Stepfamilies: Understanding and responding effectively

Stepfamilies: Understanding and responding effectively | Child Family Community Australia

"Growing in numbers, stepfamilies are a significant symbol of the changing shape of families in Australia, yet social policy development in Australia to support stepfamilies unique needs has been minimal (Martin 1998).

Two factors contribute to this picture. Firstly, stepfamilies have often not been identified as a separate family form, but rather as a subcategory of the nuclear family.

Secondly, stepfamily numbers have been underestimated in official collections of statistics failure to acknowledge childrens membership in two households has meant that statisticians usually record the household of one parent only in stepfamily estimates and fail to count that of the second parent, irrespective of residency arrangements."

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