Children are greatly influenced by their family and social environment. The family is viewed as the child’s primary context for socialization, and the relationship between the adults in a family affects the well-being of children, positively or negatively. This CD is a compendium of materials that promote successful building of relationship skills and provide child welfare workers with a starting point for training staff or developing a program that supports healthy adult relationships.

The CD is divided into six segments. The first segment defines what a healthy marriage and relationship means and translates that into visible and teachable behaviors. Several documents were developed to train staff and clients in this area. The second segment includes an overview of program development in PowerPoint, literature summaries of promising practices in relationship education, and a companion literature summary detailing promising practices in relationship education for those in the child welfare system. The third segment introduces some of the basic communication and conflict resolution skills taught in most relationship/marriage education programs. It also includes information on establishing productive relationships with clientele. The fourth segment addresses couple assessment and includes a PowerPoint unit that offers a method for assessing couples while keeping on top of the rapidly emerging literature. The fifth segment looks at multicultural understanding. The final segment, geared towards clients, is a large group lesson, with small group breakout exercises, that promotes the development of a healthy support network and reviews some of the healthy relationship material. (Author abstract)