CBCAP

Legislation

Priority Areas   
Evaluation
Respite Care
Home Visitation
Parent Roles
Family Resource Centers
Healthy Marriages
Fatherhood
Positive Youth
Faith & Community Initiatives
CFSR
Networks
Collaboration

Lead Agency
Contacts

PART
Workgroup
Efficiency Measure

Maximizing Resources

Since the Welfare Reform Legislation of 1996 (Personal RWORA), that included family formation and fatherhood as strategies to address welfare reform, many states have started different types of initiatives to include Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood programs.

In 2003, Title II of CAPTA was reauthorized expanding and adding a stronger emphasis on certain areas of the CBCAP legislation. In expanding the legislation, it allowed for a larger network and linkage with other ACF priorities and initiatives. The 2004 CBCAP Program Instruction specified linkages to include: Healthy Marriage, Responsible Fatherhood, Outreach to faith- and community-based organizations, Positive Youth Development, and the Rural Initiative.

The ACF Healthy Marriage Initiative is “To help couples, who have chosen marriage for themselves, gain greater access to marriage education services, on a voluntary basis, where they can acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to form and sustain a healthy marriage.”

Some research suggests that family structure is related to child well-being. All things being equal, children who grow up in healthy, two-parent families do better on a host of outcomes than those who do not. Further, many social problems affecting children, families, and communities could be prevented if more children grew up in healthy families. Examples of social science findings include:

• Married couples seem to build more wealth, on average, than singles or cohabiting couples, thus decreasing the likelihood that their children will grow up in poverty.
• Children who live in a two-parent, married household enjoy better physical health, on average, than children in non-married households.
• Marriage reduces the risk of adults and children either perpetrating, or being victimized by, violent crime.

The benefits for children who live in a family with healthy relationships/marriages are:

• Better school performance and lower truancy and dropout rates
• Fewer emotional and behavioral problems
• Lower rates of substance abuse
• Lower rates of criminal activity and delinquent behaviors
• Lower rates of out-of-wedlock births
• Fewer sleep and health problems
• Lower mortality
• Better health – physical and mental
• Greater financial well-being

In looking at overall child well-being, it makes since to support a healthy marriage initiative. But what is a healthy marriage? A healthy marriage as defined by ACF is:

1. First, they are mutually enriching, and second, both spouses have a deep respect for each other.
2. It is a mutually satisfying relationship that is beneficial to the husband, wife and children (if present).
3. It is a relationship that is committed to ongoing growth, the use of effective communication skills and the use of successful conflict management skills.

So how have states proposed to address this Initiative? Many states have started programs targeting low-income, non-married parents to look at the importance of relationships at the time of the birth of a child. Others offer relationship skills training and conflict management classes for engaged or married couples. Some have supported local and statewide public education campaigns that include PSA’s, billboards, and distribution of marriage handbooks. And others have included this topic in high school programs to provide valuable information to youth on the importance of a healthy relationships and financial planning.

To find out more about ACF's Healthy Marriage initiative, visit their website at www.acf.hhs.gov/healthymarriage or contact Bill Coffin, Special Assistant for Marriage Education, ACF/HHS at bcoffin@acf.hhs.gov.

FRIENDS Resources on Healthy Marriage
Healthy Marriage Resources
Healthy Marriage Assessment Tool