Men and women who are incarcerated face substantial challenges to maintaining their family relationships, both intimate and parenting. These difficulties continue as they reenter into society after their incarceration. Absence from or low levels of contact between partners due to incarceration places strain on marriages and serious romantic relationships. Parental absence due to incarceration can also imperil the well-being of children (if the parent-child relationship was not abusive). Studies show that incarcerated individuals with closer family relationships have lower recidivism rates,…
Marriage and relationship education (MRE), HeadStart and Early Head Start are all educationalprograms that help strengthen families and promotechild well-being. Recognizing this, the National HeadStart Association and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) created a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) in 2008 to provide a framework for collaboration between ACF Healthy Marriage/Responsible Fatherhood Initiatives and Head Start to provide interested families with MRE services. This Tip Sheet will provide a brief overview of how the two programs, working together, can benefit families…
Many social service programs share common goals although they may vary widely by funding stream, service delivery strategy and/or target population. The marriage and relationship education (MRE) field and the child welfare system both strive to strengthen families and improve child outcomes. MRE practitioners may want to consider building partnerships with child protective services (CPS) to offer MRE as part of an intervention for families whose children may be at risk for abuse and/or neglect. This tip sheet provides advice on how to engage CPS in providing MRE to families. (Author abstract…
Marriage and relationship education (MRE) andresponsible fatherhood (RF) programs share the goalof improving the lives of children by strengtheningthe interpersonal skills of their parents. The origins of these program areas are distinct: MRE beganprimarily as a way to prepare couples for marriagewhereas RF was originally designed to prepareunmarried fathers to reconnect with their childrenand families. However, a common purpose has emerged between the two fields. According to the U.S. Census, more than 2.5 million children areraised in families without their biological father. This statistic…
This factsheet explores the relationship between the characteristics of men's families of origin and their own marital relationships and involvement with their own children. It reviews findings from research studies that indicate both the current state of men's marriages and the nature of their involvement in their children's lives may be shaped to a significant degree by the relationship and parenting models fathers experienced in their families of origin. Studies suggest that characteristics of the family of origin influence the timing of men's transitions into fatherhood; marital…
Brief
This policy brief, published by the Brookings Institute, presents major findings and policy recommendations based on results from The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The study shows that a large number of parents are not married when they have a child, which contributes to problems with parenting, couples' relationships, and children's well-being. Also, many unwed parents may be in close relationships when children are born, but few of these relationships last. Unwed parents often have characteristics (i.e., low education, poor health) that make finding employment, forming stable…
Brief
This tip sheet offers six ways that parents can positively influence their teens' daily decisionmaking, impact healthy behaviors, and help them to become responsible adults. (Author abstract modified)
