52006200 Families and Social Policy women and marriage

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5200/6200Families and Social Policywomen
and marriage
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Announcements

• Take home back last time
• Last time
• Teenage pregnancy
• guided discussionYuri Kida
• Today
• Nock, Stephen. 2005. Marriage as a public
  issue. The Future of Children. INTERNET
  http//www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/02_FOC_15-
  2_fall05_Nock.pdf
• Dion, Robin. 2005. Healthy Marriage programs
  Learning what works http//www.futureofchildren.o
  rg/usr_doc/08_FOC15-2_fall05_Dion.pdf
• Garfinkel McLanahan, 2003. CH 5 from OPK

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Why we care about marriage and policy
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Poverty is Related to Work and Family Structure
Source U.S. Census Bureau
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Poverty Rate for Children in Female-Headed and
Married-Couple Families, 1974-2000
36.4
27.9
5.3
4.7
Source U.S. Census Bureau
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The Impact of Changes in Family Structure on
Child Poverty Rates
Source Isabel Sawhill and Adam Thomas, Brookings
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Percent of Children Living with Two Natural,
Step, or Adoptive Parents
85.2
69.9
Source U.S. Census Bureau
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LETS GET MARRIED

• Discussion of Video
• http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/marr
  iage/
• Comments from viewers
• Implications for public policy

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What are the potential options?

• 1. Marriage Education/Marriage Strengthening
  Services
• Curricula to strengthen relationship,
  communication skills
• Information about importance of marriage
• 2. Marriageability Improvement Services
• Job training
• Mental health services
• Parenting skills
• 3. Change the way marriage and divorce works

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What are some of the issues in promoting
marriageBacklash!

• Alternatives to marriage project.
  www.unmarried.org
• Purpose of welfare should be to reduce poverty
  NOT increase marriage
• Respect privacy and freedom
• Help children and dependents of singles, dont
  punish them
• Affirm family diversity

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What does research say about the challenges?

• Complicated Relationships Among Many Low-Income
  Families
• Data from Fragile Families study on multiple
  partner fertility
• Unmarried New Mothers 43 have children with
  other fathers
• Unmarried New Fathers 44 have children with
  other mothers

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WHITE COUPLE, MARRIED EIGHT MONTHS COHABITED TWO
YEARS
WIFE
HUSBAND
MALE CHILD
MALE CHILD
FEMALE CHILD
(visitation all)
MALE CHILD
FEMALE CHILD
MALE CHILD
MALE CHILD
(visitation)
(visitation)
EX-HUSBAND
EX-PARNTER
EX-PARTNER
EX-WIFE
EX-PARNTER
FEMALE CHILD
MALE CHILD
MALE CHILD
CHILD 2
CHILD 1
CHILD 3
CHILD 4
CHILD 5
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What does research say about the challenges?

• How many couples are interested in marriage?
• Oklahoma Marriage Initiative Survey
• 77 of low-income people in relationships would
  consider participating in marriage promotion
  programs
• Fragile Families
• At birth, most unwed couples want to marry each
  other one year later 42 percent are no longer in
  a romantic relationship

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What does research say about the challenges?

• Existing marriage curricula developed for and
  tested on middle-class couples

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Challenges to Achieving Desired Outcomes

• Incidence of multiple partner fertility may mean
  creation of more step-parent families and may not
  substantially improve child well-being
• A number of studies suggest that, on some
  measures, children in married stepfamilies do not
  fare better than those in single parent or
  cohabiting households (e.g., Acs Nelson, 2003)
  or those living with unmarried biological parents
  (Hofferth 2003).

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Challenges to Achieving Desired Outcomes

• Quian and Lichter, 2005.
• found that out-of-wedlock childbearing tends to
  lead women to lower their standards when choosing
  a husband.
• 1980-1995 June Current Population Survey,
  conducted by the Census Bureau
• Increased likelihood of single mothers entering
  into mismatched marriages that lower the quality
  and success rate of the union, resulting in the
  woman's decreased potential to find a spouse with
  an equal or higher level of SES

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Announcements

• Lets get married
• http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/marr
  iage/
• Today
• Nock, Stephen. 2005. Marriage as a public
  issue. The Future of Children. INTERNET
  http//www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/02_FOC_15-
  2_fall05_Nock.pdf
• Dion, Robin. 2005. Healthy Marriage programs
  Learning what works http//www.futureofchildren.o
  rg/usr_doc/08_FOC15-2_fall05_Dion.pdf
• Garfinkel McLanahan, 2003. CH 5 from OPK

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Value of marriage
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Evidence of the benefits of marriageLinda Waite

• Healthy Behaviors
• Lower rates of problem drinking
• Who monitors the health behaviors?
• Mortality
• Risky behaviors
• Increasing material wellbeing

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Male mortality

• Source Lillard and Waite 1995

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Female Mortality
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Evidence of the benefits of marriageLinda Waite

• Partnered Sex
• Higher levels for marrieds, comparable to cohabs
• More emotional satisfaction
• Assets and Wealth
• Specialization of skills?

