Ozarks Marriage Matters

Would you like to support the work of OMM and Operation Us? Here are 4 simple things you can do.

• Subscribe to News & Notes and forward it to three other people
• Participate in a relationship education event like a workshop or Mystery Date Night
• Give a Relationship First Aid Kit to someone who could benefit from the information
• Display posters in your business or workplace

If you'd like to help with distribution of RFAKs or would like to hang posters at your workplace, give us a call at 417-823-3469.

According to a recent policy brief from the University of New Hampshire, the number of children in cohabiting couple households is increasing dramatically in rural communities. Whereas the percentage of children living in cohabiting households remained relatively stable (3-4%) in metropolitan areas from 1995 to 2006, the percentage of children in cohabiting households in rural America rose from 3% to 7% during that period.

Researchers speculate this trend may be, in part, due to economic pressure cohabiting parents feel. According to O’Hare, Manning, Porter and Lyons (2009), three clear patterns in poverty emerged for children living in cohabiting households in the U.S. in 2005-2006.