Strong Families Module I - National Resource Center for Healthy

Transcription

Strong Relationships
Strong Families
Module I
Introduction to Healthy
Relationship Education Skills
for Stakeholders
Background
1
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What Is Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education?
2
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Why Does Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Matter?
2
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Benefits of Healthy Couple Relationships and Marriages
3
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Costs of Unhealthy Couple Relationships and Marriages
5
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Making the Case for Integration
6
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What Does Integration of Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Look Like?
7
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Integrating Healthy Relationship Education Skills into Social Services
10
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Conclusion
10
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Resources and Products from the National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families
11
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References
14
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Strong Relationships, Strong Families: Module I
Page i
National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families
Table of Contents
Page ii
Introduction to Healthy Relationship Education Skills for Stakeholders
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Background
The National Resource Center for Healthy
Marriage and Families promotes the value of
healthy marriage and relationship education
skills and encourages their integration into
safety-net service systems as a holistic approach
to strengthening families. A service of the Office
of Family Assistance, Administration for Children
and Families, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, the Resource Center offers
a variety of tools and resources designed to
educate interested stakeholders in the benefits
of integrating healthy marriage and relationship
education into existing social service delivery
systems. It also provides a range of training,
services, and support to interested State,
Local, and Tribal government agencies as they
work to integrate these healthy marriage and
relationship education skills into their existing
services to best support the families served in
their communities.
As part of this effort, the Resource Center
has developed the Strong Relationships,
Strong Families curriculum series to 1) educate
stakeholders on the importance of these skills
and 2) equip stakeholders to educate the
families they serve.
Module I: Introduction to Healthy Relationship
Education Skills for Stakeholders is designed to
accomplish the following:
• Educate safety-net service providers and
other stakeholders on the subject of healthy
marriage and relationship education skills;
• Discuss the research regarding the benefits
of these skills for families and importance of
integrating the skills into safety-net service
delivery systems; and
Module II: Integrating Healthy Relationship
Education Skills into Social Services is designed
to accomplish the following:
• Introduce seven key aspects of healthy marriages and committed relationships;
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• Discuss each aspect in relation to underlying
skills—such as communication, conflict
resolution, parenting, and financial literacy—
and their connection with families’ selfsufficiency and well-being; and
• Share techniques and tools, including the
use of conversation starters and handouts,
to equip safety-net stakeholders to integrate
as a holistic approach to strengthening the
families they serve.
While each module is designed to stand alone,
it is highly recommended that safety-net service
providers and other stakeholders participate in
Module I as a prerequisite to Module II.
This curriculum addresses the value of teaching
the basic skills needed to develop and maintain
healthy relationships as a foundation for
strengthening families and communities. By
strengthening relationships and families, these
skills support the goals of safety-net service
agencies working to move families toward selfsufficiency and improve their well-being.
Safety-net services refers to governmental
programs and agencies such as Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), child
support enforcement, child welfare, labor
and workforce services, Head Start, military
community and family services, education,
youth independent living, and Tribal services.
• Define levels of integration and how the
Resource Center can support integration
efforts.
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Module I:
What Is Healthy Marriage and
Relationship Education?
Just as an individual’s mental and physical
health can impact their family and relationships,
the well-being of couple relationships and
marriages are vital to the health and well-being
of individuals, children, families, and society
as a whole. Healthy marriage and relationship
education provides knowledge, skills, and ideas
that help individuals, couples, and families
establish and maintain healthy relationships
(Markman & Rhoades, 2012). Healthy marriage
and relationship education skills focus on
building and supplementing key interpersonal
skills such as communication and conflict
resolution, as well as critical skills like parenting
and financial management.
Healthy marriage and relationship education
can be offered to individuals (e.g., youth, single,
never-married, or divorced adults) seeking to
develop healthy relationships, to unmarried
couples as they build their relationship, and to
married couples looking to sustain an enduring
and healthy marriage. Importantly, healthy
marriage and relationship education involves
teaching skills and principles. It should not be
confused with, or used in place of, counseling or
therapy. Couples who experience a pattern of
ongoing relationship distress or are exposed to
intimate partner violence should be referred to a
trained clinician.
Considering family safety.