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What are some of the issues in promoting
marriageBacklash!

• Alternatives to marriage project.
  www.unmarried.org
• Purpose of welfare should be to reduce poverty
  NOT increase marriage
• Respect privacy and freedom
• Help children and dependents of singles, dont
  punish them
• Affirm family diversity

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Book Report Promises I can keep
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What does research say about the challenges?

• Complicated Relationships Among Many Low-Income
  Families
• Data from Fragile Families study on multiple
  partner fertility
• Unmarried New Mothers 43 have children with
  other fathers
• Unmarried New Fathers 44 have children with
  other mothers

26
WHITE COUPLE, MARRIED EIGHT MONTHS COHABITED TWO
YEARS
WIFE
HUSBAND
MALE CHILD
MALE CHILD
FEMALE CHILD
(visitation all)
MALE CHILD
FEMALE CHILD
MALE CHILD
MALE CHILD
(visitation)
(visitation)
EX-HUSBAND
EX-PARNTER
EX-PARTNER
EX-WIFE
EX-PARNTER
FEMALE CHILD
MALE CHILD
MALE CHILD
CHILD 2
CHILD 1
CHILD 3
CHILD 4
CHILD 5
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Special focus on Utah

• www.utahmarriage.org
• Roz mcgeemarriage preparation billkilled (pass
  around fact sheet)
• 1994Leavitt and Governor initiatives on families
  today (GIFT)marriage enrichment
• Gov commission on marriage1998
• 600k in tanf funds spent on
• Marriage week feb7-14/Gold medal marriages
  (couple married longest and exemplary marriages_
• Booklet building a successful marriage
• Website/Video
• Training for family life educators
• Statewide survey on marriage behavior
• Elective high school course
• Extension evaluation of news you can use

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Discussion Time
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Women, Marriage, and Policy

• Increase in unmarried births
• 1970 - 10.7 of all births were to unmarried
  women
• 2001 - 33.5 of all births were to unmarried
  women
• Poverty is more likely for children in
  single-parent families than two-parent families
• Government Interaction
• PRWORA
• Healthy Marriages Initiative

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PRWORA

• Welfare reform plan
• Emphasizes work rather than welfare
• Increased childcare funding so mothers can work
  instead of relying on welfare
• Child-support enforcement plans
• New-hire reporting system
• Uniform interstate child-support laws

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Healthy Marriage Initiative

• What it intends to do
• Provide education
• What a healthy marriage is
• Relationship skills
• Reduce disincentives to marry based on
  means-tested programs
• Research benefits of healthy marriages and
  education of healthy marriages

• What it does not intend to do
• Coerce anyone to marry or stay in an unhealthy
  relationship
• Stigmatize or limit divorce
• Limit support for single parents

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Garfinkel and Mclanahans Idea to Strengthen
Fragile Families

• Program would begin at birth and last 5 years
• New parents would be interviewed while still at
  the hospital to determine eligibility
• Eligibility
• First child
• Unmarried, but still romantically involved
• Joint income less than median income of married
  counterparts
• Both mother and father willing to participate

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Three Components to the Program

• 1. Assessment and referral service
• Assess human capital, social capital and
  eligibility of benefits and services
• Informed about available services for the next 5
  years
• 2. Marriage-friendly policies
• Services provided to mothers and fathers to
  improve human capital and economic security
• Child-support
• Required to establish paternity and child support
  order
• Obligations determined on percentage of fathers
  income

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Three Components to the Program

• 3. Relationship Programs
• PREP
• Workshops to learn and practice communication
  skills, role play and discuss issues
• PAP
• Meet in small groups to resolve personal issues,
  some topics predetermined, some reactive
• Mentor Program
• New parents are matched with older parents that
  act as role models

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The Design, Cost, and Rationale

• Conducted in 4 or 5 cities, new parents assigned
  to one of five treatment groups or control group
• Total cost over 5 years 150 to 250 million
• Rationale
• Children benefit from living in a two-parent
  family
• Improving quality of parents relationship, human
  capital and economic security increases childs
  well-being
• New, unmarried parents would benefit from this
  program
• High level of motivation and commitment among new
  unmarried parents

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Criticisms Discussion

• Some fathers are not good candidates for healthy
  marriages
• Children by different partners
• Should the government even be involved?
• Whose business is it anyway?
• What values are we promoting, and does the
  government have a place?
• Who does it effect?