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The following publications from the FPSC are available to order or download. Publications still in stock are priced (order using this form, some publications have downloadable extracts available in acrobat pdf format), while out-of-print publications can be downloaded (acrobat pdf format). Briefing Papers are also available.

In-stock publications

To order publications still in stock, please use this form.

Babies and money: birth trends and costs. Jo Roll
Are women producing fewer children than previous generations because of financial considerations? Sets out the evidence and the different types of costs from initial outlay to loss of mother's earnings.
Introduction * Why money matters * Birth facts * The cost of a baby * Policies for parents and babies * references
A5 * 60pp * 0-907051-35-9 * 1986 * WAS £5.50 NOW £2.50

Benefit or burden? The objectives and impact of child support. Melanie Henwood & Malcolm Wicks
Examines a number of objectives claimed for child support in the wake of the 1986 Social Security Act.
Child benefit: context and origins * the advent of child benefits * the present system of child benefit: a description * policy analysis - the relief of child poverty, supporting families with children, an income for mothers * the adequacy of child support * reform: the Government's proposals * policy conclusions
A5 * 63pp * 0-907051-27-8 * 1986 * WAS £5.00 NOW £2.50

Caring for children: the 1990 report. Bronwen Cohen
Report for the European Commission Childcare Network on Childcare Services and Policy in the UK.
Developments in childcare 1985-1990: an overview * population, families and parental employment * childcare services * development and innovations * views of organisations
A5 * 54pp * 0-907051-54-5 * 1990 * WAS £4.95 NOW £2.50

Children in Britain (Family Report 2).
Covers a range of topics central to children's lives: who they live with and different family types, schooling and leisure activities as well as supporting children financially and children and the law.
Children and their families * supporting children financially * children's activities * children's health * children and the law * sources
A4 * 12pp * 0-907051-81-2 * May 1995 * WAS £3.95 NOW £2.50

Cohabitation: extra-marital childbearing and social policy. Kathleen Kiernan and Valerie Estaugh
Tracks the rise of cohabitation and extra-marital childbearing in Britain and Europe. New analyses of recent rounds of the General Household Survey provide information on the demographic, social and economic circumstances of cohabiting couples and lone never-married mothers. Attitudes to these developments are examined using data from the British Social Attitudes Survey. Reviews the legal position of unmarried parents and children born outside marriage; compares and contrasts the extent to which married couples differ from cohabiting couples with respect to housing and property rights, social security, taxation law, and inheritance and pension rights. The policy responses of Sweden (the European country that has gone furthest in these developments) and France (the country that is most similar to Britain) are also examined.
the genesis of cohabitation and extra-marital childbearing * who cohabits? * childbearing outside marriage * children of unmarried parents - the legal situation * housing and the unmarried family * cohabitants and social security * the financial consequences of cohabitation * when a partner dies * the European experience * summary, unresolved issues
A4 * 72pp * 0-907051-66-9 * July 1994 * WAS £9.95 NOW £2.50 (Download extract)

Community care and elderly people: policy, practice and research review. Melanie Henwood
Looks at the future need for care, and its supply. This review highlights major developments, initiatives, tensions, contradictions and issues in community care with particular reference to elderly people. It looks briefly at the evolution of community care as a policy. Are there clear objectives and targets enshrined in policy documents, and if not what exactly is it that service providers should be aiming at? Who is doing what, and what is it they are doing? What innovations are being developed and what good practices adopted?
demography of demand * community care in practice * innovation and development * overview and conclusions
280mm x 280mm * 435pp * 0 907051 49 9 * 1990 * WAS £5.45 NOW £2.50