Healthy marriage and relationship education
generally includes skills and strategies for
healthy communicating and managing conflict
in a healthy, non-violent way. It can also build
and enhance critical skills like parenting and
financial education. Enhancing these skills can
reduce stress and improve coping skills for
families navigating the normal issues related to
parenting and finances.
Relationship issues that compromise family
safety can range from serious and pervasive
violence (including sexual abuse) to isolation,
constant put-downs, or continuous, but
non-physical conflict. As part of a holistic
approach to strengthening families, providers
must integrate a range of prevention and
intervention protocols into safety-net services
to equip individuals with the tools and skills
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Healthy Relationships
Are Non-Violent
Healthy marriage and relationship
education skills can prevent and reduce
household stress levels. But it’s not
a panacea, particularly for families
experiencing physical abuse, intimate
partner violence, or chronic neglect.
These cases may require the intervention
of trained domestic violence or family
safety experts.
to build and strengthen healthy relationships.
Providers can promote non-violent conflict
resolution, effective communication skills,
the ability to negotiate and adjust to stress,
belief in the partner’s right to autonomy,
shared decision-making, and trust to teach
participants how to communicate and resolve
conflict in a non-violent way (U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, 2008).
Why Does Healthy Marriage and
Relationship Education Matter?
In the natural life process, children learn
about relationships, parenting, and financial
management through observing relationships
within their own families growing up.
Unfortunately, family dysfunction can easily
distort or disrupt this process. Individuals
who do not learn from positive relationship or
parenting role models struggle to develop and
maintain healthy relationships for themselves or
model them for their own children.
People want healthy marriages and
relationships.
Many different types of people want to have a
healthy relationship for themselves and for their
children. Monitoring the Future, an annual survey
that began in 1975, shows that most youth
believe that a healthy marriage is extremely
important and want to be married in the future.
For example, in the 2010 results, 74.9% of high
school seniors surveyed said that “having a
good marriage and family life” is “extremely
important,” and 78.7% expected to get married
According to the National Survey of Family
Growth, the percentage of women who are
currently cohabiting rose from 3% in 1982 to 11%
in 2010. Premarital cohabitation contributed to
a delay in first marriage for both women and
men (Copen, Daniels, Vespa, & Mosher, 2012).
However, on average cohabiting couples are
twice as likely to break up as married couples.
One recent study found that 65% of
cohabitating parents—as compared to only
24% of married parents—will break off their
relationship by the time their children turn 12
(Kennedy & Bumpass, 2011). Mounting research
suggests that trends of increasing marital
and family instability and fragmentation are
negatively impacting children, adults, families,
and communities (Wilcox, Marquardt, Popenoe,
& Whitehead, 2011). However, as demographer
Andrew Cherlin (2009) noted, the probability
of adults getting married at some point in their
lifetime is still at 90%.
Unhealthy and unstable marriages and
families cost society billions.
Marital and familial instability, fragmentation,
and dysfunction correspond proportionately
with involvement of Federal, State, regional,
or Tribal safety-net services. Nationally, family
fragmentation due to divorce and unwed
childbearing costs U.S. taxpayers at least
$112 billion each year in Federal, State, and
Local government programs and foregone
tax revenues (Scafidi, 2008). Research shows
that marriage and relationship education can
have a positive impact on helping individuals
and families to establish healthy relationships
(Hawkins, Blanchard, Baldwin, & Fawcett,
2008; Hawkins & Fackrell, 2010). The benefits
of healthy relationships are numerous. Safetynet service providers can shift their limited
resources over time from crisis control and
intervention to prevention, in part, by integrating
healthy marriage and relationship education into
their services.
Benefits of Healthy Couple
Relationships and Marriages
Research shows that healthy marriages are
important to the health and well-being of adults,
children, families, and communities.
Healthy marriages, healthy children.
Children of adults who have healthy, stable
marriages are more likely to have better
physical and emotional health, better school
performance, fewer behavioral problems in
school, better relationships with their mothers
and fathers, lower likelihood of drug and alcohol
abuse, lower rates of teen pregnancy, and
decreased risk of divorcing when they marry
(Adler-Baeder, Shirer, & Bradford, 2007; Wilcox
et al., 2011).
Healthy marriages, healthy adults.
