Government Coalition There is a general perception that government should not become involved in people's personal lives-and marriage is certainly a personal relationship. However, the sum of all marital relationships in our society does have an impact on us all, making any one couple's decision to marry a public relationship as well. By choosing to marry, certain public rights and expectations are accorded to the couple, including health insurance benefits, changes in income tax filing status, responsibility for accumulated wealth and debt, and the raising of children. Often, government agencies become involved in the marriage in some way when one of these rights or expectations is not upheld-Medicaid when health insurance benefits are not sufficient; child welfare when one or both parents are absent or abusive. In conversations with national marriage experts, representatives of the Marriage Initiative have learned that the area of least success for many marriage movements in other parts of the country has been within government arenas. Fortunately, the Marriage Initiative has experienced positive leadership and support from the government agencies and employees with which it has had contact. The commitment of Oklahoma Department of Human Services Director Howard Hendrick has been invaluable, as he has led by example in viewing the OMI as a proactive approach-offering support and assistance to couples before and during the marriage to strengthen the relationship, and provide skills training to deal with difficult situations they will encounter during the marriage-that could potentially decrease the state's financial support to programs designed to "pull people back up." The OMI has forged partnerships with numerous government agencies to ensure that services were offered equally to all citizens. Some of our partners include: Also visit these pages:
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