About this item
Exploring the connection between families and inequality, Failure to Flourish: How Law Undermines Family Relationships argues that the legal regulation of families stands fundamentally at odds with the needs of families. Strong, stable, positive relationships are essential for both individuals and society to flourish, but from transportation policy to the criminal justice system, and from divorce rules to the child welfare system, the legal system makes it harder for parents to provide children with these kinds of relationships, exacerbating the growing inequality in America. Failure to Flourish contends that we must re-orient the legal system to help families avoid crises and, when conflicts arise, intervene in a manner that heals relationships. To understand how wrong our family law system has gone and what we need to repair it, Failure to Flourish takes us from ancient Greece to cutting-edge psychological research, and from the chaotic corridors of local family courts to a quiet revolution under way in how services are provided to families in need.
About the Author
Clare Huntington, an expert in the fields of family law and poverty law, is a professor at Fordham Law School. Her legal experience includes serving as an Attorney Advisor in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel as well as clerking on the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition to international development work in India and Senegal, Professor Huntington was a social worker in the foster care system in New York City. She currently serves on the board of the Women's Prison Association in New York City. Professor Huntington earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School and her B.A. from Oberlin College
