This economic analysis of the Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) addresses three randomized trials carried out to examine long-term effects of the NFP on maternal, child, and family functioning. The analysis presented in this report provides information on both the persistence of home visitation program effects on government expenditures and on their ability to be reproduced in different settings. The authors analyzed government expenditures incurred by both comparison and treatment groups for three sites. Because of the differential timing of the intervention in the three sites, government expenditure data was analyzed for different periods in the lives of the study families. For Elmira families, government expenditures were analyzed for the period from the birth of the study child until the family was interviewed during the child’s 15th year. For Memphis, expenditures were analyzed for the period from the study child’s birth until the family was interviewed when the child was 4 ½. For Denver, the period analyzed was birth to 4 years. The study conducted is a net-cost analysis from the standpoint of government spending. (author abstract)

This research article uses data from the Fragile Families Study to analyze intergenerational family relationships and stability among married and unmarried parents within five years of a child’s birth. Authors find that positive relationships between fathers and maternal grandparents is associated with a higher likelihood of marriage. The results suggest the importance for understanding broad contexts, such as intergenerational family relationships, when understanding fragile families.

The number of children born to unmarried parents has been steadily increasing. In 2005, 37 percent of children were born to unmarried parents. Responding to these trends, the Federal government implemented the Healthy Marriage Initiative. This brief, from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, provides information on the relationship dynamics of unmarried couples who recently had a child, which is the target population form many healthy marriage programs.

This research brief from Child Trends offers an overview of a growing body of research on men’s pregnancy intentions. New research suggests that men’s pregnancy intentions and prenatal behaviors may have implications for fathers’ later involvement with their children. Utilizing data from the 9-month Resident Father Survey of the 2001 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), authors provide information on the effects of prenatal intentions and behaviors.

This report from the Office of Research, Planning, and Evaluation provides a conceptual framework for healthy marriage education intervention with low-income married step-couples based on research and practice lessons. Authors provide background data on divorce and remarriage, information on the characteristics of stepfamilies and trends in stepfamily prevalence, research findings on stepfamily dynamics, the quality of relationships among stepfamily couples and outcomes for children, and information learned from practitioners.

The number of children living in poverty has increased by a half million in one year. With recent work requirements for low-income parents, this study seeks to identify how much time children in low-income families spend with their parents and if the lack of time contributes to behavioral problems for these children.

Authored by Marcia Carlson of Columbia University, Sara McLanahan of Princeton University, Paula England of Stanford University, and Barbara Devaney of Mathematica Policy Research. This brief, the third in a series from the Building Strong Families (BSF) project, draws on Mathematica's survey for the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study on the characteristics and relationship patterns of unwed parents. The findings can help state and local agencies and other groups designing BSF programs gain a better understanding of their target population and develop interventions that respond to their needs and circumstances.

This article describes the HHS ACF effort to focus on programs that strengthen marriages, and ultimately, improve child well-being, and provides information on and links to recent studies that reflect the large-scale research agenda of the ACF.