Family

What Is a Family? thorny question for many policymakers is, “What is a family?” Definitions abound, but consensus does not. How we define the family is often hotly-debated because the definition has significant consequences in people’s lives. Government agencies often have to define what a family is in order to determine who benefits from their program and who does not. Towns or cities often have to define families in developing zoning and housing regulations. Family definitions can have a bearing on access to such resources as health and life insurance, educational, recreational, and mental health services. Furthermore, definitions sometimes convey societal beliefs about what is “normal” and “acceptable” and thus, by implication, what is “deviant” or socially sanctioned. In this section of the briefing report, we will begin by summarizing the diversity of American families. Then we will review three definitions proposed in the scholarly literature and the consequences of each. Finally, we will take a historical look at how the family is defined in Wisconsin law.

A

Do We Know a Family When We See One?
The family is said to be universal because it is found in more societies than any other social institution, including the economy, the state, religious communities, and educational organizations. Yet this universal term conveys a variety of images. For some, it may bring to mind the work of American painter Norman Rockwell white picket fences, and freckled boys and girls playing under the watchful eye of doting parents and community elders. The word family may mean something quite different to an African-American, an American Indian, or a southeast Asian refugee, a stepparent, a foster parent, a landlord, or a zoning board member. One’s image of family may reflect one’s position in the family life cycle ranging from a childless couple to the “sandwich generation” with both young and old dependents to the “empty nest” stage. In Figure B, Ooms and Preister