OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- Kathy Edin, Ph.D., will open a dialog on why families have children but choose not to commit to marriage at noon, Dec. 8 at the Oklahoma History Center, 2401 N. Laird Ave., Oklahoma City.

Through research on poverty and family relationships, Edin will provide insight on why many poor families choose not to marry. She will also discuss the basis for the Family Expectations program currently being utilized by the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative.

Edin is a professor of public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She received her doctoral degree in sociology from Northwestern University. Her research focuses on urban poverty and family life, social welfare, housing policy, child support, non-marital childbearing and the economic lives of the poor. Her recent publications include “Unmarried Couples with Children” and “Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage.”

All lectures are sponsored by Oklahoma Department of Human Services Office of Planning, Research and Statistics and University of Oklahoma Center for Public Management. In addition, this lecture is sponsored by Oklahoma Marriage Initiative and OKDHS Family Support Services Division. This yearlong series provides thought-provoking presentations by experts in their fields on Oklahoma’s emerging policy issues, trends and best practices. The lectures are free and open to the public.

For additional information, visit http://oucpm.org/lectureseries or contact Cecilia Tannehill at (405) 521-3552.

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