Samples: Description and Analysis Survey Results Chapter 19 Individual Interview Results Part 20 Feminism, Women, and Child Support Chapter 21 Feminism and Families Chapter 22 The Dual Systems of Welfare and Child Support Chapter 23 Women and Family Law Part 24 Child Support and the Families-State Relation Chapter 25 Child Support, Families, and State Purposes Chapter 26 Improving Child Support Chapter 27 Rethinking Family Policy in a Liberal Republic Chapter 28 Solving the Problems of Real-World Families