All OECD governments want to give parents more choice in their work and family decisions. This book looks at the different ways in which governments support families. It seeks to provide answers to questions like: Is spending on family benefits going up, and how does it vary by the age of the child? Has the crisis affected public support for families? What is the best way of helping adults to have the number of children they desire? What are the effects of parental leave programmes on female labour supply and on child well-being? Are childcare costs a barrier to parental employment and can flexible workplace options help? What is the best time for mothers to go back to work after childbirth? And what are the best policies to reduce poverty among sole parents?

Executive summary
Chapter 1. Families are changing
-Introduction
-Trends in fertility and family formation
-Changes in household structure
-Work life and family life
-Child well-being
-Summary
-Annex 1.A1. Background Information to Chapter 1
Chapter 2. The balance of family policy tools – benefit packages, spending by age and families with young children
-Introduction
-Main findings
-Spending and policy tools for families across OECD countries
-Public spending on family benefits and education by the age of the child
-Families with very young children: “missing earners” drive poverty risks
-Annex 2.A1. Age-Spending Profiles, Methods, Sources and Limitations
-Annex 2.A2. Dynamic Tax and Benefit Models in the Early Years: Methods and Assumptions
Chapter 3. Fertility trends: What have been the main drivers?
-Introduction
-Main findings
-Fertility trends and underlying dynamics
-What explains the fertility trends?
-Policies to reduce barriers to family formation
-Annex 3.A1. A Summary of Cross-National Evidence on the Effects of Policy on Fertility Patterns
Chapter 4. Reducing barriers to parental employment
-Introduction
-Main findings
-Child-related leave
-Childcare
-Financial incentives to work
-Flexible workplace practices
-Annex 4.A1. Further Information on Parental Leave Arrangements
-Annex 4.A2. Background Information on Financial Incentives to Work
-Annex 4.A3. Availability and Use of Flexible Time Policies in France and the United Kingdom
Chapter 5. Promoting child development and child well-being
-Introduction
-Main findings
-Income poverty among families and children, and child well-being
-When is a good time for mothers to go back to work?
-The effects of birth-related leave on child and maternal well-being
-Annex 5.A1. Associations Between Child Poverty and Spending by Type
-Annex 5.A2. Cohort Studies, Methods and Detailed Results
Chapter 6. Sole parents, public policy, employment and poverty
-Introduction
-Main findings
-The evolving experiences of sole-parent families in the OECD
-The policy stance towards sole-parent families
-Child-support systems
-Annex 6.A1. Sole-Parent Employment and Poverty Trends
-Annex 6.A2. Sole-Parents and Childcare Costs
Chapter 7. Child maltreatment
-Introduction
-What is child maltreatment?
-Economic analysis of causes and consequences of child maltreatment
-Policy to reduce maltreatment and neglect
-Conclusion
-Annex 7.A1. Mortality Data and the Internnational Classification of Diseases (ICD)