In order to foster progress in stabilizing and strengthening healthy marriages, the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network held a workshop entitled Developing a Marriage Initiative for Your State in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on September 17 and 18, 2002. Workshop participants included individuals primarily representing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and child support staffs from nine States. The purpose of this 2-day workshop was to create an interactive dialogue with States around appropriate efforts to develop and implement statewide healthy marriage initiatives.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network coordinated this presentation as part of the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Region VI Head Start Mid-Winter Leadership Conference in collaboration with the Region VI office. The conference featured regional representatives from both Head Start and various public assistance agencies. These agencies included the Administration for Children and Families, the Department of Labor, the Health Care Financing Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. The conference was sponsored by the ACF Dallas Region VI Office.