Putting Marriage on the Agenda: How Oklahoma Laid the Foundation for Its Marriage Initiative. ASPE Research Brief

摘要

In 1999, Oklahoma began to consider how state government might play a role in strengthening families and marriages. To achieve their goals, the governor and key leaders first sought support for a statewide marriage initiative. In the first few years of the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative (OMI) various strategies were tested; some worked as anticipated and some that did not were revised or abandoned. Over time, OMI leaders developed an intervention strategy of offering marriage education, identified a stable source of funding, and established a public-private management structure. While relying on existing infrastructure and volunteers, OMI staff also began developing a service delivery system to make marriage education accessible to all Oklahomans.