Recent federal welfare reform initiatives contain provisions intended to strengthen marriage and family structures. Three of the four objectives of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program as enacted in 1996 address family issues: assistance to needy families so that children can live with their parents or other relatives; prevention of out-of-wedlock pregnancies in the […]
This paper examines the ways in which families with children have changed over the course of the twentieth century in the United States and the rise of single-parent families. It begins with a discussion of the negative effects of single parenthood and findings from research on the economic and developmental disadvantages of children raised in […]
Nonprofits today are being pressed to demonstrate the effectiveness of their program activities by initiating and completing outcome-oriented evaluation of projects. This guide was developed to provide practical assistance to nonprofits engaged in this process. In the pages of this guide, staff of nonprofits and community members alike are given orientation to the underlying principles […]
Family Team Conferencing and other similar family conference models involve family and community members in decision making and case planning to provide safety to children and other family members in child maltreatment cases. Since roughly half of all families experiencing child maltreatment also experience domestic violence, a large percentage of families who are possible candidates […]
The Department of Health and Human Services Peer Technical Assistance Network sponsored a roundtable discussion to share ideas about programs to strengthen families who are separated by parental incarceration. Government officials, service providers, and practitioners from Tennessee, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma reviewed trends in incarceration and discussed solutions to common challenges. Prisoner re-entry, recidivism, […]
Findings from social science research and marriage education are cited in this report to examine the government’s role in supporting healthy marriages for the benefit of children. The analysis considers reasons for public policies that address marriage issues and the elements of effective marriage policy. Studies have indicated that law and public policies about marriage […]
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of parents in prison increased significantly during the 1990s. Parental incarceration and the disruption of family relationships have several negative effects on children, including poverty, poor academic performance, aggression, depression, delinquency, and substance abuse. However, parenting programs can help mothers and fathers in prison to strengthen […]
The Building Strong Families (BSF) project aims to foster the development of programs designed to enhance children's well being by helping new, unmarried parents build stronger relationships and achieve a healthy marriage if they so choose. The motivation and design of BSF programs draw heavily on findings about unmarried parents from the Fragile Families and […]
In response to the congressional mandate to promote two-parent families and marriage specified in the 1996 welfare reform legislation, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services embarked on an initiative to encourage healthy marriage in the broad population and especially within low-income groups. To support further […]
Developed by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), this technical assistance module explains how to form coalitions to support Community Healthy Marriage Initiatives (CHMI) designed to strengthen marriages and improve child well-being. The CHMI conceptual model involves combining the efforts of public and private social service agencies to inform couples and parents about resources […]