This
paper discusses how many governmental policies in the United States seem to be based on the assumption that all
families are nuclear families with stable membership over time. It points out, however, that, in reality, U.S. families are structurally diverse; there are a large number of
single-
parent households, stepfamily households and extended family households. This paper looks at the ramifications of single-parent households on children from an economic, social, psychological and emotional perspective.