Final answer:
U.S. laws support the family-as-client approach in counseling, which aligns with the functionalist perspective of sociology, treating the family as a key social institution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The role of family counseling and how it's regarded by law is a topic that intertwines sociology and legal frameworks. Generally, U.S. laws support a family-as-client approach, meaning that the law does not discourage or prohibit family-focused counseling; rather, it tends to view the family as an entity. This aligns with the functionalist perspective that families play a crucial role as social institutions, contributing to the stability and functioning of society, and thus stresses importance on treating the family as a whole.
Family systems theory within counseling often views the family as a single, interconnected unit. Therefore, the appropriate answer to the student's question is C) Support the family-as-client approach. It's noteworthy that the U.S. Census Bureau has a more structured definition of family for statistical purposes, but this does not necessarily restrict the counseling practices legislatively. Sociology recognizes a more flexible understanding of family, including both traditional and non-traditional structures, reflective of current social norms.