The Building Strong Families evaluation is a multisite, random-assignment evaluation of a relationship skills education program for unmarried parents. From Mathematica Policy Research, this report evaluates the impact of a partnership between the Building Strong Families program and the Child Support Division of the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Researchers evaluate the partnership in terms of child support outcomes, including paternity establishment, child support orders, and child support payments.
This guide is intended for practitioners who are familiar with operating an MRE program for Hispanic families and are interested in exploring collaboration with government to expand the reach of their MRE program. It offers concrete strategies on 1) how to identify which areas of government are right for you to partner with and 2) how to develop relationshipswith policymakers. An overview of the key components of this process is highlighted and examples of collaborations with the social servicesystem are provided to illustrate potential areas forhealthy marriage and relationship integration.…
This position paper from the Fathers and Families Coalition of America (FFCA) recommends the proposed Fatherhood, Marriage, and Family Innovation (FMFI) funding be managed by a new office in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services called the Office of Fatherhood-Family Strengthening Assistance that would report directly to the Assistant Secretary. Additional recommendations are made, including: that the funding not go to State agencies but rather be available to community, non-profit and faith-based entities in open competitive grants; the services provided should be limited to those…
Government touches the lives of families in many ways. Because of the complexity of governmental organizations, community- and faith-based organizations may be reluctant to partner with government, especially to deliver marriage/relationship education services (MRE). This guide is intended for practitioners who are familiar with operating an MRE program and are interested in exploring collaboration with government to expand the reach of their MRE program. In addition, this guide offers concrete strategies on 1) how to identify which areas of government are right for you to partner with and 2…
In May 2009, the National Healthy Marriage Resource Center (NHMRC) and the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) co-sponsored the conference "Toward a Common Understanding: Domestic Violence Typologies and Implications for Healthy Marriage and Domestic Violence Programs" at the Airlie Conference Center in Warrenton, Virginia. The conference brought together a diverse set of 35 experts to critically examine the underlying research on different types of intimate partner violence (IPV) and consider their implications for practice. This guide summarizes the conference…
The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) sponsored a site exchange series during late spring and summer 2009. During these two- to three-day exchanges, a "host" grantee--working with OFA's technical assistance team --designed a site visit and learning session for a small group of visiting grantees. Site exchanges focused on different types of community-based partnerships that Healthy Marriage grantees have formed to better engage various high-priority populations such as couples, youth and young adults, and low-income families. This report (the final of 3 in the series) summarizes how grantees…
The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) sponsored a site exchange series during late spring and summer 2009. During these two- to three-day exchanges, a "host" grantee--working with OFA's technical assistance team --designed a site visit and learning session for a small group of visiting grantees. Site exchanges focused on different types of community-based partnerships that Healthy Marriage grantees have formed to better engage various high-priority populations such as couples, youth and young adults, and low-income families. In support of the demonstration grantees' efforts to strengthen…
The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) sponsored a site exchange series during late spring and summer 2009. During these two- to three-day exchanges, a "host" grantee--working with OFA's technical assistance team--designed a site visit and learning session for a small group of visiting grantees. Site exchanges focused on different types of community-based partnerships that Healthy Marriage grantees have formed to better engage various high-priority populations such as couples, youth and young adults, and low-income families. This report (2 of 3 in the series) summarizes the knowledge gained…
