Social Policy for Child and Family Development: A Systems/Dialectical Perspective is designed to help students think critically and dialectically about social policies that affect children and families.

Based on the belief that no single policymaking position has all the answers, the book offers a model that reduces the tendency to present only one viewpoint. As they move through the text, readers use this model to evaluate the effectiveness of specific policies.

The book addresses issues such as alcohol, nicotine, and drug use during pregnancy, social policy and poverty, education, family development, and technology. The material also discusses child abuse and neglect, social media and ethnicity, and the future of social policy on child and family development.

Each chapter includes learning objectives, key terms, study questions, a debate activity, additional reading resources, and a list of references.

The third edition features new images and new tables with updated statistics analyzing poverty thresholds, high school graduate rates, children in foster care, and stepfamily statistics. In addition, the book includes new information on fentanyl abuse and effects on the fetus; LGBTQ+ marriages and families; Instagram, TikTok, and artificial intelligence as they relate to social media and child and family social policy; and the intersections of Black family life with employment, education, and the economy.

Social Policy for Child and Family Development is well suited to courses in child and family studies or consumer sciences.