Article: What is the Healthy Marriage Initiative?

From the maestro himself, Dr. Wade Horn:
(full article on in the comments)

I have... found it useful when discussing this initiative to begin by clarifying what the Healthy Marriage Initiative is not about. It is not, for example, about forcing anyone to marry or about turning the government into a federal dating service. Nor does it seek to implement policies that will trap anyone—or encourage anyone to stay--in an abusive relationship. Nor does it endeavor to promote marriage by withdrawing public supports for single-parents.

What the initiative is about is this: helping couples--who have chosen marriage for themselves--gain greater access to marriage education services, on a voluntary basis, where they can acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to form and sustain a healthy marriage. Yet the initiative is about more than marriage. We also believe that promoting healthy marriages represents a sound strategy for increasing the well-being of children. This is because the empirical data show that children, in general, who grow up in healthy, two-parent married households fare better that those who do not. They are less likely to drop out of school, suffer from depression, commit suicide, and engage in criminal or violent behavior.