Adults who are in healthy marriages can
experience many benefits, such as better
physical and emotional health, greater
financial well-being, better relationships
with their children, and decreased risk of
drug and alcohol abuse (Adler-Baeder et al.,
2007). They also have lower rates of injury,
illness, and disability and have a reduced risk
of being either perpetrators or victims of
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(Bachman, Johnston, & O’Malley, 2010). However,
the past several decades have seen a dramatic
increase in the percentage of children living in
single, female-headed households. In 1950, only
6.3% of families were headed by a single parent
(usually a mother) compared to 23.9% in 2010
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). The rate of births to
unwed mothers has also increased from 18% in
1980 to 39% in 2006 in the general population
(Martin et al., 2009).
Why Healthy Marriages and Relationships Matter to
the Well-being of:
Children:
• Parents serve as role models for children’s interpersonal relationships. Children whose
parents engage in frequent conflict and have poor coping techniques are continuously
exposed to unhealthy relationships in their home environment. If children are not able to
envision a healthy relationship, they are more likely to have greater difficulty navigating
relationships in the future (Amato, 1996; Glenn & Kramer, 1987; Hetherington & Kelly,
2003; McLeod, 1991; Ross & Mirowsky, 1999; Whitton, Rhoades, Stanley, & Markman, 2008;
Wolfinger, 2005).
• On average, compared to youth who live in two-parent married families, those who live
in single-parent families are at greater risk for poor academic performance or dropout,
risky sexual behavior and pregnancy, and mental health and substance abuse problems.
They are also more likely to experience relationship problems and divorce themselves in
adulthood (Amato, 2010).
Older Youth:
• Direct experiences with romantic relationships often begin during the adolescent years
and are informed by models adolescents observe around them, including their own
parents’ relationships.
• Adolescents’ early experiences with romantic relationships tend to frame their outlook
on future relationships. Those who have more serious relationships in high school may
perceive a greater likelihood of getting married (Crissey, 2005).
• Although romantic relationship experiences during adolescence are normal and part
of healthy development, engaging in romantic relationships increases the potential for
adolescents to become sexually active and the likelihood of experiencing relationship
violence (Karney, Beckett, Collins, & Shaw, 2007).
• Integrating healthy marriage and relationship education into existing middle and high
school programs, such as health classes, has been shown to increase the likelihood
that adolescents will be prepared to make wise relationship decisions and to handle
relationship challenges effectively (Adler-Baeder et al., 2007).
Adults:
• Compared to single individuals and cohabiting couples, married couples on average
have a higher level of physical and psychological health as well as a lower mortality rate
(Amato, 2000; Schoenborn, 2004; Waite & Hughes, 1999).
• Married couples build more wealth on average than single or cohabitating couples (Hao,
1996; Lupton & Smith, 2003; Schmidt & Sevak, 2006; Wilmoth, 1998).
• Married women have a lower risk of being victims of domestic violence than cohabitating
or dating women (Stets & Straus, 1989; Wilson & Daly, 1992).
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Costs of Unhealthy Couple
Relationships and Marriages
Although marriages are often thought of
as private relationships, the consequences
of unhealthy marriages and couple and coparenting relationships are a public cost,
financially, psychologically, and emotionally.
Economic costs of
unstable relationships.
crime (Bachman, 1995; Goodwin, Hunt, Key,
& Samet, 1987; Horney, Osgood, & Marshall,
1995; Laub, Nagin, & Sampson, 1998; Pienta,
Hayward, & Jenkins, 2000; Sampson & Laub,
1993). Additionally, married women appear to
have a lower risk of being victims of domestic
violence than do cohabitating or dating women
(Brown & Bulanda, 2008; Jackson, 1996;
Kenney & McLanahan, 2006; Wooldredge &
Thistlethwaite, 2003).
Healthy marriages,
healthy communities.
In addition to the impact that marriage quality
has on individuals and couples, the health of
marriages and relationships has a significant
impact on society as a whole. For example, the
health of relationships matters to businesses
and employers. Employees in failing or difficult
relationships cost their employers money
through the decline of productivity and an
increase in health concerns such as stress and
anxiety, depression, and substance use (Turvey
& Olsen, 2006). However, adults in healthy
marriages are more likely to be involved in
their communities. This may include more
involvement in their churches and schools and
in providing volunteer time in the community
(Adler-Baeder et al., 2007).
