Family Law Prof Blog: Meredith Johnson Harbach: "Outsourcing ...

? NC's Amendment 1 Defining Marriage | Main | Sources of Adoption Delay ?

April 11, 2012

Meredith Johnson Harbach: "Outsourcing Childcare"

?Meredith Johnson Harbach (University of Richmond School of Law) recently posted her article "Outsourcing Childcare" on SSRN.? Here is the abstract:

Existing discourse on childcare choice proceeds as if there were one right answer to the question of who should care for children. The law takes sides, too. But the reality is that parents, like businesses, make diverse, strategic decisions about which work to perform in-house, and when to collaborate with outside partners. This article uses the lens of business outsourcing to gain fresh perspective on childcare decision making, and the law?s relationship to it.?

The outsourcing framework provides three key insights. First, it enables us to better understand the diversity of childcare decisions and the reasons underlying them. Second, the outsourcing model rejects a one-size-fits-all approach to childcare, and instead respects and values a diversity of approaches. Third, the normative value in this diversity suggests a particular role for the law in interacting with childcare choices. The law should accommodate and support a variety of choices, rather than take position on the substantive content of those choices. Using this benchmark, this article critically surveys existing law impacting childcare decisions, and explores how it might evolve to better support the personal choices of families making these decisions.

MR

April 11, 2012 | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341bfae553ef016303f6c6d7970d

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Meredith Johnson Harbach: "Outsourcing Childcare":

Comments

Post a comment

pineda john edwards heart condition mena suvari joyful noise one life to live jeff fisher van der sloot