"This new edition captures the evolving, post-pandemic landscape of family policy-the transformational changes that have occurred within contemporary families and the social, economic, and racial/ethnic disparities that have grown across families. The book draws on policies from around the globe to make an evidence-based case for family policy and its contributions to families and to society. Bogenschneider tackles a significant challenge of our times-the polarization of politics-including why it occurs and how professionals can bridge the divide"--
Universities are one of few institutions positioned to address a critical challenge facing the United States—the drift toward hyperpartisan and interest‐driven politics. To build better public policymaking, many policymakers have called for the rigorous research and dispassionate analysis that universities are well positioned to supply. To improve communication between knowledge producers and policy consumers, a framework is applied that specifies the types of conceptual and logistical knowledge that honest knowledge brokers need: know‐why (action is required), know‐about (barriers to research utilization in policymaking), know‐what (policy issue is timely and research is relevant), know‐who (to target), and know‐how (to effectively communicate research to policymakers). The experiences learned from the long‐standing Wisconsin Family Impact Seminars are used to describe the potential payoff when universities communicate high‐quality, nonpartisan research to policymakers. The article elaborates on best practices to leverage the deliberately dispassionate and disproportionately powerful contributions that universities can make to policymaking.
Abstract: As newcomers on college campuses, family policy courses have the potential to benefit policymaking, fill a void in undergraduate and graduate education, strengthen families, and prepare students for lifelong political engagement during a pivotal period in their development. Yet, family policy has proven a challenging course to teach. Family policy is an esoteric concept, which makes courses difficult to distinguish from other policy courses. The content of a family policy course is fluid and inherently value laden. This paper proposes course content and teaching techniques to transform these challenges into learning opportunities. The author discusses similarities and differences in teaching undergraduate and graduate courses and recommends cross‐university dialogue and resource exchange to improve the teaching of family policy in college classrooms.
"The traditional story of how we do social policy in this country reveals a disconnect between the research community, that is producing hundreds of studies relevant to public policy, and the policy community, that is making hundreds of decisions that would benefit from research evidence. This second edition tells an even stronger, more substantiated story of all it will take to connect researchers and policymakers: A fresh look into what policymakers and the policy process are like, as told by policymakers themselves and the researchers who study and work with them An elaboration of Community Dissonance Theory, which points to culture as the culprit for why conflicts and miscommunication occur between researchers and policymakers New insights on the purposes for which policymakers use research Innovative best practices for engaging policymakers from those who excel at doing it and studying it Guiding questions for deciding whether to approach policymakers as an advocate or educator This book brings new ways of thinking about evidence-based policymaking- by advancing two theories, one that predicts policymakers' use of research and another that explains why research is underutilized in policymaking. This book holds the potential to advance the study of evidence-based policymaking- by proposing how policymakers use research for achieving policy ends, and also for achieving more immediate means to accomplish their long-term ends. This book also envisions a new future for evidence-based policy- by looking to the roots of what it would take to create cultural competence now and in the preparation of the next generation of researchers. This story is compelling because much of it is told in the voice of policymakers themselves by drawing on an unusual new study of state legislators. Moreover, it includes the studies and stories of two authors who have spent their
"The traditional story of how we do social policy in this country reveals a disconnect between the research community, that is producing hundreds of studies relevant to public policy, and the policy community, that is making hundreds of decisions that would benefit from research evidence. This second edition tells an even stronger, more substantiated story of all it will take to connect researchers and policymakers: A fresh look into what policymakers and the policy process are like, as told by policymakers themselves and the researchers who study and work with them An elaboration of Community Dissonance Theory, which points to culture as the culprit for why conflicts and miscommunication occur between researchers and policymakers New insights on the purposes for which policymakers use research Innovative best practices for engaging policymakers from those who excel at doing it and studying it Guiding questions for deciding whether to approach policymakers as an advocate or educator This book brings new ways of thinking about evidence-based policymaking- by advancing two theories, one that predicts policymakers' use of research and another that explains why research is underutilized in policymaking. This book holds the potential to advance the study of evidence-based policymaking- by proposing how policymakers use research for achieving policy ends, and also for achieving more immediate means to accomplish their long-term ends. This book also envisions a new future for evidence-based policy- by looking to the roots of what it would take to create cultural competence now and in the preparation of the next generation of researchers. This story is compelling because much of it is told in the voice of policymakers themselves by drawing on an unusual new study of state legislators. Moreover, it includes the studies and stories of two authors who have spent their university careers with one foot planted in research and the other in outreach"--
This book examines ways to enhance evidence-based policymaking, striking a balance between theory and practice. The attention to theory builds a greater understanding of why miscommunication and mistrust occur. Until we better appreciate the forces that divide researchers and policymakers, we cannot effectively construct strategies for bringing them together.