These are a few of the many positive effects that
healthy marriages can have on children, families,
communities, and society as a whole. The
personal and fiscal costs to individuals, families,
and communities associated with unhealthy
Unstable relationships and marriages can
cost employers a great amount in loss of
productivity. Mueller (2005) found that the
average employee lost 168 hours of work time
the year following a divorce. Based on national
survey data, work loss—such as absenteeism,
reduction in productivity, and increased
healthcare costs related to marital distress—
cost U.S. businesses and industry an estimated
$6.8 billion per year (Turvey & Olsen, 2006).
Schramm (2006) noted that divorce alone costs
the Federal and State governments an estimated
$33.3 billion annually. The author also noted
that in Utah the direct cost of divorce for adults
was $188,429,336 in 2001, while the indirect
cost related to child welfare issues stemming
from divorce was an additional $6,380,778. This
research demonstrates that family fragmentation
has a large impact not only on individuals, but
on families and society as a whole.
Costs to child outcomes.
Children of parents who have a high level of
conflict generally use more aggressive and
“acting out” behaviors, experience higher
rates of depression, and have lower academic
achievement (Adler-Baeder et al., 2007; Wilcox
et al., 2011). Also, children living in single-parent
homes are at much greater risk for living in
poverty than children with married parents
(Cox, 2012). By contrast, children of stable,
committed, two-parent households are less
likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, have
sleep problems, or have other health problems
(Higginbotham, 2012).
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relationships and family instability reinforce
the value of integrating healthy marriage and
relationship education into services that already
positively impact public health, family safety,
and the economy.
One study found that if marriage rates were to
remain constant with the marriage rates in the
1970s, the number of children living in poverty
would decrease by 25% at the time of the study
(Haskins & Sawhill, 2009). Many times the
negativity in an unhealthy couple relationship
spills over into the parent-child relationship,
affecting the parent-child relationship as well as
child outcomes.
Costs to adult outcomes.
Adults who are in unstable marriages and
relationships are likely to have more physical
and mental health problems and are more
likely to consume more alcohol (Bachman,
Wadsworth, O’Malley, Johnston, & Schulenberg,
1997; Cunningham & Knoester, 2007; Duncan,
Wilkerson, & England, 2006; Miller-Tutzauer,
Leonard, & Windle, 1991; Simon, 2002). Adults
who are not married are also less likely to use
preventative health services and generally do
not live as long as their married counterparts
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
2000). Adults who are married are also less
likely to suffer from physical and psychological
health conditions (U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, 2004).
Health factors are not the only negative
outcomes. Women who are separated or
divorced have a much lower level of economic
well-being (Smock, Manning, & Gupta, 1999).
Households that include two adults generally
have a higher level economic well-being, while
unmarried adults have a lower level of economic
well-being (Cox, 2012).
Making the Case for Integration
Federally-funded marriage and relationship
education programs arose from increased
public concern that high rates of single parent
households and family instability placed
children at risk of poverty and a host of other
negative impacts. According to U.S. Census
Bureau (2007) data, between 1970 and 2005,
the percentage of children living in twoparent families dropped from 85% to 68%. The
passage of the Federal Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
(PRWORA) of 1996 and the Deficit Reduction
Act of 2005 represent Federal efforts to
address these concerns. With the introduction
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Why Healthy Marriages
and Relationships Matter to
Family Self-Sufficiency
• TANF programs provide temporary
assistance to needy families; the
program goals include encouraging
the formation and maintenance of
two-parent families in recognition that
two-parent families are less likely to be
needy families.
• Increasing the marriage rate decreases
the number of children who live in
poverty (Haskins & Sawhill, 2009).
• Doubling the number of couples who
participate in premarital education every
year could reduce the number of children
in poverty by 20% to 29% over seven to
eight years (Amato & Maynard, 2007).
• Marriage and relationship education can
teach co-parents how to work together
for the well-being of their children.
• A strained relationship between coparents is the primary reason why
many parents fail to pay child support
(U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, 2011).
of dedicated public funding, healthy marriage
and relationship education programs became
more readily available, particularly in low-income
communities where these programs have not
traditionally been offered. These programs
educated participants on the components of
healthy marriages and relationships, including
effective co-parenting, communication,
conflict resolution, financial literacy, and use of
interpersonal skills, which are as beneficial in the
workplace as they are in a marriage or personal
relationship.
