Shifting Toward a Mainstream Approach to Children's Issues Under this view, investment in all families will enhance U.S. productivity. It has led to job programs such as flex-time.: [Home Edition]

Not long ago, when public policy advocates talked about "children's issues," they often were talking about somebody else's kids. But no more.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in policies and programs affecting the entire spectrum of American families, not just those who are poor or who have children with special needs. This broad-brush emphasis is likely to become even more pronounced with the arrival of the new President and First Lady, both of whom have long been involved in promoting a children's agenda.

President-elect Bill Clinton served as a member of the bipartisan National Commission on Children. Hillary Clinton, a veteran advocate of these issues for two decades, already has declared she will become a strong voice for children in the White House.

STRATEGY: This mainstream approach does not signal an ebbing of concern for the special needs of disadvantaged children. Instead, it reflects a fundamental shift in philosophy toward government programs that address the needs of all families.

"About five or six years ago, children and family issues were treated as problems for `welfare' kids, or `women's' issues," said Dr. Edward Zigler, director of Yale University's Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy. "But then I began hearing a new set of clang words: competitiveness, productivity, investing in human capital. Well, all of that means investing in children."

Now the federal government is expected to adopt an attitude that has taken hold among some employers. In this view, programs that support all families...