[emathias]

Perhaps a "Sociology of crime" thread should be started?

Nuclear families do make a big difference, and that is one of the biggest criticisms of the War on Drugs: that by sending such an enormous portion of poor people, and particularly men, to prison, it's horribly disfigured the families of millions of children.

And not far behind that was poorly-considered welfare programs that basically rewarded poor families that didn't have a father at home, and actively financially punished those that did. One relatively easy description of this was in that documentary about Pruitt-Igo in St Louis that came out a few years back (assuming you don't want to read entire sociology texts).

How to get back to solid footing from where we are now is a tough question, but arresting fewer people is a good way to start. Something more radical, like giving every family - even rich ones - a fixed, per-child stipend until some age (maybe even until 18), and then figuring out an equitable way to tax everyone in a manner that rich people don't come out ahead in the deal, would do a lot of good, too, by taking pressure off of government having to differentiate between coupled or uncoupled parents - no incentive to divorce and at least a mild incentive to form a stable, long-term relationship when children are involved.

Additionally, for families that are already broken it that can't avoid being broken, government support services like child care and guaranteed health care for children and mothers (which we mostly have, but which can be overly complex), even things like density zoning and transportation policy can make big practical differences for single parents.