09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Emerging Findings from the Office of Family Assistance Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Grant Programs: A Review of Select Grantee Profiles and Promising Results

In September 2006, the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Family Assistance (OFA) awarded grants to 226 organizations designed to promote healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood. This report summarizes the service models, activities, and preliminary outcomes of a select group of Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood grantees that were identified as part of OFA’s […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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What Marriage Educators Should Know About Working with Asian American Couples and Individuals

Culture influences marriage and it is helpful for practitioners to understand this influence in order to offer culturally relevant marriage education services. Although Asian Americans make up a relatively small portion of the U.S. population (4.4 percent, Census, 2002), they are highly represented in interracial marriages. Other common characteristics in Asian American households include high […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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The Building Strong Families Project: Strengthening Unmarried Parents’ Relationships

This report discusses findings from an evaluation of eight organizations that implemented the Building Strong Families (BSF) program, a program designed to teach relationship skills to unmarried, romantically-involved couples who were expecting or had recently had a baby. For the evaluation, over 5,000 interested couples were randomly assigned to either a BSF group that could […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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What is the Healthy Marriage Field and What is a Healthy Marriage?

This brief explains the Healthy Marriage (HM) field that has its roots in marriage and relationship research and education in the 1950s and 1960s. The promotion of marriage and the reduction of out-of-wedlock childbearing as federal policy goals under the welfare reform legislation in 1996 is discussed, as well as the launch of the national […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Healthy Marriage and Relationship Programs: A Promising Strategy for Strengthening Families. NHMRC Discussion Paper

In the late 1990s, a handful of states began to fund healthy marriage and relationship (HMR) programs and initiatives intended as a promising new strategy for strengthening families and improving child well-being. The states were soon followed by the federal government, which launched a healthy marriage initiative in 2002. The following questions initially were raised […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Administration for Children and Families Healthy Marriage Initiative, 2002-2009. An Introductory Guide

Healthy marriage policy and programs are the ""new kid on the block"" in social policy. In the mid-90s several states and communities began to engage in marriage-related reforms and services designed to strengthen marriage and reduce divorce rates. In 2002, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) launched a Healthy Marriage Initiative and began funding […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Domestic Violence and Healthy Marriage & Relationships: What is the Connection?

This Collection by Topic is designed to help practitioners, administrators and advocates in the fields of Marriage and Relationship Education (MRE) and Domestic Violence (DV) – as well as those interested in these fields – understand and learn about research, strategies and tools to address domestic violence issues. This collection is based upon new research […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Services for Male Victims of Domestic Violence: A Fact Sheet

Healthy relationships are nonviolent and allow both men and women to express themselves without fear of being belittled, criticized or having their opinion diminished. The field of marriage education has looked to domestic violence experts to discern how to talk with couples about what is/is not healthy and what to watch for that could signal […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Facilitator Toolkit

This website provides resources for facilitators teaching marriage and relationship education classes. Links are given for information that addresses adult learning styles and dealing with difficult class participants, as well as for quizzes for assessing learning styles and teaching styles. Descriptions of three different types of class activities is provided, including activities designed to break […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Why Commitment Matters

Designed for marriage practitioners, this brief explains the importance of commitment in marriage. Strategies that can be shared with couples to enhance their commitment are listed and include: create a commitment statement, greet each other personally and physically each day, talk and stay connected about hopes, dreams, and stresses, spend both quality and quantity time […]

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