This brief reviews the emerging practice known as marriage and relationship education (MRE) that is designed to promote healthy marriages and relationships between parents. It begins by explaining the goals of the Marriage-Plus approach to help more children grow up with their two biological, married parents in a healthy, stable relationship, and to help parents–whether […]

After decades of obscurity, marriage education has suddenly emerged into the national spotlight. In 2001, the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced its Healthy Marriage Initiative and since then has committed over $100 million in funds to support marriage education research and programs. It now proposes to spend […]

This report explores the decline in marriage in the United States over the past five decades, the impact on children, and President’s initiatives for encouraging marriage. It begins by reviewing evidence showing that marriage is associated with better health, higher earnings, and greater wealth among adults as well as with academic success and mental health […]

The current conference agreement of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 contains provisions reauthorizing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Among the provisions is a program of grants to promote healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood. This publication examines the funding and its uses and requirements. The House is expected to vote on the […]

This report derives from a conference convened by the Family Violence Prevention Fund, in San Francisco, in February 2003. The conference brought together six domestic violence organizations focusing on minority populations, to explore how to improve services to battered women and their children who are involved with the child welfare system, and what can be […]

Designed to inform social workers, this fact sheet summarizes the federal Healthy Marriage Initiative. It begins by providing background information on President Bush’s goal of increasing healthy marriages by focusing attention and action on strengthening marriages and preparing couples for a healthy marriage. The specific goals of the Healthy Marriage Initiative are outlined, the controversy […]

This conference was to educate, inform, and assist stakeholders from across Alabama about ACF’s priority initiatives, to aggressively incorporate the initiatives throughout ACF programs and communities to strengthen families. The focus was on the importance of partnering faith- and community based programs with ACF at the State and local levels to bring fatherhood, healthy marriages, […]

This article describes Fit 2-B FATHERS, a social and parenting skills program for males in the corrections system that has been found to improve participants attitudes about themselves, their role as fathers, and their understanding of positive parenting practices. The program is designed to help participants become less of a security risk during the remainder […]