Panel Discusses Family Issues

Family-related problems must be given more attention by national political leaders, a panel of experts on family issues told an audience of about 100 people at the Kennedy School of Government last night.

U.S. Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Co.) and three other family-issues activists gave the panel discussion, titled "The Politics of the Family," as part of a cross-country tour designed to rally political and community interest in family policies.

The panel members discussed a broad range of family problems including divorce, child abuse and neglect, child care, parental leave, drug abuse and battered women.

"These have got to be mainstream power issues or the whole society is in trouble," Schroeder said. "All of us have got to get out and work on this because it is so critical."

Schroeder, who graduated from Harvard Law School in 1964, is a co-sponsor of a well-known child care proposal that will go before Congress this year. She has also co-sponsored a family medical leave bill, which will provide a parent with 10 weeks leave without pay in the event of a family emergency.

Panel members stressed that this legislation would be just the beginning of the solution to a very serious problem.

"It is a symbol that we understand what these families are going through," said Clinical Professor of Pediatrics T. Barry Brazelton, who works at Children's Hospital in Boston.

The group began its tour during the presidential primaries, and Schroeder said they caught the attention of several candidates. But she added that while there has been a lot of debate on family issues in Washington, nothing has been accomplished.

"We need those politicians who kiss the babies to give more than lip service," said panel member Diana Meehan, director of the Institute of Study of Women and Men at the University of Southern California.

Panel members said there are two organizations in Washington that have been recently established to address some of these concerns.

The first is a commission, created under former President Ronald W. Reagan, that is studying changes in the American family. The second Parent Action, is a parent-supported lobbying organization started a few months ago.

Carole Simpson, ABC news correspondant and family reporter, said the media is beginning to respond to the greater attention politicians are giving to family issues.

"I am determined to try and elevate the family beat to one of importance and stature," Simpson said.