Women's groups are turning their attention to Congress' growing interest in marriage. While both liberals and conservatives agree that strong, functional families are key for childhood development and seek to use welfare legislation as a tool to strengthen families, they differ greatly in their funding priorities . The 1996 reform bill instituted six provisions connecting marital status to allocation of public assistance funds . In many states, TANF assistance is withheld from single parents not enrolled in school or living with relatives.
Liberals also contest making the funding of abstinence programs a priority.
While no research to date has found any effect on pregnancy rates from participation in these abstinence programs, at least five states legislated abstinence-only programs in state sexual education curriculum. Women's organizations argue that diverting funds from programs essential to many poor women and their children to marriage promotion programs will only undermine conservatives' stated goal of promoting healthy families. They haven't a clue what to do. We do not have policies that are well-designed and proven effective to substantially improve marriage or substantially reduce teen childbearing. And as a result, states, given a choice between doing something effective, for example trying to support women to get into work, as opposed to spending money on programs that don't work, have chosen to help women into work.