Family policies for an aging society: moving to the twenty-first century

Most family policy implicitly or explicitly focuses on families with young children, but the revolution in longevity suggests the value of a life course focus, aimed at promoting the effectiveness of families and individuals at all ages and stages. Gerontologists can make a contribution by documenting and describing the gaps between needs and resources of families at all life stages, developing family indicators of social change, and sensitizing both decision makers and the public to the unintended consequences of existing or proposed policies.