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Marriage and Welfare Reform

With the passing of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), Congress acknowledged the importance of a two-parent household, especially a household involving married parents. Since the signing of PRWORA, the Federal Government has funded initiatives that promote marriage, including healthy marriage initiatives that target specific populations and their particular needs.

The following resources explore the goals of PRWORA to encourage marriage and discourage out-of-wedlock births. Additional resources are available via the NCCIC Online Library, which can be accessed at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/library/index.cfm?do=oll.search. NCCIC does not endorse any organization, publication, or resource.

Federally Funded Initiative

Federally Funded Projects

  • Building Strong Families Project
    Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
    Administration for Children and Families
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    www.buildingstrongfamilies.info/

  • National Healthy Marriage Resource Center
    Public Strategies, Inc.
    Administration for Children and Families
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    www.healthymarriageinfo.org

  • Supporting Healthy Marriage
    Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation,
    Administration for Children and Families
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    www.supportinghealthymarriage.org/

Publications

  • The Implications of Multiple Partner Fertility for Efforts to Promote Marriage in Programs Serving Low-Income Mothers and Fathers (March 2008), a Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) Policy Brief No. 11, summarizes what is known about multiple partner fertility (i.e., parents with multiple children with multiple partners) as it relates to marriage and child well-being. It also discusses how healthy marriage programs can address this issue in their programs. This resource is available at www.clasp.org/publications/c_mbrief_11.pdf.

  • The State of Our Unions 2007: The Social Health of Marriage in America (July 2007), published by the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, is an annual report that discusses the social, economic, and cultural conditions affecting marriage in America. This resource is available at http://marriage.rutgers.edu/Publications/SOOU/SOOU2007.pdf.

  • Adapting Healthy Marriage Programs for Disadvantaged and Culturally Diverse Populations: What Are the Issues? (March 2007), by Theodora Ooms, published by CLASP, reports that more than 300 healthy marriage programs have been funded by the Administration for Children and Families since 2002. It also states questions raised regarding the effectiveness of these programs to serve all diverse populations. This resource is available at www.clasp.org/publications/couplesmarriage_brief_10.pdf.

  • What Do We Know About Couples and Marriage in Disadvantaged Populations? Reflections From a Researcher and a Policy Analyst (Revised June 2006), by David Fein and Theodora Ooms, published by CLASP, examines research conduted on couples and marriage through an economically disadvantaged perspective. This resource is available at www.clasp.org/publications/couples_marriage_disadvantaged.pdf.

  • Healthy Marriage Initiative: Building Real Solutions for Real People (2006), by ICF Consulting, ed., published by the Office of Family Assistance, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is a booklet that showcases some of the healthy marriage programs that organizations have developed using grants from the Administration for Children and Families. This resource is available at www.acf.hhs.gov/healthymarriage/pdf/healthmarrbk.pdf.

  • Marriage and Child Wellbeing (Fall 2005), Future of Children Vol. 15, No. 2, is a complete issue dedicated to addressing some of the concerns around the marriage debate. This resource is available at www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/Marriage_vol15_no2__fall05.pdf.

  • Wedded to Marriage: Invest Now or Pay Later? (August 2005), by Wade F. Horn, Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides support for the Healthy Marriage Initiative as a way to support healthy, stable families and limit government spending on social programs required to offset the effects of unstable families. This resource is available at www.nationalreview.com/comment/horn200508090806.asp.

  • “Rethinking Welfare Rules From a Marriage-Plus Perspective” (March 2005), Policy Brief: Couples and Marriage Series No. 6, by Paula Roberts and Mark Greenberg, published by CLASP, describes some of the research addressing the effects of the different welfare policies on family formation decisions. This resource is available at www.clasp.org/publications/marriage_brief6.pdf.

  • Marriage and the TANF Rules: A Discussion Paper (February 2005), by Paula Roberts and Mark Greenberg, published by CLASP, explores the issues that arise in pursuing the goals related to designing public benefit programs from a family structure perspective. This resource is available at www.clasp.org/publications/2_parent_tanf_rules.pdf.

