Estimating the cost of divorce can be difficult — both the emotional cost of broken hearts and broken families, and the economic cost of attorneys, moving, and running two households. But divorce also creates an economic strain on the state since statistically single-parent households rely more on government assistance.

A recent study conducted by an economist at Georgia State University and commissioned by four family-oriented policy and research groups found that divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing cost U.S. taxpayers more than $112 billion a year. Texas accounts for $3 billion of the study’s $112 billion national estimate.

Texas ranked third in money lost to fragmented families (California and New Y York ranked first and second). The study took into account the fiscal effects of family fragmentation and explored the consequences of divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing on federal, state and local government taxpayer-supported entitlement programs. Entitlement programs include food stamps, child welfare, housing assistance, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), Head Start, and the Women Infant and Children (WIC) program, among others. With almost 80,000 divorces, Texas ranked second in the country in its total number of divorces last year. Only Florida ranked higher.

Proposed State Solution

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission created the Twogether in Texas program as its solution to the growing divorce epidemic in the state and its answer to relieving Texas taxpayers of the financial burden placed on the state by the high divorce rate.

House Bill 2685, sponsored by state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, allowed for the creation of the program, which waives the 72-hour waiting period and state fee for couples seeking a marriage license if they undergo approved pre-marital counseling. The bill simultaneously doubled the $30 state marriage license fee to $60 for couples who choose not to participate in the program.

“I read how much the welfare system is costing county government; when you bust up families and start operating two households, you have more people in poverty,” Chisum said. “It falls to county government and state government.”

The bill requires counties to waive the $60 state fee for couples who successfully complete an approved counseling program, but counties may still charge up to $12 in county fees. The maximum combined charge to residents for a marriage license is $72.

“I was and am concerned with the 50 percent divorce rate in the state,” Chisum said. “In an effort to plug that hole, I said, perhaps we ought to educate people more about what’s expected of them during the marriage relationship, and I think it’ll be successful.”

The federally funded Twogether in Texas program offers couples free eight-hour pre-marital education courses through service providers located around the state. The program welcomes all service providers who register their curriculum with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. According to the new law, in order for curriculum to be approved, it “must include instruction in conflict management, communication skills and the key components of a successful marriage.”

The program is funded through federal funds from the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. The legislation authorizes the Twogether in Texas program to use up to 1 percent of the grant. Because it’s state-funded, pre-marital courses must be free of religious content for providers to receive program funding. Faith-based counseling can still qualify for the program; it just cannot receive the federal funding. Chisum believes the Twogether in Texas program will help improve marriages in Texas and is a crucial component of alleviating the state’s high divorce rate.

“It’s widely dispersed across the state and I’m real comfortable that we’re on the right track,” he said. “Eventually we’ll turn the numbers around, and we won’t have as many kids living in single-parent families.”

Chisum said he believes the program will reduce divorces and create strong marriages and families.

“Obviously if you avoid one divorce that’s a success,” Chisum said. “Part of the success is that some people who take the course decide marriage is not right. In the long run, if we’re successful in stopping the breaking up of a family, it’ll make a difference. When you have stable families, the crime rate comes down, the need for law enforcement comes down and CPS (Child Protective Services) hopefully will get worked out of a job.” Upon completion of an approved course, couples receive a Twogether in Texas certificate. They have up to a year to present the certificate to the county clerk and have both the $60 state fee and the 72-hour waiting period waived.

Clerks can verify certificates by logging into a secure area of the Twogether in Texas Web site, www.twogetherintexas.com, and entering the certificate number. Chisum said he has already received positive feedback from some county officials.

“Most of them are married family men and women anyway, and I’ve had a lot of comments that it’s about time somebody created something like this,” he said.

Practical Implementation

Annie Lane is a wedding minister in El Paso who specializes in military weddings. She’s also a service provider for the Twogether in Texas program. She said that although it’s not always a realistic goal, she would recommend all couples considering marriage participate in some kind of counseling. “I think it’s a great tool, especially through the Twogether in Texas program,” Lane said. “You learn how to communicate, share your feelings and see the other person’s point of view.”

Lane has already counseled several couples through the program. Any time a couple contacts her to perform a wedding ceremony, Lane informs them of the fee waiver available through the program.

“It’s super beneficial regarding the fee for military couples, that’s for sure,” she said. “They’re paying for everything on a pretty limited budget.”