Crime and the family. Conference report. Edited by Clem Henricson
Child-rearing practices and changing family lifestyles are being blamed for rising crime rates. What is the truth behind the accusation and what can be done to help families prevent crime? With distinguished speakers from Britain and abroad, the conference examined the latest research and innovative prevention programmes in Europe and the United States. It concluded with recommendations for developing a variety of family support services into a far-sighted national social crime prevention strategy.
the influence of the family on delinquent development * the changing family and its relationship with delinquent behaviour * some alternatives to seven myths about treating families of anti-social children * parent education * parental education and the 'parents against crime' and 'parents first' project * supporting families, preventing crime * home-start * the role of pre-school and primary education * high/scope, pre-school curriculum
A4 * 72pp * 0-907051-77-4 * 1994 * WAS £8.50 NOW £2.50 (Download extract )

Crisis in care? The future of family life and state care for older people in the European Union., Francis McGlone and Natalie Cronin.
Investigates Europe's looming crisis in care. Drawing upon material often unavailable to the general reader, the report looks at the ageing of the European Union, the growing numbers of older people with a disability, the level and extent of family care in different member states, the pressures facing carers, and the various factors likely to undermine the ability and willingness of the family to care for its oldest members. It also inquires into the different levels of social provision for older people in the European Union and how this is changing. An excellent introduction to comparative ageing and social policy in Europe.
a demographic revolution * disability and dependency * family care * the pressures of caring * support for carers in the European Union * changing ability of the family to care * changing attitudes towards care * comparing social provision in the European Union * European social policy * summary and future issues * bibliography
A4 * 52pp * 0-907051-71-5 * September 1994 * WAS £9.95 NOW £2.50 (Download extract)

Disability and dependency in old age: a demographic and social audit. Francis McGlone
Looks at the social and economic circumstances of disabled older people and assesses the consequences of recent policy changes for their choice of care and support.
Part One looks at the number of elderly people with a disability and their level of dependency. It surveys the different types of infirmities older people suffer from and examines their living arrangements.
Part Two considers their care. It charts the rise of private residential and nursing home care, and scrutinises the new community care legislation.
Part Three investigates the claim that many older people have found a new prosperity and may be able to pay for their care.
Part Four considers the changing housing options of elderly people.
Concludes by drawing together issues surrounding the ageing of the population and poses the key questions for the 1990s policy agenda.
disability in old age * care of dependent elderly people * income and disability * housing and community care * policy agenda for the 1990s * references
A4 * 44pp * 0-907051-63-4 * July 1992 * WAS £7.95 NOW £2.50

Families and the Law (Family Report 1).
A simple introductory guide to some of the important areas of the law affecting families. Looks at some of the legal issues arising out of the process of growing up, of reaching adulthood and of family building.
childhood (registration of birth, education, children's rights, financial support for children, delinquency and discipline, children in need, the abused child) * young adulthood (reaching adulthood, financial support for young people) * adulthood (family building, becoming a parent, family property, domestic violence, family breakdown, what about the children?, the wider family, family reunion)
A4 * 16pp * 0-907051-72-3 * November 1994 * WAS £4.95 NOW £2.50

Family issues and public policy. Edward Craven, Lesley Rimmer and Malcolm Wicks
Does Britain need a family policy? A renewed interest in what is happening to the British family, as well as an awareness of developments in other European countries, makes this an important contemporary issue.
Part 1 reviews the development of interest in the family and looks at recent demographic, social and economic developments.
Part 2 analyses longer-term ideologies about the family which affect our interpretation of these developments.
Part 3 considers the prospects for family policy in Britain in the 1980s, and the relationship between family issues and public policy.
Part 4 argues for a family perspective - a greater sensitivity, within the policy process, to changing family patterns; the development of a positive partnership between family and state, and the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of public policy on families.
A5 46pp * 0-907051-09-X * 1982 * WAS £2.25 NOW £1.00

