Over time, demographic, economic and cultural changes have slowly but steadily reshaped the structures and definitions of family: single parenthood, double-income households and same-sex parenthood have all become commonplace. Most family supports are not oriented to those families’ needs today and are at risk of falling further behind. Factors contributing to this risk include the continued diversification of family configurations and support structures; declining use of community resources such as libraries,³² playgrounds³³ and places of worship;³⁴ and declining trust in the institutions that provide social infrastructure.³⁵ To fill such gaps, some families are self-organizing their own solutions, while governments and other traditional institutions are increasingly recognizing the need to prioritize families and children and to meet their growing needs around connection, recreation, support and social capital.
» Millennial parents say that digital communities such as online forums and social networks are among their top parental resources and influences.³⁶
» San Diego in 2019 approved an updated “placemaking law” that streamlines the process for community groups to create their own parklets and meeting places in parking lots and intersections.³⁷
» Four states and the District of Columbia enacted paid family leave laws between 2014 and 2018.³⁸ Previously, only California and New Jersey had policies in place; those laws were enacted in 2002 and 2008, respectively.³⁹
» Major political candidates⁴⁰ and elected officials⁴¹ have recently put forward wide-ranging proposals to expand access to family leave, preschool and other family supports.
ARTIFACT FROM THE FUTURE
Early Growing: Universal Home Visiting
The success of home visiting programs at improving outcomes for babies and families, particularly those at risk of health issues or struggling with poverty, substance abuse or lack of support, has led to the establishment of Early Growing, a universal home visiting program that has become a benefit for all new parents. No matter their birth setting or health insurance status, parents are given the option of selecting a home visiting provider or being assigned one during standard postpartum care. All new parents receive at least two in-person visits and a telephone or digital check-in; some are offered additional follow-up visits based on need. Government agencies, hospitals and nonprofits run most of the home visiting programs, and parents can select the area of expertise of their certified support provider. Given increased skepticism about both public and private institutions, these providers have had to find creative solutions for building trust with parents.
ARTIFACT FROM THE FUTURE
Co-Parenting Agreement: The New Blended Family
Two couples, one a married same-sex couple and one a cohabitating heterosexual couple, along with a friend who served as a sperm donor to the first couple, entered into an agreement to raise two biological and two foster-to-adopt children together. These five adults living in two households share physical custody and financial responsibility as co-parents. These types of arrangements are becoming increasingly common as people continue to want children but find traditional family arrangements unsustainable or inaccessible to them. Despite its relative affluence, this family faces hurdles to being fully recognized and supported. Legal and social legitimacy is even more elusive for nontraditional families with less privilege. For instance, public and immigration benefits remain available only to those dependents who can prove a family relationship through lineage or marriage. Schools, health care providers, faith communities, child development researchers and courts are struggling to keep up with the dynamics emerging from new types of family configurations.
ARTIFACT FROM THE FUTURE
Neighborhome: PlugIn Housing as a Gateway to Care Solutions
Thanks to state and federal incentives aimed at addressing acute housing shortages and affordability issues, small annex housing that can be added onto existing residential and previously unused properties has become mainstream in many places. Buyers select features and needs and can then choose among different layout and cost options. After the digital model has been approved, the company schedules the deployment of its 3D printing equipment along with local contractors. Families that were already living multi-generationally now have more options, and subsidies and tax credits are making multigenerational living more appealing to others. Some families are using the program to address ongoing caregiving challenges, offering their plugin homes for free or reduced rent to people who help care for their children or elder relatives. However, the incentive programs have also been used by exploitative landlords, who attract tenants with the promise of low rent and then do not keep up with maintenance.
Issues to Watch
Navigate a low-trust environment. More and more political figures are developing proposals and enacting policies aimed at supporting young children and families, and an increasing number of private companies are offering products and services aimed at meeting needs that were once the exclusive purview of government. However, decreasing trust in the quality of or motivations behind the solutions offered by both public and private institutions means that those proposals, policies and services can suffer from a lack of buy-in or uptake in favor of more decentralized or customized supports. Additionally, parents and others are increasingly expecting to be involved in the development and oversight of the supports that are intended for them. As stakeholders consider how to create large-scale solutions to address young children’s and families’ needs, they should work to recognize shifting expectations and to ensure that they are being responsive to people’s needs, varying local realities and the overall social and political landscape.
How might stakeholders balance the growing desire for large-scale solutions with declining trust in traditional institutions and increasing comfort with decentralized supports?
Design supports for a range of families and needs. As technology companies, governments and service providers scramble to find ideal solutions to improve outcomes for young children and their families, they often make assumptions about who constitutes a family and what they need. For example, apps geared toward new mothers often make broad assumptions about race, marital status and gender identity, and caregiving solutions tend not to take into account the growing array of families’ needs. As family structures grow more complex and as families’ needs diversify, solutions will need to become more responsive and asset-based to avoid bias and to support young children and their families more authentically. Stakeholders should work to anticipate blind spots and to consider the unintended consequences of the solutions for which they advocate. They should also consider how those solutions fit local realities and people’s daily lives.
How might stakeholders design solutions that account for the wide range of young children and families’ realities and needs?
Foster public will for respectful family support. Public assistance and government support for families have long been fraught areas of public policy and opinion. People receiving supports are often subject to demeaning assumptions and requirements, along with overly complex processes that diminish the value of the support. However, public support for policies aimed at children and families is quite high. To prioritize dignity and equal access to the supports and opportunities that might help young children and their families flourish in the future, stakeholders should move away from dialogues and policies that take a paternalistic and deficit-based approach. Instead, they can promote young children and their families as people deserving of respect whose potential can be fully realized under a set of different circumstances than many of them face today.
How might stakeholders build public will for dignified approaches to supporting young children and their families?
