Lawmaker proposes end to funding of Marriage Initiative

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A Republican state senator in Oklahoma City is proposing to end funding for Oklahoma’s Marriage Initiative.

Sen. Kyle Loveless has filed a bill calling for the state Department of Human Services to end all functions related to the Marriage Initiative. The funding would be used instead for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program.

Loveless told the Tulsa World that he doesn’t think the Marriage Initiative makes sense and that marriage counseling should not be a governmental function. He says the initiative also duplicates services that are offered by the faith community.

The program was approved in 1999 as a way to reduce the divorce rate and later expanded to focus on family stability.

More than $74 million has been spent on the program.