Fathers and Fatherhood in Britain. Louie Burghes, Lynda Clarke and Natalie Cronin
Mothers have long occupied centre stage in Britain as far as parenting is concerned. However, attitudes towards, and expectations of, fathers and fatherhood are changing, and during the 1990s the roles, responsibilities and influences of fathers have become a matter of public and political debate. But what do we really know about fathers and fatherhood?
This timely study combines an overview of research, a brief survey of the legal position of fathers and a unique and exciting demographic analysis. It looks at fathers at home and at work, at the consequences for children of a father's 'absence', at support for fatherhood and at developments in the law relating to fatherhood.
Social and economic statistics rarely distinguish men who are fathers from those who are not. Here, a demographic analysis of the 1992 British Household Panel Study provides the first estimates of the lifetime fathering of a national sample of men living in private households. It tells us for the first time how many men of different ages have fathered a child and where they live in relation to their dependent children. It illustrates not just the diversity of fatherhood in Britain today but also the continuities: more than eight in ten fathers of dependent children live with all their own biological children, for example.
The report concludes by considering the components of a coherent social policy for fathers - the labour market, fiscal and social policies and the legal framework - that would better support fathers and reduce the barriers they face in meeting the multiple roles of fatherhood. Occasional Paper 23.
who are fathers? a socio-demographic profile * the law relating to fathers * fathers as breadwinners * fathers and family life * non-resident fathers * supporting fatherhood * conclusions and policy implications * bibliography
A4 * 104pp * 0-907051-99-5 * July 1997 * WAS £9.95 NOW £2.50 (Download extract)

Innovations in community care: a review of county council strategies for elderly people and family carers. Adrian Barritt
The publication of the White Paper Caring for People in November 1989 potentially marked a turning point in community care. It outlined a strategy which emphasised the development of domiciliary care, priority to supporting carers, and the development of an increasingly mixed economy of care. This report draws upon a review of county councils' strategies for elderly people and their carers, conducted in 1988/89. Many of the key themes of Caring for People were already the focus of activity on the ground.
introduction * philosophies and principles * organisation of social services * collaboration between organisations * informal and formal care * principles and policy * references * list of sources * selective index of activities
A5 * 72pp * 0-907051-52-9 * 1990 * WAS £5.00 NOW £2.50

Lone-parent families in the European Community. Report to the European Commission. Jo Roll.
An overview of the numbers, characteristics and economic situation of lone-parent families in the European Community; with country sketches of each of the 11 Member States.
A4 * 40pp * 11 tables * 1-874791-00-7 * 1992 * WAS £7.95 NOW £2.50

Lone parents: policy in the doldrums. Jonathan Bradshaw.
In the late 1980s the then-Conservative Government was concerned to tackle what it saw as 'the dependency culture'. Policy for lone parents was the subject of a Ministerial Review. This paper contributed to the debate by discussing policy options open to the Government.
introduction * policy * lone parents * the existing structure of benefits * solutions * conclusion * references
A5 * 28pp * 0-907051-46-4 * 1989 * WAS £3.25 NOW £1.00

Older People in the European Community (factsheet).
a demographic revolution * social portrait of older people * living standards * a policy for older people
A4 * 16pp * 0-907051-73-1 * September 1993 * WAS £3.50 NOW £1.00

Supporting our children. The family impact of child maintenance. Louie Burghes
With high divorce rates and increasing numbers of single mothers, the number of one-parent families is increasing. Today some 1 in 6 families is headed by one parent rather than two. These developments have led to public debate about family life, pressure on social security budgets, and concerns about child poverty. 'No father should be able to escape from his responsibilities', stated Mrs Thatcher and this set in motion policy developments that have led to the new proposals on child maintenance put forward in the White Paper Children Come First (Cm 1263, 1990) and the Child Support Bill, 1991. This paper considers the effects on families of the proposals.
introduction * executive summary * background * 'Children Come First' * family poverty and family well-being * appendix: the circumstances of lone parents (maintenance for children: present position and recent developments; demographic developments; financial and social circumstances of lone parents)
A4 * 28pp * 0-907051-57-X * 1991 * WAS £6.00 NOW £2.50

