A call for collaboration with spousal and family caregivers in the proposed Medicare Better Care, Lower Cost Act (S. 1932)
A letter and bill recommendations to Senators Wyden and Isakson, from senior health care and family systems professionals (clinicians, researchers and educators) with special interest and expertise in chronic illness. See also this blog post by Matt Martin, PhD., LMFT, Theodora Ooms, MSW and Jana Staton, PhD. : A vehicle to promote couple and family-centered, integrated […]
A vehicle to promote couple and family-centered, integrated care for chronically ill seniors
Also posted on The Collaborative Family Healthcare Association's website. It is seldom that family-centered health care professionals get an opportunity to directly influence national health care policy. Alerted by Theodora Ooms and Jana Staton, several members of CFHA recently saw an opening when Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) introduced the Better Care, Lower […]
Case Manager’s Toolkit
This toolkit is designed for community-based practitioners working in a case management setting with couples. It will help guide the worker to web-based resources and a wealth of information, products and materials that further support case managers in their work with couples in a one-on-one setting. Ultimately, our goal is to provide resources that: […]
A Family-Strengthening Program for Low-Income Families Final Impacts from the Supporting Healthy Marriage Evaluation
Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) was a yearlong voluntary marriage education program to help strengthen couples' relationships. SHM had small sustained positive effects on marital quality more than a year after the program ended but did not achieve its objectives of leading more couples to stay together or improving children’s well-being. MDRC SHM Overview Link
Facilitating Forever
High levels of divorce, cohabitation, and fragile unions, especially among the less educated in the United States, mean that unprecedented numbers of children are growing up in families without two parents in a healthy, stable relationship. This family instability poses increased risks to children’s well-being and healthy development. This report by Alan J. Hawkins, […]
Perspectives of Low-Income African-American and Latino Couples on Relationship Education
This paper presents findings from in-depth interviews with 16 couples who participated in the Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) program. Couples reported benefiting from SHM’s focus on communication and conflict management, but financial needs and lack of social supports placed stress on their relationships throughout their tenure in SHM. MDRC Overview Link
Outcomes of a Multi-Component Family Enrichment Project
Previous research has established that family enrichment programs work with a variety of populations (e.g., Hawkins, Stanley, Blanchard, & Albright, 2012). It is unclear if a multi-component program focusing on a variety of family outcomes can lead to lasting change. This study used growth modeling to examine effects of relationship (i.e., Within My Reach), parenting […]
Healthy Marriage Initiative Spending and U.S. Marriage & Divorce Rates, a State-level Analysis
Study Compares Healthy Marriage Initiative Spending to Marriage and Divorce Trends New research by the National Center for Family and Marriage Research (NCFMR) at Bowling Green State University looks at the relationship between spending from 2000-2011 on the federal Healthy Marriage Initiative (HMI) and marriage and divorce rates. During those years, the federal […]