Implementing healthy marriage programs for unmarried couples with children: Early lessons from the Building Strong Families project

The BSF project is both a demonstration and a rigorous evaluation. The evaluation will thoroughly analyze whether the intervention is successful in improving the outcomes of the couples and their children. Interested and eligible couples are randomly assigned to either the program group or to a control group. Program group couples are invited to participate in the BSF intervention; control group couples are free to receive whatever services may be available except the BSF program. Randomly assigning couples in this way eliminates the concern that differences between couples who choose to participate in the program and those who do not would generate differences in outcomes that would obscure the true effects of the program. This could happen, for example, if these couples had greater commitment or stability in their relationship compared to couples who did not express interest in the program. With random assignment, differences in outcomes are unbiased and can be attributed to the program.

An initial pilot stage offered seven local sites the opportunity to develop programs in accordance with the BSF model and make refinements based on early experiences. At the end of the pilot, sites were selected for the evaluation. To be selected, sites had to demonstrate that they could effectively implement the program model and recruit and retain a sufficient number of couples. All seven pilot sites qualified for the evaluation, although some conditions must still be fulfilled in some sites.

This report documents early lessons from the program development and pilot stages of the project. The information we draw on was gathered during the pilot period, which generally ran from February 2005 to February 2006. Since that time, all sites have expanded into full-scale operations, and changes may be occurring as a result of ongoing experience and technical assistance. Therefore, current practices may differ somewhat from what is reported here.

Although this report is based on a very early stage of the BSF project, it represents a policy-relevant advance in our understanding of the field of healthy marriage initiatives—particularly in terms of the strategies that hold promise for supporting low-income unwed couples as they strive to achieve their aspirations for a healthy marriage. The report does not analyze impacts, nor does it replace a full-scale implementation study, which will not be available for another year. It does, however, document the successes and challenges experienced by the BSF pilot sites and the approaches they took to address these challenges. It also sheds some light on the types of families that are attracted to the BSF program and on their responses to it. As such, the report offers lessons not only for federal policymakers, but also for other states, agencies, and program practitioners seeking to develop similar programs. (author abstract)