The episode takes place in 1972. One story line is Peggy having another woman take her driver's test. A fast shot of the other woman's picture on a license made out to Peggy is shown. The license in the picture has a 1972 expiration date, instead of several years after the date of issue.
The episode takes place in January 1972. A fast shot of Peggy's (ill-gotten) driver's license is shown at about 7:10. Peggy's birth date is listed as Sept 1, 1929, and her age is listed as 43 years. But, she wouldn't turn 43 until September of 1972, so her correct age in Jan 1972 would be 42.
The television show, "Barnaby Jones," is mentioned in this show, which takes place in 1972. "Barnaby Jones" premiered on television on January 28, 1973.
The character of Chris Partridge on "The Partridge Family" was replaced by a new actor between the show's 1st and 2nd seasons, which would have been 1971. One of the story lines of this episode was the audition to replace that actor. "The Kids Are Alright" takes place in 1972, a full year after the replacement of the actor who placed Chris Partridge was made.