The tale of Mrs Typical. Heather Joshi, Hugh Davies and Hilary Land
This report presents an account of how the responsibilities of motherhood affect a woman's earnings from paid work. Forgone earnings are as much a cost of rearing children as the money that is spent directly on them. If parents separate it is particularly important to understand how a woman's earning power may have been affected by devoting her time to child rearing.
The report draws out the implications of a common experience for most British women who became mothers over the past three decades by constructing lifetime income profiles for a number of illustrative Mrs Typicals, with higher than average, average and low incomes. Each Mrs Typical represents a modelled lifetime: Mrs Typical gets married, uses child care, goes to Europe, gets divorced and retires.
The effects on Mrs Typical's earnings are spread over her lifetime, and can be seen in her pension as well as her actual earnings while and after her children are dependent. They are relevant to the issue of family break-up and to policies which may help to relieve hardship and unfairness if that happens, and to policies in spheres such as training, parental leave, child care, employers' practices and pension provision. The report argues for more 'family-friendly' policies, supportive of combining employment and child rearing, if women are not to continue to bear the greater costs of raising children.
introduction * setting the scene * introducing Mrs Typical * income over a hypothetical lifetime * policy implications * references
A4 * 32pp * 18 figures * 0-907051-91-X * May 1996 * WAS £7.50 NOW £2.50

Trial and Error: a review of child support policy in the UK. Helen Barnes, Pat Day & Natalie Cronin
What went wrong with child support policy in the UK? Is it still possible to create a model that will work?
There have been immense changes in both the size and the composition of the lone-parent population in the succeeding years, and a marked change in political and public attitudes. During the 1980s lone parents became the focus of a 'moral panic' about parenting and pubic expenditure - culminating in the Child Support Act, 1991 - and they continue to have a high profile in the public debate about social policy.
This review considers both the formulation and implementation of the Child Support Act. It draws on interviews with those who were 'key players' in the design and implementation of the Act, including politicians, pressure groups and civil servants, as well as on a wide range of documentary material in the public domain. In particular, it analyses the extent to which problems that arose were, or could have been, foreseen. The effectiveness of the policy is evaluated, not only in terms of the Government's objectives, but in terms of its effects on the lives of parents and children. Child support in the UK is compared with the systems in place in other countries, especially in Europe. Finally, the report seeks to draw out the lessons that can be learnt, not only for this specific area of policy, but in public policy-making more generally.
introduction * development of the policy * key player recollections of the making of the child support system * overseas policy experiences * lessons for child support policy * lessons for public policy-making * bibliography
240x165 mm * 88pp * 4 tables * 1 figure * 1-901455-08-4 * November 1998 * WAS £9.95 NOW £2.50 (Download extract)

Transforming children's lifetime prospects: the importance of early intervention. Proceedings of a conference held in London, 12 March 1998. Edited by Ros Bayley.
Political and popular interest in family breakdown and failure has never been higher. Attention is now firmly focused on how best to help families give children a 'good-enough' start. The importance of early supportive intervention is recognised at both central and local government levels yet it is difficult to change working partnerships and methods of funding to encourage a more preventive approach and multi-agency working.
This edited record of the proceedings of a conference organised by the FPSC, in association with the Department of Health, provides a timely overview of the case for earlier intervention and preventive work in Britain. Plenary speakers, Sir Michael Rutter (Institute of Child Psychiatry, University of London), Dr Carolyn Webster-Stratton (Professor and Director of the Parenting Clinic, University of Washington in Seattle) and Dagmar E McGill (Director, International Division, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America) together with workshop presentations of innovative projects:

• examine current developments in the UK and US in the move towards more focused services;
• consider how central government is working across departments to promote better services;
• discuss good practice in health, social services, education, the criminal justice system and the community.

