The role of intact family childhood on women's earnings capacity: implications for evidence-based practices

This article examines the complexities of working with an evidence-based model to design intervention strategies benefiting individuals and families. It addresses the question, to what extent should the evidence of economic advantage for female children raised in two-parent families influence social work support for practices and policies that encourage marriage? The article reviews current research findings indicating benefits of two-parent families on children's well-being and contemporary policy prescriptions promoting marriage. It presents findings of the authors' study which considers the effects of being raised in an intact family on the economic future of young women. The evidence presented in the literature and found in our own study suggests that promotion of marriage may be a sound intervention strategy for parents interested in the economic advantages for their children later in life. For others, it may be the wrong choice based on women's personal circumstances. The association between early family structure and future well-being is further complicated by large gaps in the data on cultural and family diversity. Suggestions for social work practice are based on the synthesis of the evidence-based model and the values of the profession.