Policy Framework
The Supporting Healthy Marriage project is the first large-scale, multisite, multiyear, rigorous test of
marriage education programs for low-income married couples. Supported by the Administration for Children
and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the project is motivated by
research that indicates that married adults and children raised by their married parents do better on a
host of outcomes. Low-income couples face greater challenges to building and maintaining healthy marriages,
however, and their families are consequently less likely to receive the benefits of healthy marriages. While
an extensive body of research on strengthening marriages exists, this research consists primarily of
small-scale studies of typically short-term programs for middle-class couples.
Supporting Healthy Marriage is part of a larger HHS research agenda to study the effectiveness of efforts to
sustain healthy marriages. Other research projects include the
Building Strong Families evaluation of programs
targeted to low-income unwed couples beginning around the time of their child’s birth, and the Community
Healthy Marriage Initiative Evaluation, which is evaluating community saturation approaches for strengthening
healthy marriage.
Agenda, Scope, and Goals.
Led by MDRC in collaboration with Abt Associates, Child Trends, and Optimal Solutions Group, along with
leading experts on marriage, marital education programs, and services for low-income families, Supporting
Healthy Marriage is designed to inform program operators and policymakers of the most effective ways to help
couples strengthen and maintain healthy marriages. In particular, the project will measure the effectiveness
of programs that provide instruction and support to improve relationship skills. Programs will also include
links to services that may help low-income couples address barriers to healthy marriage, such as problems with
employment, health, or housing insecurity. In addition, they will include extended marriage education activities
that reinforce the relationship skills taught in the program. All programs will provide for safe disclosure of
domestic violence and access to the appropriate services in the community for families in which domestic violence
is disclosed.
Supporting Healthy Marriage is a nine-year project. Its primary goal is to provide reliable information about
the implementation and impacts of marriage education programs for low-income couples through a rigorous
research design. To accomplish this, the project will evaluate marriage education models that will be
modified to meet the needs of a diverse and economically disadvantaged population. Each site will serve
large numbers of participants, providing greater statistical power and the ability to examine the effects
of these programs for different types of families. Another important goal of the project will be to build a
firm knowledge base for practitioners about how these programs can be effectively implemented at a relatively
large scale.
Design, Sites, and Data Sources
The Supporting Healthy Marriage project has several stages. In the study design and program development
stage, research team members and consultants, in conjunction with the Administration for Children and
Families (ACF), decided upon the type of intervention that will be tested and the specific target groups
for the project. The goal was to place priority on program models that will help build knowledge about what
works for low-income couples and that local program operators express an interest in implementing at a large
scale.
In the current phase of work, we are providing technical assistance to eight emerging Supporting Healthy
Marriage evaluation sites selected by ACF to plan pilot programs. This technical assistance includes advice
on adaptations to existing curricula, effective recruitment strategies, and other aspects of implementing
the programs effectively. The lead agencies of the eight emerging Supporting Healthy Marriage sites are:
- University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
- Catholic Charities, Wichita, Kansas
- University Behavioral Associates, Bronx, New York
- Public Strategies, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Community Prevention Partnership, Reading, Pennsylvania
- Health and Human Services Commission, Austin, Texas
- Becoming Parents Program, Seattle, Washington
- Center for Human Services, Shoreline, Washington
Sites operating pilot programs that meet the guidelines of the research study will enter the research phase,
in which they will randomly assign interested couples to program and control groups. The research team will
collect data on both the implementation and the impacts of the program; analyze the data; and write reports
and other publications presenting the findings from the evaluation. The major data sources for the research
will include data on families’ characteristics when they enter the study; follow-up surveys measuring
outcomes for couples and their children; program records documenting couples’ participation in program
activities; and direct observation of program activities and interviews with program staff.
What's Next
The research team is working with eight emerging Supporting Healthy Marriage sites to plan their pilot programs.
For more information about the project visit the Supporting Healthy Marriage Web site and read our Program
Guidelines.
For More Information
For more information about this study, please contact Virginia Knox at MDRC (virginia.knox@mdrc.org; 212-340-8678).
Funder
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Partners
Abt Associates
Child Trends
Optimal Solutions Group
McFarland & Associates
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