Public investment in making marriage and
relationship education programs available
to low-income families had never been done
nationally, and was new to government and
private sector agencies that serve families.
Therefore, integrating healthy marriage
programming into existing social service
systems is one strategy for strengthening the
According to Repairing the U.S. Social Safety
Net, one of the challenges to integration of
services is the silo mentality (departments
within an agency that are not collaborating,
communicating, or working together). For
integration to occur there has to be culture
change within organizations—a paradigm
shift in the way organizations think about the
families they serve and in the way they chose
to serve them (Burt & Nightingale, 2010).
Strategies to promote healthy marriage and
relationships should include educating safetynet service providers and other stakeholders
on the importance of integration and the ease
with which these skills can be integrated to
compliment the services already provided as
part of holistic service provision that enhances
child safety, permanency, and well-being; family
self-sufficiency; and overall health and well-
being. Even when couples cannot work out their
differences and stay together, healthy marriage
and relationship education can help them be
cooperative co-parents in raising their children.
What Does Integration of Healthy
Marriage and Relationship
Education Look Like?
The level and type of integration of healthy
marriage and relationship education will
look different across stakeholder agencies
and situations depending on service delivery
systems and resources available. Some
stakeholders may only be able to offer
handouts during client visits or home visits,
while other stakeholders may be able to
create partnerships that help integrate healthy
marriage and relationship education workshops
or skill-based classes into the services they
offer families. Still other stakeholders may have
the capacity for a train-the-trainer model to
learn and then teach healthy marriage and
relationship education skills directly to the
couples, families, or individuals that they serve.
No matter the resources that are available,
integrating healthy marriage and relationship
education into safety-net services can
strengthen families and communities.
Levels of Integration
�
Level 1
Basic Engagement – e.g., place brochures for local healthy marriage
workshops in reception area; hand out healthy relationship tip sheets
to all clients.
Level 2
Partnerships – e.g., identify community partners for client referrals;
bring relationship education programming onsite for clients.
Level 3
Full Integration – e.g., have trained staff or volunteers offer relationship
education at career centers as part of job readiness programs, as foster
parent in-service training, or as workshops for co-parenting individuals.
Page 7
safety net for families who traditionally have not
had access or the personal resources to acquire
or strengthen these critical relationship skills.
Recent research in Repairing the U.S. Social
Safety Net supports this approach. It states,
“Integrated services are good for clients with
complex needs—they are more likely to get
what they need, in a timely manner and with
due regard for all the issues they are trying to
handle” (Burt & Nightingale, 2010).
Integration: Level 1 –
Basic Engagement.
Social service providers may choose to integrate
healthy marriage and relationship skills by
distributing information to colleagues and
clients regarding the importance of these skills
and how they support the overall strengthening
of families. Basic engagement is a great way to
begin a dialogue and a fairly low-cost approach
to increasing public awareness. Depending
upon the agency’s service delivery system, this
could include placing tip sheets or fact sheets
in a waiting area; handing them out during
client meetings or consultations; or handing
out tip or fact sheets to colleagues at in-service
training, staff meetings, community meetings, or
agency-sponsored town hall events. By sharing
this information, stakeholders are providing
participants with basic information and tools
they can use to strengthen their relationships
and families.
Integration: Level 2 – Partnerships.
Some stakeholders choose to identify and
develop partnerships with community agencies
that can teach these skills to participants.
Partners may accept referrals or even offer
workshops onsite for stakeholders with
adequate space. Stakeholder partnerships
that are properly planned and developed
maximize resources and minimize service gaps
to help couples and families have safe, healthy
relationships and move toward achieving selfsufficiency. Consider creating new or expanding
existing partnerships with schools, Cooperative
Extension offices, faith- or community-based
organizations, and other safety-net service
providers (e.g., domestic violence providers,
workforce development programs, child welfare
agencies). Partnerships can be beneficial to
building agency capacity by securing resources
including facilities, volunteers or staff, and
funding, as well as sharing ideas for
successful integration.
Integration: Level 3 – Full Integration.
