Editor's note:  NOW does not support the healthy-marriage initiative.  See the highlighted quote below.

As the point man for President Bush's healthy-marriage initiative, Wade Horn acknowledges the federal government is poised to spend $300 million on a social experiment.

Armed with reports from a conservative think tank that link poverty to marital status, the administration has embraced what could be called the marriage trickle-down theory.

While critics and proponents debate the logic behind marriage-promotion programs, one thing seems certain: The experiment, if funded by Congress, is coming to Trenton.

The funds are embedded in a $17 billion federal welfare reauthorization bill approved by the House and awaiting action in the U.S. Senate.

In the realm of economics, the trickle-down theory presumes that lower tax rates actually increase tax revenues because of increased economic activity.

In the marriage-promotion landscape, it goes like this: If single mothers marry, or if couples choose to marry prior to having children, they and their children will be less likely to rely upon welfare.

Presumably, two adults working as a team have a better chance of pulling themselves and their children out of poverty, or avoiding it altogether, than does a single mother.

The theory will be put to the test here thanks to the Rev. Darrell L. Armstrong, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church. As co-founder of a coalition called New Jerseyans for Healthy Marriages, Children & Families, Armstrong hopes to snare federal grants for programs that will help individuals and couples form and sustain healthy relationships and marriages.

"Two incomes are better than one," Armstrong said. "There's an economic presumption, no doubt about it."  Armstrong, who describes himself as a Democrat, is diving into the world of marriage promotion knowing full-well that critics see the Bush initiative as rehashed, right-wing dogma and warmed-up leftovers from former Vice President Dan Quayle's sermons on family values.

"Back then, the subject of family values was couched in a right-wing, conservative, evangelical framework," Armstrong said. "Some might see this as a revisitation of the right-wing agenda of Quayle and the Rev. Jerry Falwell. But I'm a Democrat. When it comes to family values, I'm not going to let the conservatives hijack the debate."

Some of the statistics upon which Horn and other marriage promotion advocates rely have been compiled by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. A chart published by the organization shows that, on average, a child born to an unmarried mother who remains unmarried spends half of his or her childhood in poverty.

In contrast, a child born into a married family spends an average of 7 percent of his or her childhood in poverty.

But critics say the emphasis on marriage is misplaced.  Marriage doesn't prevent poverty, money does, said Sherry Leiwant, senior staff attorney at the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund.  The organization was created by the founders of the National Organization for Women but has since become fully independent.

Referring to $200 million in federal marriage-promotion money, Leiwant said, "We're totally opposed to it being included in this welfare bill. If the government is interested in this, don't single out poor women - make it available to everyone through another program."

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, which is the formal name for the federal welfare program, ought to focus on its core mission of providing cash assistance, child-care subsidies and educational and training programs, Leiwant said.

"Focus on helping the poor families get out of poverty," she said. "Forty to 45 percent of the families that are poor are married, so marriage is not the answer to poverty."

Her group worries that single mothers might feel coerced to marry an abusive man or remain married to such a spouse.

"We have some provisions in the Senate version saying that programs that get the marriage promotion money have to include an explanation in how they have considered the issue of domestic violence and the requirement that they consult with domestic violence experts," Leiwant said.-- -- -- Horn said the marriage promotion programs will be voluntary, not mandatory. As for domestic violence, it must never be ignored, he said.

"Some people should not get married," Horn said. "For instance, if there is evidence of domestic violence, these are people we'd discourage from marriage. My approach is `safety first' - get them out of that relationship."

The essence of the federal Community Healthy Marriage Initiative is equal access to the skills it takes to make a marriage work, Horn said.

"The president's goal is for healthy marriages, not just marriages," Horn said. "But there are no programs to help the couples create and sustain a healthy marriage."

He envisions coalitions such as Armstrong's offering workshops and programs on premarital education, conflict resolution and child rearing.

Conflict in a marriage is inevitable, Horn said. But knowing how to handle it often spells the difference between divorce or abuse and a healthy marriage.

"Those who know how to discuss problems and compromise tend to have healthy marriages," Horn said. "The good news is we can teach those skills. The bad news is low-income couples have less access to these skill-building services."

Armstrong said welfare benefits, such as cash assistance and child-care subsidies, appropriately focus on intervention. Marriage promotion is more about prevention, he said.

Horn said any number of coalitions in a state can apply for a share of the $100 million that would be available to community groups. Armstrong hopes to get the lion's share of New Jersey's allotment.

"We want to be the vehicle in New Jersey to apply for that money," Armstrong said. It could amount to $3 million, he said, based on the 3 percent share of other federal welfare funds New Jersey gets.

Another $100 million is available to state governments, only when the state matches the amount of the federal grant. Armstrong said his group will target some of that money as well.

When Armstrong announced the creation of the coalition in late October, several representatives from gay and lesbian organizations expressed disappointment that the programs would be geared only to heterosexuals, in part because homosexuals cannot marry in the United States.

Horn said states would be able to funnel money to organizations established to serve that population from the federal matching grant welfare program.

Shiloh Baptist Church on Calhoun Street has formed a non-profit Capital Corridor Community Development Corp. that has programs for needy children. Now, through the coalition, which will create and host marriage programs, Armstrong intends to serve the parents of many of those same children. He'll also seek referrals from the Mercer County Board of Social Services.