Implementing Healthy Marriage Programs for Unmarried Couples with Children Early Lessons from the Building Strong Families Project

As nonmarital childbearing has increased, so has concern for the attendant consequences. Mathematica’s evaluation of the Building Strong Families (BSF) project, the centerpiece of a broader policy strategy to support healthy marriage, is determining whether well-designed interventions can help interested, romantically involved, unwed parents to build stronger relationships and fulfill their aspirations for a healthy marriage if they choose to wed. This report documents early lessons from pilot demonstration sites in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Texas from early 2005 to early 2006. The report shows that unwed parents in the program are interested in marriage education programs that will help them build the necessary skills to form and sustain a healthy marriage. It also indicates that, overall, couples responded positively to the programs and valued the group format and learning from other couples’ experiences.