Lane believes the program is helpful not only from a monetary standpoint, but with regard to building strong and lasting marriages. “Most of my curriculum focuses on communication, sharing feelings and all those other issues,” she said. “Those things you normally have to figure out as you go. It kind of gives them building blocks to go on. The curriculum gives examples and asks how each partner would feel, and how they relate to each other.”

The Health and Human Services Commission divided the state into 12 regions and subcontracted with private companies to provide each region with a regional intermediary who’s responsible for administering the program in that region. The Legacy Group administers the program in the Panhandle region, which has remote rural areas, like much of the state. Whereas many counties with large metro areas are using billboards to promote the program, in order to inform residents in more rural counties, the Legacy Group is advertising the program through public service announcements on television and radio.

“Our strategy is grassroots,” said Joe MacInnis, project director for the Legacy Group. “Historically, that’s the best way to get the word out, so we’re doing it multiple ways. Every county clerk has been well informed and educated on what we’re doing and has brochures to hand out to anyone who comes in the office. We also have posters being distributed in all public buildings, plus in coffee shops and businesses.”

Because each of the 12 regions has a different demographic, regional intermediaries have the responsibility to advertise the program in a way that’s the most effective in their communities. One challenge in the Panhandle has been identifying service providers in counties with small populations.

“We’re trying to do the best we can in those areas,” MacInnis said. “One way of reaching those counties is partnering with the county extension agents. We’re training them in a curriculum to help them be in a position to train couples in premarriage education.

County extension agents are so well in touch with their local communities.”

When the Legacy Group first contacted the county clerks in the region, some had concerns over the extra work the program would require.

“We heard skepticism over whether it would work at all, but that came from just a few clerks, and that attitude has changed drastically since then,” MacInnis said. The Legacy Group offers full support to the clerks in its region, and MacInnis sends regular communication to all the clerks in the area to keep them informed of any updates or changes. “Now there’s excitement overall and complete support and belief in this program,” he said. “They think that if this is done properly, it will be successful and they want to be a part of it.” Potter County, which has a population of around 120,000, is one of 41 counties in Region 1, the Legacy Group’s region. County Clerk Julie Smith said MacInnis gave Potter County an overview of the program before it began, and she doesn’t anticipate the county having any problems.

Out of 178 marriage license applications from Sept. 1 to Oct. 20, two couples brought in Twogether in Texas certificates, which the clerk’s office was able to verify. Potter County charges residents $66 for a marriage license without a certificate, which is reduced to Potter’s $6 fee when residents produce a certificate.

“We get people calling, and they usually ask, ‘What is the price of a marriage license?’” Smith said. “We’ve been trying to get the information out if we can, but most of the time people just come up here … most of them don’t know the cost, but they don’t bat an eye when we tell them it’s $66.”

For now, Smith said the program is so new that most people haven’t heard of it when they come to the clerk’s office, and by that time, couples are just ready to be married. She said most of them don’t want to wait the time it would take them to receive counseling.

But Smith anticipates that as program promotion increases, so will participation. And when a resident inquires about marriage in Potter County, the clerk’s office is promoting the program.

“I sure hope it’ll reduce divorces,” Smith said. “Marriage is an important part of my life, and anyone who says marriage is easy … well it is a struggle, and it would be nice to know some of those things beforehand. I believe some of the courses they’re teaching are on money management and that’s a huge thing in a marriage.”

MacInnis, from the Legacy Group, believes the program’s true value lies in the skills couples receive, and the program is teaching them how to positively interact in a marriage. “There are a majority of churches we’ve seen out there who’ve been training couples with maybe three, four or five hours worth of training, or maybe even more,” he said. “And with this partnership, they’re now sending people to our classes first. And after taking our eight-hour course, they’re going back to the church and finishing the three or four hours they’ve previously done. Now those couples are getting 12 hours of training.”

By utilizing the Twogether in Texas program and the additional training offered by clergy in his region, MacInnis said couples will be better equipped to handle the inevitable difficulties every marriage sustains.

“Studies show that with tools and the skills to be better communicators, these couples now will have a much better chance of being successful in their lifelong marriage,” he said. “That is really good.”

The marriage license fee change and Twogether in Texas program took effect Sept. 1.

Representative Chisum is working on companion legislation that would increase the required 60-day waiting period to a two-year waiting period for couples seeking a divorce on the grounds of insupportability, also called a “no-fault” divorce. The bill was introduced last session, but failed to pass. Chisum plans to reintroduce the bill in the 81st legislative session, which begins in January.