Family life and employment success are closely interrelated. The ability to maintain employment can be dependent upon family support, and families with two employed adults have increased economic stability and less dependence on government assistance programs. It is surprising, then, that traditional government policies and programs have overlooked these associations.

This edition of Policy Forum provides the policy context for joint employment and relationship-building programs, and offers an evaluation of a program using a couples approach to improve service delivery and self-sufficiency for vulnerable families. The authors draw heavily from a recent article in Review of Economics of the Household.