Abstract

Inclusive Public Policy Means Creating a Future for OUR Children

Margaret K. Dechman

We tend to conceptualize social problems as isolated conditions requiring separate policy and program interventions. Rather than focusing on any one problem area such as criminal justice, mental illness, physical health problems, or social assistance, this presentation examines the underlying forces that cut across a variety of such issues. Information from a twenty-year longitudinal research project of Nova Scotia families is used to illustrate how many entrenched problems can be traced back to childhood exclusion from family, school, and/or community. Whereas social exclusion can manifest itself through unemployment, health problems, and/or conflict with the law, the precipitating conditions that underlie such diverse outcomes look strikingly similar.

Disengagement from the school system is one of the most reliable indicators of what lies ahead. Early school leaving tends to underpin a variety of future problems not only because of a lack of skills or credentials but more importantly because problems at school tend to be intertwined with other more pervasive difficulties. The downward spiral of social exclusion typically begins in the home and spreads to and is reinforced by problems in the educational system and larger community. In the final analysis, overcoming many of our most intransigent social problems requires addressing the roots of exclusionary processes. Every child must be given a place in our homes, schools, and communities so that they do not come to find a place in our courts, penitentiaries, and hospitals.

Bio

Margaret Dechman is the principal investigator for the Family Mosaic Project co-sponsored by the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services and Human Resources Development Canada. This 20-year longitudinal research study has followed the lives of 500 Nova Scotia families from the time their first child was born in 1978 until that child reached adulthood. The project provides a wealth of information on changing family structures, education, employment, and income patterns, as well as the intricate connection between the health and well-being of mothers and their children. In addition to managing the Family Mosaic Project, Margaret has also been involved in research and policy analysis in the areas of technological change, demographic trends, gender-based analysis, and the development of social indicators. Having worked extensively with Mount Saint Vincent University, the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women, and the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services, Margaret has had the opportunity to examine policy-relevant issues from a number of different perspectives. She is currently pursuing her Doctoral studies at Dalhousie University.

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