[Josephson] not only provides a coherent explanation of the institutional and historical context of child support policy but also brilliantly grounds the explanation in theory. . . . Gender, Families, and State is first-rate scholarship. . . . The empirical work alone makes a major contribution to the scholarship in this substantive area.

American Political Science Review

A significan contribution to the ongoing analysis of policy regarding the rights and responsibilities within families and how these mutual obligations are defined by the government. In covering such broad and complex issues in one manuscript, the book raises a number of important questions.

Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society

A relevant, timely book in an era of uncertainty about our society's commitment to supporting its children.

Susan Gluck Mezey, Loyola University, Chicago