Four policy papers delineate a progressive family policy for the 1990s that makes the family central among social issues and children central in families. An extensive introduction delineates the split between leaders' and ordinary citizens' views on the family and provides a summary of the papers. The first paper offers an economic review of the condition of the American family that analyzes the increased economic stresses on American families and gives particular attention to the economic problems of one-parent families. The second paper draws on a body of social science literature that shows that, for reasons that go beyond the economic, intact families are better for children than one-parent families. The third paper builds on the data presented in the previous papers to discuss six elements of a progressive family policy: (1) restore the children's tax exemption; (2) create a nonpoverty minimum wage; (3) reform divorce laws; (4) promote parental responsibility; (5) make the workplace accommodate needs of families; and (6) develop alternatives to foster care. It is argued that the family is both an economic and a moral unit, and neither economics nor values taken by themselves can provide an adequate basis for family policy. Governmental programs cannot fully substitute for healthy families and should not try to. But government should work to stabilize families and increase their child rearing capacity. To meet these goals requires the provision of substantial resources. (RH)