Dear Friends,

I am delighted to bring to you Contemporary Family Magazine. This publication is designed as a forum and serves as a reflection of parent, children and professional concerns, personal journeys and advice. As a parent or professional from law, psychology, social work, education, medicine, child development, parent education, or public administration, you can participate in this forum with your questions, story ideas, research and articles.

Today, nearly half of American households are led by single, separated, divorced, nevermarried, foster and adoptive, step, same sex parents and grandparents. They battle issues of child access/visitation, custody, mental and physical disabilities. My conversations with these parents and my research have shown that families today need several things: validation, acknowledgement and acceptance. They need societal support through policy reform. They need a compassionate judiciary.

Many of you are single, separated, divorced, raising your own grandchildren, belong to same sex partnerships and have biological, step, foster or adopted children. Some have children with special needs. No doubt, you have weathered change, perhaps you are now in the throes of a traumatic struggle to preserve a fragile marriage or you are coping with the loss of a relationship or the death of a loved one. let us help.

Since 1999, I have learned from professionals—across disciplines—that they could benefit from additional knowledge about today’s varied family structures and child outcomes related to education, home environment and health. Human service providers and managers may find new opportunities through information, collaborations and networking that Contemporary Family can help create within and outside our pages.

In behalf of our contributing writers, I extend a heartfelt thank you for picking up this copy. Through regional news, research, advice, poetry and fiction, we hope that you will find Contemporary Family Magazine engaging and a worthwhile experience for you.

Please write us! Share the magazine! Subscribe today!

Thank you Mark Roseman, MBA, Ph.D.

About CONTEMPORARY FAMILY

Contemporary Family magazine was launched in October 2007 after months of conceptual work and years of research and field experience with differing families, courts and advocacy organizations.  Contemporary Family is the reflection of a myriad of compassionate professionals from law, government, psychology and family therapy, holistic counseling and medicine, education and religious leaders.  These columnists and our feature writers believe that the reader of Contemporary Family should have a common forum to share and obtain information useful and oftentimes unique to their situation.

VISION STATEMENT
Our greatest goal is help effect positive outcomes for children by continually striving to identify common underlying opportunities for all children.  We will examine and communicate successful processes so that parents, schools, and other social systems can work together to maximize the potential for children and families to live safe, content, productive and happy lives.
Regional, national and cross cultural understandings will be an underlying credo to this effort.

MISSION STATEMENT
Contemporary Family, in both print and online versions, is dedicated as a forum for the voices of today's families and the professionals working in their behalf. We believe that Contemporary Family will be a valued resource for all individuals facing change in their family structure, coping with family changes and for those professionals seeking to provide more effective interventions in their practices. 
The editorial staff expect that this forum will evolve as readers and contributors ponder new questions, new answers and new challenges in light of public policy, global warming and social changes.  International, regional and local issues will be addressed by recognized and not well known authorities from near and far.  We believe that there is no single authority so knowledgeable and wise as to have all the answers affecting mothers, fathers, siblings, extended family members.  We constantly seek new knowledge and therefore, invite professionals from across disciplines, legislators, academic researchers and specialists from human service organizations to participate in each issue of Contemporary Family.   

READERSHIP