Wisconsin couples to get marriage pamphlet

Item from the Smart Marriages Archive, reproduced in the Divorce Statistics Collectio n

January 29, 1999

County to give couples marriage tips

Those who obtain licenses will get pamphlet as part of effort to reduce
divorce rate

By Lori Holly of the Milwaulkee Journal Sentinel staff

January 29, 1999

Waukesha County may be the first county in the state to counsel couples
on the secrets of building a healthy marriage when it begins distributing
a pamphlet to couples who obtain marriage licenses.

The pamphlet will be produced by the University of Wisconsin Extension
and is the result of an effort by county Supervisor Sandra Janisch of
Ottawa, who for years has wanted county government to actively try to
reduce the divorce rate.

"I see this catching on and eventually the state taking it on," Janisch
told the County Board's Health and Human Services Committee, which
unanimously endorsed the concept Thursday.

Janisch said the pamphlet, which advises couples to "trust each other"
and "communicate openly," may be more important than another pamphlet
aimed at educating women about the dangers of drinking and smoking during
pregnancy. County clerks are required by the state to distribute that
literature to couples obtaining marriage licenses.

Dorothy Ebert, president of the Wisconsin County Clerks Association, said
that while similar publications are available through UW Extension
offices, she is not aware of any counties that distribute them to couples
seeking marriage licenses.

Janisch acknowledged that the information in the new plain blue pamphlet
is basic.

"I wanted it to be kept simple," she said. "I didn't want pictures of
people in it and everything. I feel satisfied with what they have put in
here.

"If it saves one marriage, then it's worth it."

In 1998, 2,266 couples applied for marriage licenses in Waukesha County,
Janisch said. According to the clerk of courts office, 1,352 couples
filed for divorce here last year.

Janisch is part of a Marriage Savers movement, started by author and
columnist Michael McManus. The movement promotes community marriage
covenants, an idea that is getting more attention throughout the state.

The covenants are guidelines signed by clergy of all denominations
throughout a community aimed at cutting divorce rates. The covenants
require couples to go through intensive counseling before marriage and
follow-up counseling six months or a year after the wedding.

McManus spoke to the state Assembly Thursday as part of a speakers series
arranged by Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield). Steve
Baas, Jensen's communications director, said Jensen invited McManus to
speak because "he has been reading a lot about this and has seen positive
success stories from McManus' group."

"Scott looks at it from a practical standpoint," Baas said. Many social
problems the Legislature struggles to find solutions for "are the result
of broken homes," he said.

Clergy in both Fond du Lac and Eau Claire have adopted community marriage
covenants based on the Marriage Savers movement.

In addition, a covenant marriage bill proposed by Rep. Carol Owens
(R-Oshkosh) is before the Legislature, Baas said.

The bill would create an option of covenant marriage for couples "who
want to waive some of the escape clauses that our no-fault law has in
it," he said.

Baas said McManus supports the concept but was not in Madison to push the
bill.

Janisch's pamphlet is the latest in a series of efforts she has pushed in
Waukesha County.

Last year, Janisch failed to win support for a proposal that would have
required ministers to be notified when couples they married filed for
divorce.

Janisch said the notification would have given clergy a chance to
intervene in troubled marriages, possibly saving them and reducing the
number of child-support cases administered by the county.

The County Board killed the proposal after the county's attorney said the
county had no legal authority to require the courts to make such
notifications.

Supervisors said at the time that they did not want to "legislate
morality" and that it was up to the churches, not government, to help
couples contemplating divorce.

But members of the Health and Human Services Committee Thursday said they
did not see a problem with the county distributing the pamphlets.

"I don't have a problem with this," said Supervisor Duane Paulson of
Waukesha. "You get a whole brochure when you go get a hunting license."

Supervisor Jack Arndt of Delafield told Janisch: "I like your idea. It
certainly can't hurt. It's a good seed to plant."

But Arndt and others cautioned that the production of the brochure and
decisions about its content should be left strictly to the UW Extension
office.

"I wouldn't want this committee to get into developing what should go
into this," Arndt said.

Supervisor Sandra Wolf wondered how many couples would read the pamphlet.

"They're going to toss this," she said holding the simple blue pamphlet.
"They're not going to have it when they need it."

Marcia Jante, executive director of the UW Extension, said staff members
compiled the information in the pamphlet from various sources, including
similar brochures published by other university extensions around the
country.

She said her office is willing to print the brochures, which she
estimated would cost about $40 per year.

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