When children are surrounded with secure relationships and stimulating experiences, they draw from that environment to become confident, caring adults. Find related organizations and tips and resources for strengthening marriages.
Strengthening Marriage at a Policy Level
Child Welfare and Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education: A Research to Practice Brief
Schramm, Futris, & Bradley (2013)
Provides a summary of key research findings related to the child welfare field; describes how strengthening couple and co-parenting relationships encourages family stability, and consequently, child safety, permanence, and well-being; and explains how integrating healthy marriage and relationship education strategies into child welfare services can contribute to this.
Facilitating Forever: A Feasible Public Policy Agenda to Help Couples Form and Sustain Healthy Relationships and Enduring Marriages (PDF - 2,232 KB)
Hawkins & VanDenBerghe (2014)
Documents Federal and State policy experiments designed to help couples form and sustain healthy relationships and enduring marriages. It reviews the research to date on how effective these efforts have been, responds to legitimate concerns about them, and suggests how these policy efforts can be improved.
Five Years Later: Final Implementation Lessons from the Evaluation of Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Reentering Fathers and Their Partners
McKay, Lindquist, & Bir (2014)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, & RTI International
Shares findings from an evaluation of the Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Reentering Fathers and Their Partners (MFS-IP), a program that funded services to support families in which one parent was incarcerated or recently released. This brief recognizes and responds to the impact of incarceration on families and the crucial role of family support in reentry success.
Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Programs for Youth: An In-depth Study of Federally Funded Programs (PDF - 3,032 KB)
U.S. Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation; Child Trends (2017)
Summarizes findings from a study on the characteristics and implementation practices of youth-serving Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education programs. The report identifies gaps in knowledge about tailoring programs to the specific developmental and cultural needs of youth.
Family Formation and Family Structure
National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families
Provides a library search of materials related to the family unit, such as stability, cohabitation, dissolution, and more.
Supporting Healthy Marriages Among Fathers With Histories of Incarceration (PDF - 261 KB)
Cramer, Eisentstat, & Fontaine (2017)
U.S Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, & Urban Institute
Focuses on activities to strengthen relationships between fathers and their partners and to support healthy coparenting and family reunification as part of the Fatherhood Reentry program.
Strengthening Marriage at an Individual Level
Family and Relationships
Military One Source
Provides benefits information, tools, and resources on supporting the relationship between military personnel and their spouses.
A Guide to Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Programs for Hispanic Couples and Families (PDF - 1,137 KB)
Scott, Hickman, Brown, & Faccio (2015)
National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families & Child Trends
Reviews federally and nonfederally funded Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Programs serving Hispanic couples and fathers. The article includes a program guide accompanied by detailed profiles for each program and can be used to easily and quickly access information about them.
Marriage and Intimate Relationships
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science
Includes information on communication for couples, marriage preparation, and resources for stepfamilies.
National Healthy Marriage Resource Center
Helps individuals and couples who choose marriage gain the knowledge and skills necessary to build and sustain a healthy marriage.