09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Operational Issues for Marriage Education Programs

For those who are new to workshop delivery, the logistics can demand equal time and preparation. A potential participant’s first impression of your program can be the deciding factor in their involvement. Regardless of how helpful your program may be; neglecting factors like comfort, convenience and environment can negatively impact perceptions of and participation in […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Collaborating Within State Government to Support Healthy Relationships: Tips for State Administrators

There is a large spectrum of government services and programs that can be included in healthy marriage programs. The natural and immediate thoughts go to the human services field; however, there are many other areas that offer opportunities for healthy marriage/relationship programs. These include corrections and criminal justice, juvenile justice, health programs (including Medicaid and […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Training Marriage Education Practitioners

Marriage educators are the face of your marriage and relationship education program. Proper training is critical to your program’s success. These individuals must have the knowledge and skills to appropriately respond to questions about the curriculum, identify unhealthy (and potentially violent) relationships, set boundaries, and effectively facilitate and/or present information. This is no small task, […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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A Win-Win Partnership: MRE and Child Support Enforcement

The nation’s Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program is a federal/state/tribal/local partnership to promote family self-sufficiency and child well-being. In most states, approximately half of all child support orders are established and enforced by a federal and state financed child support enforcement entity known as the IV-D program (from Title IV-D of the Social Security Act). […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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When an Incentive Isn’t an Incentive

An incentive, for purposes of this Tip Sheet, means a reward available for participating in a marriage education program. An incentive may have direct value, like a restaurant gift card, or may have an indirect value, like a certificate of completion for a free/reduced marriage license. Incentives can be for each couple, participant or just […]

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09 Jan
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Writing a Press Release for a Healthy Marriage Program

A press release is a common way to promote an upcoming event or share important news. These are especially important tools for publicly funded healthy relationship and marriage programs that may not have a large marketing budget but want to raise community awareness of the services they offer. This Tip Sheet provides a formatting guide […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Writing Radio PSAs

On-air radio spots can be an effective way to get the word out regarding upcoming healthy marriage events. This Tip Sheet will help you create your own public service announcement for radio and get the results you desire. Keep in mind that radio stations rarely run any spots longer than :30 second spots as you […]

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09 Jan
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Writing Television PSAs

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) or on-air TV spots are a great way to get the word out regarding your healthy marriage initiative. You can visually show people examples of a workshop and what marriage education “”looks like.”” However, television advertising is expensive. There are costs to produce an advertising campaign and to purchase air time. […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Delivering Relationship Education Services to Youth

Studies show that increasing numbers of teens from 1975 to 1995 felt that marriage and family life were “”extremely important”” to them. In 2005, most teens continued to feel favorably about marriage. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 90 percent of Americans will marry someday. Relationships as depicted in popular books and movies […]

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09 Jan
  • By timcooper
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Personal and Professional Boundaries for Marriage Educators

It only takes one visit to many marriage education classes to hear couples sing the praises of the program. Oftentimes, they’re engaged by the ability of the marriage educators to teach a compelling and healing message. But the boundary between the marriage educator and the participant has to remain clear in order for the program […]

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