This report summarizes the service models, activities, and preliminary outcomes of a select group of those grantees identified by JBA as part of an investigation into promising practices. Each grantee profile includes a project description, highlighted outcomes, and success stories.
The first part of the report profiles Healthy Marriage grantees:
Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative
Hispanic Active Relationships Project
Lasting Relationships
Marriage Works! Ohio
Enriching Marriages in Indiana Project
Family Expectations
Healthy Marriages/Strong Families
Project… Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is a parent involvement, school readiness program that helps parents prepare their three, four, and five year old children for success in school and beyond. This is a list of research reports that have been produced since the 2003 publication of Parents Making A Difference (a compilation of evaluation studies of the program), organized by primary focus on children, parents, home visitors or community.
Research in the last three decades has established a clear link between parental involvement and children's educational attainment. While most of what we know is based on mother-child interactions, increased attention has been paid to the specific influences fathers and other male caregivers have on their children's development. This paper briefly summarises the findings from the field of father involvement that also address the issue of children's literacy practices. Since the literature on father involvement and children's literacy outcomes is limited with significant knowledge gaps, the…
This brief offers recommendations from a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) State administrator who included marriage-related initiatives in the State's TANF budget. Recommendations for implementing marriage initiatives include build collective ownership, be sure people know how to utilize or apply a good idea or services, grow champions, and document success. The following three-step approach for developing a marriage initiative is described: understand it, package it, and grow it.
This brief offers recommendations from an Oklahoma State policymaker on managing a statewide Healthy Marriage Initiative. Information is provided on the development of the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative (OMI), the goals of the program, and the strategies used. Recommendations include: deliver evidence-based or research informed services; be prepared to change based on emerging research; include potential constructive skeptics from the beginning; temper your zeal for high productivity by acknowledging the realities of today's complex families; make a realistic assessment about the resources,…
Although both men and women are involved in marriage, relationship matters are often considered the woman's domain. For practitioners offering marriage and relationship education (MRE), this general belief can often make engaging men in your program a challenge. Information is relatively sparse with regard to how men can be engaged in marriage education. There is research on men and commitment, and there are relatively frequent pop culture references to men and marriage regarding infidelity or gender roles, but very few resources are available for married men to support their relationship.…
Adopting healthy and positive behaviors and avoiding risky ones are key developmental tasks of adolescence. Parents can play an important role in helping their adolescent children acquire or strengthen the behaviors, skills, attitudes, and motivation that promote physical and mental health and overall well-being. Recognizing this, a variety of programs and interventions engage parents in efforts to achieve one or more outcomes for their adolescents: academic achievement; a reduction in internalizing behaviors such as depression and anxiety, or in disruptive or delinquent behaviors; a…
Child health and well-being are intrinsically important and also contribute to a healthy, productive adolescence and adulthood. Parents can play an important role in helping their children acquire or strengthen the behaviors, skills, attitudes, and motivation that promote physical and mental health and overall well-being in childhood, adolescence and well into their adulthood. Acknowledging this, a variety of programs and interventions engage parents in efforts to achieve one or more outcomes for their children: academic achievement and attendance; a reduction in internalizing behaviours such…
This federally funded guide shares what is known about promising practices in healthy marriage and relationship (HMR) programs, especially those serving low-income and culturally diverse populations. It is intended to be helpful to a variety of audiences, including those who are interested in starting a new program, those already involved in running a program, and those who are evaluating or funding such programs. An introduction provides background information on the healthy marriage movement, challenges common to providing HMR services, and funding of HMR services. Chapter 2 provides…
This action plan reviews both federal and state barriers to identifying and serving children of incarcerated parents, and offers policy recommendations for the U.S. Congress and the Administration. The action plan is designed to help federal leaders improve policies for children of incarcerated parents, but also includes recommendations of value to states and local governments that can facilitate and complement federal initiatives and result in better responses to this population. (Author abstract)
