This report focuses on the role of partners and spouses in the decision-making processes of social service clients. Using survey data, direct observation of couple interactions, and physiological measurement, findings suggest that the decisions of individuals receiving public...

This study evaluates the initial implementation of the Couples Employment (CE) project in Baltimore, Maryland, a voluntary intervention to simultaneously address employment, financial literacy, and relationship issues, to capitalize on the ways that success in each might affect the other....

Mathematica and other experts working with the BSF team are helping agencies plan targeted healthy marriage initiatives for unwed couples who are about to or who have just had a baby. These guidelines will help interested sponsors design and deliver program services. In addition, the guidelines...

Building Strong Families (BSF) is a large-scale demonstration and rigorous evaluation of marriage and relationship education programs that has now enrolled more than 5,000 low-income, romantically involved, unmarried couples. At enrollment, all couples were expecting or recently had a child...

A burgeoning literature suggests that marriage may have a wide range of benefits, including improvements in individuals' economic well-being and mental and physical health, as well as the well-being of their children. The authors have synthesized recent literature from rigorous research studies...

This article examines the impacts of Building Strong Families, a healthy marriage and relationship skills education program serving unmarried parents who were expecting or had recently had a baby. Results varied across sites, with one site having a pattern of positive effects (but no effect on...