Project Page
Prepared for:
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
(ASPE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS)
This project is available on the Internet at:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/06/OMI/
Background
In the late 1990s the State of Oklahoma, recognizing the economic and social
consequences of its high rates of divorce and non-marital childbearing, undertook
an innovative strategy to strengthen families. At the direction of
the Governor, the state initiated an effort to reduce divorce and decrease
non-marital childbearing. This pioneering effort became the Oklahoma
Marriage Initiative (OMI), now the nation’s longest running and
most comprehensive set of programs to strengthen marriage. Although
many communities and a few states have begun activities to support marriage,
Oklahoma remains the only state committed to making marriage and relationship
education services accessible in every county in the state and to citizens
from all walks of life.
In 2005, ASPE contracted with Mathematica Policy Research (MPR) to conduct
a process evaluation of the OMI, focusing on three primary goals:
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To document and chronicle the conception, development, and implementation
of the initiative
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To analyze the OMI’s program strategy and understand as well as possible
the consequences of the implementation approaches taken
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To identify lessons and implications for both the continuation of the OMI
and the development of marriage initiatives in other states.
The OMI evaluation relied on multiple methods for collecting both qualitative
and quantitative data. Qualitative data were collected in the field
through five site visits, each conducted by two people and lasting up to
a week. Quantitative data recorded in the OMI management information
system were also analyzed to assess the extent of participation in OMI
activities.
Findings are reported in a series of research briefs and a comprehensive
final report. Publications available are:
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The Oklahoma Marriage Initiative: An Overview
of the Longest-Running Statewide Marriage Initiative in the U.S.,
Research Brief, December 2006.
This Brief provides an overview of the project.
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Starting Early: How the Oklahoma
Marriage Initiative Helps Schools Prepare Young People for Healthy
Marriages, Research Brief, June 2008
This Brief describes how the OMI implemented relationship and marriage education
classes in high schools across the state and analyzes the key factors that
made this implementation approach work.
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Putting Marriage on the Agenda: How
Oklahoma Laid the Foundation for Its Marriage Initiative, Research
Brief, July 2008.
This Brief describes how Oklahoma leaders developed an intervention strategy
of offering marriage education, identified a stable source of funding, and
established a public-private management structure.
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Using Research to Guide the Development of an
Evolving Statewide Initiative, Research Brief, July 2008.
This Brief discusses the OMI’s use of research to guide the development
and improvement of program services, assess progress, and disseminate information
to the community about marriage. The brief draws on findings from an in-depth
process evaluation.
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The Promise and Challenge of Using Volunteers
to Provide Community-Based Marriage Education, Research Brief,
December 2008.
While other briefs in this series focus on implementation of the OMI in public
agencies, this Brief focuses on one smaller piece of the overall
initiative: how the OMI has recruited and mobilized a volunteer
workforce — in the broader public and in the faith
community — to provide marriage education services in local
communities. It also highlights the role of large, regional one-day
community events in introducing and stimulating interest in OMI workshops.
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A Process Evaluation, Final
Report, December 2008.
This report presents the findings from an in-depth, multimethod process
evaluation of the OMI, the nation’s longest running and most comprehensive
set of programs to strengthen marriage and families. The report documents
the development and evolution of the initiative and its implementation in
the public and private sectors, and analyzes available program data to describe
the extent of implementation statewide. It also includes a
Research Brief that summarizes the full
report.
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Marriage and Relationship Skills Education
as a Way to Prepare Prisoners for Reintegration, Research Brief,
January 2009.
This Brief describes what led to the implementation of a program in marriage
and relationship skills in the prisons throughout the state, how it was
implemented, how participants have responded, and the potential implications
for replication.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is interested in knowing
whether readers of these publications found them useful and how they have
informed your work and interests on this topic. You are invited to
include comments on how you found out about the publication and whether it
contributed to considerations concerning policy implementation. Please
email your comments to pic@hhs.gov and include
the title of the publication in the subject line of your email.
If you want a printed copy of any of these reports, send the full title and
your contact information to pic@hhs.gov.
Thank you!
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Human Services Policy (HSP)
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ASPE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS)
Last Revised: 02/24/09