Full integration incorporates a comprehensive
program into existing services, although
individual components may also be integrated
depending on the needs and existing strengths
of a community’s services. Full integration
involves training service providers and agency
staff or volunteers to teach healthy marriage
and relationship skills as part of existing
individualized services (e.g., during home visits
or client consultations) or offer group-based
programs (e.g., workshops or in-service training)
for individuals and families being served by
the safety-net provider agency. For example,
if home visits are the main form of contact
between the stakeholder and the participant,
staff can be trained to integrate healthy
marriage and relationship education into their
discussions with the families during the home
visits. If classes or workshops are already part
of a service delivery system, healthy marriage
and relationship education curricula could be
included to encourage participants to adopt and
strengthen these skills.
The Resource Center has many tip sheets, fact sheets, and other materials that safety-net
service providers can use and distribute freely.
Visit the website at www.HealthyMarriageAndFamilies.org and search our library of over 300
resources or contact us for technical assistance in locating resources appropriate to your
needs and audience.
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differing service delivery systems, families
will have multiple opportunities to learn
more about healthy marriage education and
relationship skills.
The chart that follows illustrates the levels of
integration and the Resource Center supports
available at each level.
Level 1: Basic Engagement
StakEhoLdEr CommitmEnt
VirtuaL rESourCE CEntEr
tEChniCaL a SSiStanCE
Information sharing with
colleagues and clients:
• Topical resources related to
healthy marriage education
skills.
• Guidance on resource
selection.
Developing partnerships that
provide healthy marriage
education skills:
• Tips, tools, and resources
related to developing and
sustaining partnerships.
• Refer clients to partner
agency.
• Potential partners such
as Cooperative Extension
specialists/agents, healthy
marriage grantees, etc.
• Guidance with partner
selection, collaboration
and strategies for service
delivery.
• Tip sheets or fact sheets for
colleagues.
• Brochures or handouts for
clients.
Level 2: Partnerships
• Partner brings workshops
onsite.
Level 3: Full integration
Incorporating healthy marriage
education skills into existing
programming or service
delivery systems. Skills may be
integrated as:
• Tips, tools, and resources
related to service delivery
strategies.
• Guidance regarding
curriculum selection and
strategies for service
delivery.
• Individual components such
as parenting or financial
literacy.
• A comprehensive healthy
marriage education program.
• Curriculum Inventory with
tips for selecting appropriate
curriculum.
• Strategic planning related to
integration.
• Virtual Training Center
includes curriculum modules
for integration.
Page 9
Level 3 is considered the deepest level of
integration, and it is not expected that every
agency will aspire to this level. Most social
service agencies are equipped for Level 1
or Level 2 integration. The overarching idea
is that, if each agency integrates to a level
that is feasible and practical based on their
Integrating Healthy
Relationship Education Skills
into Social Services
Module II of this series offers a researchbased curriculum adapted from the Healthy
Relationship and Marriage Education Training
curriculum, which was developed under a
grant (90CT0151) from the Children’s Bureau
in the United States Department of Health
and Human Services, Administration for
Children and Families, in partnership with
the National Extension Relationship and
Marriage Education Network. Module II covers
seven key aspects of healthy relationships
that are interconnected with self-sufficiency
and well-being. Each chapter includes
tips, techniques, and resources to equip
stakeholders to integrate healthy relationship
skills development into existing social services.
The seven chapters in Module II are:
• Chapter 1. Care for self: Being physically
and mentally healthy. Discusses the
importance of caring for one’s own mental
and physical well-being, including the
interconnection between self-care and
healthy relationships.
• Chapter 2. Getting to know partners
well. Emphasizes that an awareness and
understanding of one’s partner must be
maintained and grown through sustained
effort over time.
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• Chapter 3. Nurturing the relationship.
Focuses on devoting time and energy in
order to strengthen and grow a relationship.
• Chapter 4. Showing affection and respect.
Demonstrates strengths-based processes
that can help partners demonstrate care
towards each other.
• Chapter 5. Developing and maintaining
friendships. Highlights the need for
friendship between partners and the
importance of continually working to build
that friendship.
• Chapter 6. Dealing with differences in
healthy ways. Identifies healthy skills for
managing the conflict that is inevitable in
a relationship.
• Chapter 7. Engaging in a positive social
network. Stresses the benefits of having
a strong support network outside of
the relationship.
Conclusion
Research shows that the vast majority of men,
women, and youth want to be married; yet
family fragmentation has been on the rise for
decades. Research also conclusively links key
skills that create and sustain healthy marriages
to better work productivity and family stability.
