The Building Strong Families (BSF) project was launched in 2002 to test voluntary interventions aimed at strengthening the families of unmarried couples with children. From Mathematica Policy Research, this report documents the design and implementation of the eight Building Strong Families programs. Authors provide information on the program services and assess program participation, specifically, the characteristics of couples and programs that may affect participation.

This report, from Mathematica Policy Research, provides impacts of the Building Strong Families (BSF) program on couples about 15 months after they applied for the program. The BSF program is sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and is designed to test the approach that supporting healthy relationships of unmarried parents can help foster child well-being. Eight organizations across the country are participating in the program and the evaluation.

From the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, this report provides national data on time spent together among married couples across a variety of income and education levels. Recent marriage experts have encouraged couples to spend time together to foster a healthy relationship, and due to the demands in meeting basic needs, poor couples may have less time for such relationship building activities. This study reveals that economically disadvantaged couples spend slightly more, rather than less, time together than nondisadvantaged ones. Authors conclude by offering implications for such findings.

This research article uses data from the Fragile Families Study to analyze intergenerational family relationships and stability among married and unmarried parents within five years of a child’s birth. Authors find that positive relationships between fathers and maternal grandparents is associated with a higher likelihood of marriage. The results suggest the importance for understanding broad contexts, such as intergenerational family relationships, when understanding fragile families.

The Rural Communities Academy was the "kick off" event for the 16 selected rural sites and included time for each rural site team (consisting of four/five team members) to participate in information gathering, networking, and action planning. The team members who attended the Academy participated in workshops and plenary sessions, and met with Rural Content Specialists and representatives from other rural communities who shared their insight into strategies being utilized in rural areas with TANF participants.

Authored by Anne Sparks at Ohio University, this National Poverty Center Working Paper outlines the implementation of the ‘Within My Reach’ Curriculum in Oklahoma. The program is included in a week of orientation activities for new TANF participants at the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. This paper provides results from interviews with TANF participants who participated in the program and findings suggest that this program has been successful in promoting relationship skills among this population.

Researchers at Bowling Green State University presented on healthy marriages and healthy relationships at the Eleventh Annual Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference that is sponsored through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. The qualitative assessment focused on what healthy marriage participants think about marriage or relationships and why they attend classes as well as key lessons that are learned from these classes.

This research brief was done through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Human Services Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative (OMI). The OMI has been very successful in promoting marriage education across the State, and in enlisting volunteers in local communities. This brief focuses on how the OMI recruited and mobilized a volunteer workforce and highlights the role of large, regional one-day community events in introducing and stimulating interest in relationship skills workshops.

This is the process evaluation of the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative (OMI), which was sponsored through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The OMI is the longest and most comprehensive marriage program in the country, and this report shows the extent to which the OMI has reached vulnerable families. Specifically, around five to ten percent of Oklahoma families have participated in OMI workshops, and every county in the State has been reached.

This report is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation and is an evaluation of the Community Healthy Marriage Initiative. It focuses on the implementation of three projects funded through section 1115 grants from ACF’s Office of Child Support Enforcement. The report examines three different approaches to implementing a healthy marriage initiative and describes how various organizations leverage their strengths and abilities to implement their programs. The report includes demographic data on each of the program participants and if they are receiving TANF benefits.