Of interest to people working with families with children in all parts of the statutory and voluntary sectors.
the importance of early intervention * community support * early intervention for children in need * multi-agency working - early years' centre * getting families in focus: lessons from the Refocusing Children's Services initiative * healthy living initiatives * panel discussion
240x165 mm * 120pp * 4 tables * 1 figure * 1-901455-20-3 * March 1999 * WAS £9.95 NOW £2.50 (Download extract)

Understanding poverty: a guide to the concepts and measures. Jo Roll
This guide looks at the ways in which poverty has been measured, from the Poor Laws to the present day, explains the measures that have been used, summarises the arguments surrounding them, sets these measures in context and discusses the ideas and questions about poverty that lie behind them.
a measure of poverty: the purpose of the guide * the word as a call to action * the idea of poverty * B S Rowntree: the founder of modern poverty studies * abolition and rediscovery * a range of measures * a measure of poverty? conclusion * notes and references
A4 * 48pp * 0-907051-64-2 * November 1992 * WAS £8.95 NOW £2.50

What is a family? benefit models and social realities. Jo Roll
What is a family? There are many different ways of answering the question and these might involve genetic ties, legal ties or simply the nature of the relationship. It is possible to argue at length about which is the right answer, but, meanwhile, government laws and institutions have drawn up their own definitions have a real impact on people's lives. This study provides an overview of recent changes in policy-makers' assumptions about the family and then concentrates on the benefit system. It describes the ways in which the definition of the family has changes and examines whether it still needs to be reformed.
does it matter what a family is? * a realistic assessment of the situation * the 'benefit' family * changing directions * models and reality * reform * appendix: the benefit units * references and notes
A5 * 100pp * 0-907051-59-6 * 1991 * WAS £7.00 NOW £2.50

Out-of-print publications

You can download these publications (in acrobat pdf format) by clicking on "Download".

Crime and the Family. David Utting et. al.
Rising crime has led to claims that today's parents are failing in their responsibility to raise law-abiding children. This report examines the evidence from academic research in Britain and the USA, linking different circumstances and styles of parenting to youth crime and adult offending. But it also considers a range of innovative family support schemes and other practical initiatives tackling the roots of crime.
A4 * 84pp * 0-907051-65-0 * 1993 (Download)

Families and Parenting
Proceedings of a conference held in September 1995 which provides an account of the state of the policy debate on good practice about parenting. Emphasises the importance of preventive work, and explores the differing contributions of primary health teams, schools, social services and voluntary sector initiatives.
A4 * 64pp * 0-907051-92-8 * May 1996 (Download)

Families in Britain (Family Report 3)
What has happened to the traditional nuclear family in Britain? Presents an up-to-date picture of family formation and dissolution. Examines how these changes affect the underlying continuity within families; first by looking at family types, then stages in family life and finally the changing relationship between families and work.
A4* 12pp * 0-907051-83-3 * 1995 (Download)

Family change, Briefing Paper 2
Looks at the debate surrounding 'the family'; explains changes in family life and investigates the various suggested policy responses by drawing together the latest statistics on family change and family policy.
A4 * 8pp * 1-901455-01-7 * 1997 (Download)

Family Law Bill, Briefing Paper 1
Published in Spring 1996, immediately prior to the Bill's consideration in the House of Commons, it outlines and comments on the Bill's provisions at that stage. Examines the key questions and issues raised by the divorce law proposals set out in the Bill and based on the proposals in the White Paper Looking to the Future: Mediation and the Grounds for Divorce and highlights the elements that aroused most debate.
A4 * 8pp * 0-907051-94-4 * March 1996 (Download)

Lone parenthood and family disruption. Louie Burghes
Reviews research on the contentious issues of outcomes for children who have experienced either family disruption or lived with a lone parent, or both. Looks at how children with these different experiences of family life have fared compared with those living with both their natural parents.
A4 * 56pp * 0-907051-70-7 * 1994 (Download)

Policies for families: work, poverty and resources. Edited by Rosalind Bayley, Ann Condy and Ceridwen Roberts
Proceedings of public policy seminars, organised as part of the International Year of the Family, providing a critical forum in which experts, practitioners and policy-makers examined the effects on families of a range of policy options in the inter-related fields of work, property and resources.
A4 * 72pp * 0-907051-80-4 * June 1995 (Download)