OMI MarriageOK! Magazine

OKLAHOMA CITY (August 6, 2009) — Oklahoma couples have a new tool to help them start their marriages strong.

The Oklahoma Marriage Initiative, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and county court clerks throughout the state have partnered to provide couples with “Marriage OK!: A Guide for Marrying Couples.”

The magazine is filled with large four-color pictures and welcoming graphics. The short, entertaining articles introduce couples to the tools and skills essential to forming a healthy, lifelong marriage. The magazine also includes numerous quizzes and charts to help couples think through and discuss expectations and common relationship challenges.

“It is important for couples to begin their marriage with a strong understanding of each other and of the life they want to live together,” said Mary Myrick, president and founder of Public Strategies, which operates and manages the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative. “The magazines will equip couples with tools to help them communicate better now and in the future.”

County court clerks will distribute the free magazines to couples applying for Oklahoma marriage licenses.

“It is my pleasure to be able to offer this wonderful resource to the people who come to the Oklahoma County Courthouse for a marriage license,” Oklahoma County Court Clerk Patricia Presley said. “I have learned a lot from it myself.”

The magazine continues the ongoing effort of OMI and DHS to help strengthen relationship skills of Oklahoma couples.

“Our goal is to have stronger families,” said Howard Hendrick, director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. “We know that stronger familes make a brighter future for Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Marriage Initiative is a public/private partnership focused on providing access to marriage and relationship education services to couples and individuals throughout the state. The OMI is dedicated to strengthening families and helping couples who choose marriage for themselves gain access to services and supports to help them build and sustain healthy marriages.

The program has served more than 190,000 Oklahomans in a variety of programs for diverse audiences including engaged couples, stepfamilies, college students, high school students, prison inmates, youth offenders and their parents, single heads of household receiving public assistance, adoptive and foster coupes and families with children with specific needs.