During the past decade, the appropriate role of government in society has been subjected to a sweeping reevaluation throughout the world. An important element in this ongoing debate has been a reappraisal of the form and magnitude of public social welfare policy. The essays that make up this volume examine a variety of aspects of this topic as it applies to family policy in the United States, including both the political debate over who should be served and how programs should be funded, and the intellectual questions surrounding the nature of social organization and its role within the...