Violence against women is a health care problem of epidemic proportions and one that uniquely impacts women of reproductive age. Young women aged 16-24 are particularly at risk. In addition to the immediate trauma caused by abuse, violence contributes to a number of chronic health problems, including depression, alcohol and substance abuse, and sexually transmitted […]
This brief provides a national portrait of nonresident mothers and their children, contrasting them with nonresident fathers and their children. The brief uses data from the 2002 National Survey of America’s Families (NSAF), one of the few nationally representative surveys with data on nonresident mothers. It shows that nonresident mothers have demographic characteristics similar to […]
The Building Strong Families (BSF) project originated from these bodies of research, and is one of the centerpieces of a broader policy strategy to support healthy marriage. BSF is a multi-year, multi-site project sponsored by USDHHS/Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Its goal is to learn whether well-designed interventions can help interested, romantically involved, unwed […]
In this paper, a researcher and a policy analyst examine recent research on couples and marriage through the lens of economic disadvantage, to find out implications for program design and policy. It turns out that we know a lot more than we did a decade ago, but there’s still much to learn. The paper was […]
The association between parental mental health problems and child wellbeing has rarely been examined in the context of non-traditional families. Using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), this analysis exploits the full range of parent relationship types, including married, cohabiting, and non-resident relationships, to examine the effects of having one parent with major […]
The Community Healthy Marriage Initiative (CHMI) is a key component of the demonstration strategy of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to determine how public policies can best support healthy marriages. Two concepts underlie the CHMI strategy. One is that community coalitions can be an effective vehicle for developing a range of healthy marriage […]
Increasing concern exists in the public and private sectors about the link between the large number of children growing up in poverty and the range of negative outcomes they face. A higher percentage of children living in single parent households live in poverty compared with children living in two-parent households. Faith leaders across the country […]
U.S. government policy has sought alternatively to improve the circumstances of single parent families and to reduce their numbers. There now is growing interest in interventions seeking to promote healthy marriages, and, where marriage is infeasible, strengthen relationships between unmarried parents. These interventions will stand a better chance for success if they are based on […]
In October and December of 2003, the Annie E. Casey Foundation convened a cross section of African-American pastors and church leaders with experience in marriage promotion activities to explore partnerships between faith communities and the marriage movement. The first session focused on the nature and extent of marriage promotion and education activities currently available in […]
In 2002, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the Department of Health and Human Services launched the Healthy Marriage Initiative (HMI) to support the President Bush’s goal of increasing healthy marriages by focusing attention and action on strengthening marriages and preparing interested individuals and couples for healthy marriage. In supporting healthy marriage, ACF […]