The Partners for Fragile Families (PFF) demonstration program intended to effect systems change, deliver appropriate and effective services, and improve outcomes for both parents and children in low-income families. By making lasting changes in the way public agencies and community organizations work with unmarried families, the initiative aimed to increase the capacity of young, economically disadvantaged fathers and mothers to become financial, emotional, and nurturing resources to their children and to reduce poverty and welfare dependence. The PFF demonstration, which built upon lessons…
The populations targeted by the Healthy Marriage Initiative and the Serious and Violent Offender Re-entry Initiative (SVORI) and other reentry programs can overlap considerably. The majority of incarcerated individuals are parents, and of these, roughly a quarter are married and 46 percent were living with their children and presumably their child's mother at the time of their arrest. Marital, cohabiting and parent-child relationships are at especially high risk of disruption when parents are involved in the criminal justice system. For those who want to continue their family relationships,…