Strengthening Fragile Families Through Research and Practice

Almost one third of all children in the United States are born to unmarried parents. This figure is even higher among poor and minority populations. Because of their heightened risk for economic and social problems and family dissolution, disadvantaged, unmarried parents have been called “fragile families.” In 2002 the Bush administration announced its Healthy Marriage Initiative. Its purpose was to promote marriage, especially among low-income couples. In 2006 the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) allocated $150 million a year to marriage and fatherhood programs. However, the marriage education and research communities have paid little attention to fragile families. This article examines the findings from a groundbreaking new source of data called The Fragile Families and Child Well Being Study and the various programs now serving these families. The article concludes by suggesting empirically based interventions for assisting fragile families.