This website offers a range of free tools couples can use to strengthen their relationships. TANF programs can share them with participants who are in committed relationships or working toward family stability. These tools can help support communication, trust, and connection, which are often tied to broader economic and social wellbeing for families.

This toolkit from National Marriage Week offers free downloadable materials to help communities highlight healthy, committed relationships. It includes promotional graphics, sample social media posts, print ads, radio scripts, and a guide with ideas for community events and awareness building activities. These resources can be a helpful addition for programs that incorporate relationship skills, family support, or partner engagement into case management or workshops, giving staff approachable tools to encourage strong interpersonal connections that contribute to family stability and economic wellbeing.

This is the final video in a three-part series that aims to help Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs incorporate communication skill-building techniques from Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs that can promote the maintenance of two-parent families and improve job readiness, skills-building, and employment outcomes among TANF participants.

This video explains how case managers can use Speaker-Listener Technique with TANF participants, as well as how case managers can help TANF participants develop their own skills with this technique.

This is the second video in a three-part series that aims to help Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs incorporate communication skill-building techniques from Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs that can promote the maintenance of two-parent families and improve job readiness, skills-building, and employment outcomes among TANF participants.

This video highlights one simple strategy—called relationship agreements—that TANF, program service staff could use with families, and families can use together to turn tension into teamwork.

This is the first video in a three-part series that aims to help Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs incorporate communication skill-building techniques from Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs that can promote the maintenance of two-parent families and improve job readiness, skills-building, and employment outcomes among TANF participants.

This video explores how one intentional strategy, active listening, can transform conversations between TANF program participants and their case managers, their families, and their employers or prospective employers—leading to better participant and program outcomes.

Without enough diapers, children are at risk of serious health problems like rashes and infections, and parents may miss work or school, undermining family stability and economic mobility. Federal programs that help families purchase food and nutrition supports and provide cash assistance in times of need, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), do not cover diapers, requiring parents to pay high out-of-pocket prices. This Urban Institute factsheet sheds light on the widespread and often hidden crisis of diaper insecurity, its impact on family well-being, and the gaps in public support.

On September 30, 2025, the Administration for Children and Families announced over $100 million in Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) grants to 109 organizations across 38 states nationwide. This investment represents the Trump Administration’s commitment to fostering healthy marriages, stabilizing family structures, and helping fathers build better relationships and be more engaged parents — ultimately creating stronger families nationwide. 

HMRF grantees strengthen families nationwide through initiatives that promote responsible fatherhood, healthy marriages and relationships, and economic stability:

• FORGE Fatherhood (Family, Opportunity, Resilience, Grit, Engagement) grants provide comprehensive services that strengthen fathers’ parenting skills, foster positive father-child engagement, support healthy relationships, and improve economic stability—addressing the full spectrum of challenges fathers face.
• HEART (Helping Every Area of Relationships Thrive) grants support healthy marriage and relationship education, creating stronger foundations for children and families to thrive.
• READY4Life (Relationships, Education, Advancement, Development for Youth for Life) grants prepare young people ages 14-24—including expectant and parenting youth—with relationship skills, parenting knowledge, and financial education that lay the foundation for lifelong family stability and successful adulthood.

The Institute for Research on Poverty and the Wisconsin Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board co-hosted a webinar in November 2025 to highlight the unique challenges and distinct barriers young fathers experience when participating in child and family services. This webinar explored their needs, including those parenting with a partner and those parenting as single fathers, and featured evidence-informed practices, policy approaches, and program models that support fathers in helping their families thrive.

While an effective intake assessment helps build an initial impression of each father’s individual situation and needs, fatherhood program staff also know ongoing one-on-one and group interaction is needed to fully understand him and see who he might become. Even then, it can be hard to accurately follow his progress through the program and ensure his needs are met in the best way possible. This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse brief presents an overview of customer journey mapping, an evidence-based tool that helps program administrators and staff members reflect on a father’s journey through a program and make service adjustments based on the father’s perspective as he progresses through that program.

This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse publication serves as a resource for program operators seeking information on available curricula designed for working with fathers. While not a comprehensive list, it provides an overview of curricula used by programs funded by the Office of Family Assistance within the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.