Marriage initiative strives to improve relationships

In 1999, Keating launched the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative to strengthen marriage and reduce the divorce rate in the state. The initial impetus was an economic study linking various negative social indicators - including high divorce rates - to the state’s poorly performing economy.

“The governor’s decision to help strengthen marriages and reduce divorce is reinforced by the consensus of social science research, which finds that children reared in single-parent families are at higher risk of poverty, having difficulties in the labor market and becoming teen parents and high school dropouts,” said Howard Hendrick, cabinet secretary for Heath and Human Services and director of the Department of Human Services in an introduction OMI. “Generally, children do better when reared by their married parents, but the quality of the parents’ relationship matters. Therefore, helping more couples develop and maintain stable and healthy marriages is sound public policy.”

Read the full article: Marriage Initiative strives to improve relationships