Background:Understanding how policymakers define research and differentiate it from other sources of data is critical for scientists to improve how they conduct and communicate research to policy audiences. Yet, few studies have explicitly asked policymakers – particularly state legislators in the USA – how they define research evidence. Methods:We sought to fill this gap via in-depth interviews with 168 policymakers from two Midwestern states; 32 of whom were nominated by their colleagues as exemplar research users. Findings were triangulated via interviews with experienced key informants from both states. In-depth interviews were the preferred methodology for our research question, as they offered legislators the chance to describe research in their own words and elaborate on examples when needed. Findings:For many legislators, definitions of research largely aligned with how the scientific community might define research; both Republicans and Democrats defined research as peer-reviewed studies with specific qualities that distinguish research evidence from other types of information. However, some legislators defined research with a broader lens, including different types of information (for example, anecdotes) and qualities of information (for example, accessibility, relevance, credibility, and unbiased) as part of their definition. Discussion and conclusions:Researchers may better engage policy audiences by referring to the types and qualities legislators mentioned because policymakers prefer evidence from rigorous studies to those that are poorly executed or politically motivated. Legislators called this 'bogus' research, 'party' research or 'pseudoscience'. Researchers can signal their credibility by being transparent regarding funding sources and reasons or motivation for conducting studies.
Because scientific understanding of communicating family research to policymakers is incomplete, qualitative interviews were conducted with social scientists experienced in bridging the gulf between research and family policy. In keeping with the tenets of 2 communities and community dissonance theories, the underutilization of research in policymaking was attributed, in part, to misperceptions and miscommunication between researchers and policymakers who operate in different cultures. Social scientists identified cultural barriers they encountered and rewards they experienced when communicating research to policymakers. Ten recommendations detail pragmatic strategies for communicating across conflicting cultures to promote greater use of research in family policy decisions. The findings suggest a paradigm shift away from simply disseminating research to policymakers and toward developing collaborative relationships with them.
This study examines the reliability and validity of the Youth Support Inventory, a tool designed for community coalitions to assess the availability of local resources and supports that previous research indicates are important for preventing adolescent alcohol and other drug use. Citizen members in 17 community coalitions completed the inventory. In tests of validity, a higher score (i.e., more community support) was associated with less adolescent alcohol use. In tests of reliability, the inventory was reduced from 55 to 40 items (α= .71). Of the prevention strategies identified by the coalition, 94% addressed resources the local assessment indicated were not extensively available in the community.
This Brief explores the potential effects of parent-child contact during incarceration on child and adult relationships, well-being, and parenting as well as corrections-related issues, such as institutional behavior and recidivism. It presents a literature review on what is currently known about parent-child contact during parental incarceration in addition to several empirical studies, followed by a summary, commentary, and briefing report. The empirical studies focus on contact in both jail and prison settings. Because jails in the United States handle more admissions per year than prisons? and studies of jailed parents and their children are not common in the literature? two of the three studies presented focus on jails. Following the empirical studies, a summary that includes recommendations for policy and intervention is presented, along with a commentary that explores what researchers need to do to make effective policy recommendations. This Brief is an essential resource for policy makers and related professionals, graduate students, and researchers in child and school psychology, family studies, public health, social work, law/criminal justice, and sociology.
