The Centre for New Black Leadership, the Executive Directors Association of OIC of America, and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternal organization, in a joint partnership with the Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services, convened a historical Roundtable discussion of the African-American Healthy Marriage Initiative (AAHMI). The Roundtable, held on Friday, August 1, 2003, brought together twenty-five influential individuals to discuss the current culture/state of marriage in the Black community and why marriage matters. A select group of professionals, from a variety of disciplines and institutions serving the Black community, the Roundtable participants were leaders from the faith community, research, academia, civic and community based organizations, business, media, entertainment and government.

Authored by Kristin A. Moore. This recent brief from Child Trends examines the concept of healthy marriage and the elements that, taken together, help define it. Drawing from available research studies and data, theoretical writings, and short papers commissioned from scholars in the field, the study identifies 10 critical ingredients of a healthy marriage. The brief is part of Child Trends' ongoing conceptual and methodological work on healthy marriage for research and intervention evaluation studies among low-income couples, funded by OPRE through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Family and Child Well-Being Research Network.

Authored by David J. Fein. This paper has been produced as part of the Supporting Healthy Evaluation being conducted by Abt Associates.

Authored by David J. Fein, Nancy R. Burstein, Greta G. Fein, and Laura D. Lindberg. This report has been produced by Abt Associates and is grounded in the recognition that interventions to promote healthy marriages and strengthen families with unmarried parents are most likely to succeed if they are based on a sound understanding of the determinants of union formation, stability, and quality. The Abt Associates study is a quantitative review of these factors.

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.

Authored by Jennifer Ehrle Macomber, Julie Murray, and Matthew Stagner. This Urban Institute report highlights key components of current marriage education programs, identifies opportunities and challenges for expanding services into other service delivery systems, and provides recommendations regarding evaluations of healthy marriage programs.

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.

This report presents the findings of a groundbreaking large-scale national study of mothers' beliefs and concerns. A representative sample of more than 2,000 mothers of children under the age of 18 were asked what they think and feel about mothering, with very interesting results.

This policy brief explores the question of creating policies to encourage marriage in terms of TANF. The general agreement is made that federal and state policies should not penalize marriage. It explores the effect of TANF program rules on family formation decisions.

From the National Governor's Association, Center for Best Practices, this article reviews marriage education programs across States, which seek to ultimately improve outcomes for families and children. Research shows that children raised in, two-parent homes have lower risk of both academic and behavioral issues and greater stability in their future relationships as adults. Reviewing current marriage education programs, NGA provides lessons learned for enhanced service delivery.