The Healthy Marriage Initiative – What is it and who is it for?

One of the government funded programs, the Healthy Marriage Initiative, begun in 2005, provides funding of 150 million dollars a year for the promotion of healthy marriages and fatherhood. The program was prompted by Congress after finding in 1996 that marriage is the foundation of a successful society.

That study also found that marriage is an essential institution of a successful society which promotes the interests of children. The Healthy Marriage Initiative act encourages the States to strengthen marriages.

The Healthy Marriage Initiative’s aim is to help married couples gain greater access to marriage education services on a voluntary basis. These services are where they can acquire skills and knowledge needed to form and sustain a healthy marriage.

They define a healthy marriage as a mutually satisfying relationship that is beneficial to the husband and wife plus children, if there are any. It’s further defined as a relationship that is committed to ongoing growth. The marriage needs to utilize effective communication and conflict management to be successful.

Funds from the program may be used for competitive research and demonstration projects to test promising approaches to encourage healthy marriages. The program should also promote involved, committed, and responsible fatherhood by public and private entities.

The Healthy Marriage Initiative would also have funds to provide technical assistance to the States to be used for marriage education, marriage skills training, and public advertising. It should also be used for high school education on the value of marriage and mentoring programs.

Some of the goals of the initiative include an effort to increase the percentage of children who are raised by two parents in a healthy marriage. This seems to be declining in our society for various reasons. Also the program should help increase public awareness of the value of a healthy marriage using the skills and knowledge that can help couples form and sustain a healthy marriage.

Research has found that a healthy marriage encourages children and youth who are more likely to attend college and succeed academically. They would also be healthier physically and emotionally. Those are the youth that exhibit fewer behavioral problems in school. By all reasoning children from a healthy marriage should be less likely to be raised in poverty.

The findings indicate communities also benefit from a healthy marriage by having healthier and better educated citizens. This would cause the rates of domestic violence and general crime to drop. Healthy marriages and healthier and better educated citizens would reduce the rates of teenage pregnancy and juvenile delinquency. Further benefits for the community include higher rates of home ownership, higher property values and a decreased need for social services. Former President Bush had stated that the Healthy Marriage Initiative should ensure that every child can grow up in a safe and loving home. That’s highly wishful thinking, but let’s hope the Healthy Marriage Initiative fulfills its goal.