At-risk couples and families can grow and
strengthen with the benefit of healthy marriage
and relationship education. Safety-net service
providers—those service providers and agencies
that already work to help families achieve
self-sufficiency and well-being—can integrate
healthy marriage and relationship education into
existing services in a variety of ways. No matter
which level of integration an agency chooses
to provide, integration of healthy relationship
education skills offers a more holistic approach
to strengthening families and improving the
lives of the individuals, children, families, and
communities being served.
Bradley, R. (2012). A win-win partnership: How Child Support Enforcement can benefit from healthy
marriage and relationship education. Fairfax, VA: National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and
Families (Product No. 037).
This tip sheet discusses the common goals shared by the national Child Support Enforcement (CSE)
Program and healthy marriage and relationship education. It also provides suggestions and resources
on how to integrate relationship education into CSE services in order to facilitate the agency’s
promotion of healthy family relationships.
Brotherson, S. (2012). Integrating marriage and relationship education in Head Start settings:
Building partnerships to strengthen children, families, and communities. Fairfax, VA: National
Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product No. 046).
This tip sheet outlines the usefulness of marriage and relationship education as a strategy for helping
families, possibilities for integrating such efforts in Head Start settings, and best practices to consider
when exploring partnerships between marriage and relationship education and Head Start.
Clayton, O., & Hopps, J.G. (2012). It’s not all about money: Non-financial ways non-custodial parents
can help their families. Fairfax, VA: National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families
(Product No. 036).
This fact sheet offers suggestions for ways that safety-net service providers can help non-custodial
parents explore non-financial mechanisms for participating in their children’s lives.
Clayton, O., & Hopps, J.G. (2012). Marriage and mental health: Coping with depression and other
problems. Fairfax, VA: National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product No. 041).
This fact sheet provides a brief, yet comprehensive, review of the relevant research on mental health
and offer strategies that safety-net service providers can use to assist couples dealing with mental
distress, especially depression.
Clayton, O., & Hopps, J.G. (2012). Strategies for helping couples build and manage assets. Fairfax,
VA: National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product No. 038).
�
This tip sheet highlights some of the mechanisms that low- and moderate-income couples can use to
build assets and begin the journey to becoming debt free.
�
Clayton, O., & Patton, T. (2012). Working with homeless couples. Fairfax, VA: National Resource
Center for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product No. 033).
�
This tip sheet is meant to increase awareness of the complex challenges faced by homeless individuals, couples, and families, as well as to offer tips for safety-net service providers who are
working to help them achieve self-sufficiency.
�
Cox, R. (2012). Integrating healthy marriage education into TANF programs. Fairfax, VA: National
�
This tip sheet provides information on how and why marriage and relationship education can be integrated into TANF programs to address the needs of economically disadvantaged families.
�
Please visit the Resource Center for more integration ideas and resources at
https://www. healthymarriageandfamilies.org
Page 11
Resources and Products from the National Resource Center for
Healthy Marriage and Families
Cox, R. (2012). Integrating healthy marriage education into TANF programs. National Resource
�
This research-to-practice brief discusses the research related to unwed childbirth, marriage, and relationship education, and then points to promising practices for the integration of healthy marriage
and relationship education into TANF as part of a comprehensive approach to addressing poverty. Harris, V.W. (2012). Healthy dating leads to healthy marriage. Fairfax, VA: National Resource Center
for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product No. 039).
�
This fact sheet presents many of the factors that youth and young adults, along with the safety-net service providers who work with them, need to be aware of in order to help build the healthy dating
friendships that can lead to healthy long-term marital friendships.
�
Higginbotham, B. (2012). Building strong parenting partnerships. Fairfax, VA: National Resource
�
This tip sheet reviews the concept of parenting styles, including two key elements of parenting: parental responsiveness (i.e., warmth or supportiveness) and parental demandingness (i.e., behavioral
control).
�
Higginbotham, B. (2012). Why marriage and relationship education matters to safety-net service
providers. Fairfax, VA: National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product No.
030).
This fact sheet provides information about how safety-net service providers can provide healthy
marriage and relationship education services in an effort to promote safety, stability, and selfsufficiency for families.
Hurt, T.R. (2012). Dispelling the myth: Black couples are not interested in marriage. Fairfax, VA:
National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product No. 031).