  • “What We Know About Unmarried Parents: Implications for Building Strong Families Programs” (January 2005), Building Strong Families Research Brief No. 3, by Marcia Carlson, Sara McLanahan, Paula England, and Barbara Devaney, published by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., summarizes information from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study regarding the characteristics and relationship patterns of unwed parents. This resource is available at www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/PDFs/bsfisbr3.pdf.

  • Building Strong Families: Guidelines for Developing Programs (August 2004), by Alan M. Hershey, Barbara Devaney, M. Robin Dion, and Sheena McConnell, prepared by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., provides guidelines to help the design and delivery of Building Strong Family program services. This resource is available at www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/PDFs/bsfguidelines.pdf. 

  • “What Do ‘I Do’s Do? Potential Benefits of Marriage for Cohabiting Couples With Children” (May 2004), Policy Brief: New Federalism: National Survey of America’s Families No. B-59, by Gregory Acs and Sandi Nelson, for the Assessing the New Federalism project, published by the Urban Institute, assesses the potential size of the benefits that are assumed to accrue for couples that marry. This resource is available at www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=311001.

  • Marriage-Related Provisions in Recent Welfare Reauthorization Proposals: A Summary (March 2004), by Mary Parke, CLASP, offers background information about marriage-promotion efforts within the context of welfare reform. It also describes provisions relating to marriage and family formation in House and Senate Temporary Assistance for Needy Families reauthorization legislation in 2002 and 2003. This resource is available at www.clasp.org/publications/marr_prov_upd.pdf.

  • Should We Get Married in the Morning? A Profile of Cohabiting Couples With Children (March 2004), Assessing the New Federalism Discussion Papers No. 04-01, by Gregory Acs and Sandi Nelson, for the Assessing the New Federalism project, published by the Urban Institute, used data from the 2002 round of the National Survey of America’s Families to compare the characteristics of cohabiting families with children to those of married couples with children. This resource is available at www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=310962.

  • Beyond Marriage Licenses: Efforts to Strengthen Marriage and Two-Parent Families, A State-by-State Snapshot (2004), by Theodora Ooms, Stacey Bouchet, and Mary Parke, published by CLASP, provides a state-by-state description of government-related activities in couples and marriage policies. This resource is available at www.clasp.org/publications/beyond_marr.pdf.

  • “Welfare Reform and Work and Marriage: The Way to End Poverty and Welfare” (September 2003), in Welfare Reform & Beyond Policy Brief No. 28, by Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill, published by the Brookings Institution, contrasts making cash and related forms of public assistance more generous with strategies that encourage work and marriage. This resource is available at www.brookings.edu/es/wrb/publications/pb/pb28.pdf.

  • Increasing Marriage Will Dramatically Reduce Child Poverty (May 2003), by Robert E. Rector, Kirk A. Johnson, Patrick F. Fagan, and Lauren R. Noyes, published by the Heritage Foundation, uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to calculate how much marriage could reduce poverty among couples who are not married at the time of the child’s birth. This resource is available at www.heritage.org/Research/Family/cda0306.cfm.

  • The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study; Baseline Report (Revised March 2003), by Sara McLanahan, Irwin Garfinkel, Nancy Reichman, Julien Teitler, Marcia Carlson, and Christina Norland Audigier, for the Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Princeton University, follows a new birth cohort of approximately 5,000 children and their parents in 20 cities across the United States in an effort to learn more about an important group of families: unmarried parents and their children. This resource is available at www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/documents/nationalreport.pdf.

  • Helping Unwed Parents Build Strong and Healthy Marriages: A Conceptual Framework for Interventions: Final Report (January 2003) by M. Robin Dion, Barbara Devaney, Sheena McConnell, Melissa Ford, Heather Hill, and Pamela Winston, prepared by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., presents a conceptual framework for designing, implementing, and testing interventions for low-income unmarried parents interested in strengthening their relationships or forming and sustaining healthy marriages. This resource is available at www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/PDFs/helpingunwed.pdf.

Updated June 2008

 
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