FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 28, 2004
Contact: Chris Downing
ACF Press Office (202) 401-9215
Comprehensive Framework for Healthy Marriage Education
HHS’ Administration for Children and Families has released a new paper -- entitled “A Comprehensive Framework for Marriage Education” -- designed to spark a more thorough, systematic and creative exploration of how marriage education can contribute to the goal of promoting healthy marriages in the United States.
The authors recommend that marriage educators expand their thinking with respect to content, intensity, method, timing, setting, targeting and delivery of services by examining questions such as: what is taught; what is the “dosage;” how is the information learned; when does it occur; where does it take place; who receives it; and how is it disseminated to the public?
The authors argue for:
- Elevating the goal of strengthening marriage to the status of a national public health priority.
- Making marriage-strengthening initiatives available in multiple settings to reach diverse populations.
- Developing marriage education into a vibrant social movement.
“Couples who wish to form and sustain a healthy marriage deserve support,” said Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., HHS assistant secretary for children and families. “This is why President Bush is requesting additional funding to help interested couples form and sustain healthy marriages. This report is an important step forward toward achieving the goal of providing the best possible marriage education to those interested in the benefits of forming and sustaining a healthy marriage.”
The 1996 welfare reform legislation included a mandate to promote and strengthen two-parent families. ACF has embarked on an initiative to help couples, who have chosen marriage for themselves, gain greater access to marriage education services, on a voluntary basis, where they can develop the skills and knowledge necessary to form and sustain a healthy marriage. The Bush Administration has proposed establishing $120 million annually for competitive state grant programs designed to open innovation for healthy marriage education, and $120 million annually for research, demonstrations and technical assistance for related programs.
“A Comprehensive Framework for Marriage Education” was co-authored by Professor Alan Hawkins, Ph.D., of Brigham Young University, while he was a visiting scholar in the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) at the Administration for Children and Families. Also contributing to the paper were Jason S. Carroll and Brian Willoughby with Brigham Young University, and William J. Doherty with the University of Minnesota.
The paper by Dr. Hawkins and co-authors can be read at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/comp_framework/comp_framework_title.html.
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