This fact sheet highlights the reality of seven common myths about black marriage. The aims in
doing so are twofold: (1) to provide accurate information concerning demographic trends in black
relationships among low-income persons, and (2) to share strategies safety-net service providers may
use to encourage their clients to participate in healthy marriage and relationship education programs.
Kerpelman, J. (2012). Why marriage and relationship education matters to youth. Fairfax, VA:
National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product No. 042).
This tip sheet discusses how marriage and relationship education can assist youth as they initiate
and manage their romantic relationships. It also provides helpful information for safety-net service
providers on selecting appropriate programs and resources, as well as on engaging youth during the
process.
Marshall, J.P. (2012). My relationship isn’t perfect – how can I help couples? Fairfax, VA: National
�
This tip sheet addresses how safety net service providers can effectively utilize marriage and relationship education to assist the children, couples, and families served. It also provides examples of
helpful strategies and addresses the importance of using research-based principles.
�
National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families. (2012). Guide to free and low-cost,
research-based healthy marriage and relationship education curricula for safety-net service
providers. Fairfax, VA: Author (Product No. 048).
This tool provides information on free and low-cost healthy marriage and relationship education
curricula that is research-based and suitable for integration into safety-net service delivery systems.
For the purposes of this review, “low-cost” is defined as costing less than $300.00 for facilitator
materials and up to 20 participants.
Page 12
This report synthesizes the facilitated discussions from the National Resource Center for Healthy
Marriage and Families Peer-to-Peer Networking Forum, held in Washington, DC, on July 18–19, 2012.
This report includes background information on healthy marriage and relationship education and
summarizes Forum discussions around implementation, challenges to integration, and opportunities
for collaboration and partnership. It also highlights tools and products available through the Resource
Center to support integration efforts.
Radunovich, H. L. (2012). Tips for understanding military couple relationships after deployment.
Fairfax, VA: National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product No. 027).
�
This tip sheet summarizes what is known about the couple relationships of service members after deployment and recommends ways in which safety-net service providers can offer support to them in maintaining successful couple relationships.
�
Schramm, D. (2012). Merging marriage and relationship education into child welfare services.
�
This tip sheet focuses on ways to merge healthy marriage and relationship education into child welfare services, focusing primarily on family preservation services, rather than unsafe situations where a child is removed.
�
Shoup Olsen, C. (2012). Providing healthy marriage education to clients with lower literacy skills.
�
This tip sheet is for safety-net service providers who are delivering or considering teaching marriage and relationship skills to individuals with lower literacy abilities.
�
Skogrand, L. (2012). Considering culture when integrating healthy marriage education skills. Fairfax,
VA: National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product No. 029).
�
This tip sheet provides information for safety-net service providers on culturally appropriate ways to integrate healthy marriage and relationship education concepts and skills into services so that clients are more likely to be receptive to the messages provided.
�
Teverovsky, M. (2012). Cultural collisions: Addressing service implications of the balance of power in
immigrant families. Fairfax, VA: National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product
No. 026).
This tip sheet explores ways that safety-net service providers can meet the diverse needs of
immigrant families while respecting traditional cultural roles.
Theodore, K., & Futris, T. (2012). Win-win partnerships: Public health and healthy marriage and
relationship education skills. Fairfax, VA: National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families
(Product No. 047).
This tip sheet reviews how marriage and relationship education can assist individuals in improving
their overall health and well-being and addresses ways that safety-net service providers can integrate
relationship education into existing public health services.
Wiley, A. (2012). Why good health matters in relationships. Fairfax, VA: National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families (Product No. 043).
�
This tip sheet provides suggestions to help safety-net service providers raise consciousness and help couples start off on the path to improving their health and wellbeing, benefitting individuals and promoting stability for couples and families.
�
Page 13
National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families. (2012). Promising practices and
lessons learned from the National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families Peer-to-Peer
Networking Forum. Fairfax, VA: Author (Product No. 032).
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Page 16
Used this module? Please tell us how.
Email: info@HealthyMarriageandFamilies.org
Reference product #049
www.HealthyMarriageandFamilies.org
Funding for this project was provided by the United States Department of Health and Human
Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant: 90FH0002. Any opinions, findings, and
conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do
not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families

Strong Families Module I - National Resource Center for Healthy

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