This paper reports findings from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine union formation among unmarried parents who have just had a child together. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the effects of economic, cultural/interpersonal, and other factors on whether parents are romantically involved living apart, cohabitating, married to each other, or […]

A considerable number of contemporary Americans have deep reservations about their prospects for marriage, the quality of a marriage they might enter, and the odds that their marriage will last. Some even raise concerns that marriage can be a trap and can expose women to domestic violence. Despite these divergent views and concerns, there is […]

To investigate the family support needs of Iowa citizens, the Iowa Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Supports Advisory Group conducted 25 focus groups involving over 250 adults. This resulting report discusses themes that were prevalent during these focus groups and presents the following recommendations for family support services: (1) lift up the importance of the family; […]

With the enactment of welfare reform in 1996, encouraging and supporting marriage became priorities for the federal government and the states. Research findings that children in married families generally fare better than those in single-parent families on measures of poverty, hardship, and well-being have provided the rationale for marriage promotion policies. In this brief, we […]

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 […]

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 […]