This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief presents four models to illustrate how program activities of Responsible Fatherhood (RF) programs may contribute to intended outcomes. The four models in the brief depict linkages between RF activities and, as measured in the Parents and Children Together (PACT) Evaluation, four intended outcomes of RF programs to include healthy relationships between co-parents, father development and well-being, consistent employment, and parenting skills and father involvement. The models also include research question recommendations for future evaluations to build the evidence base.

This July 2020 webinar from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation presented three Pathways-to-Outcomes models of Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs. The models are based on research evidence to find the association between specific program activities and the impact on HMRE participants for observed outcomes. The models might have applicability for program design and implementation for other HMRE programming for observable outcomes.

The effects of trauma on teens and young adults can be far reaching. The Dibble Institute will host a webinar on November 11, 2020 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET to present findings and lessons learned from a study conducted by researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. In the study, a trauma-informed approach utilizing relationship education was implemented with over 100,000 young people over four years in San Antonio. The speakers will define trauma, its effects on young people, and their reactions to trauma, and will discuss adverse childhood experiences. The webinar is intended for Federal- and state-funded grant managers, program supervisors, teachers, health care staff, and others who work with high-need youth.

This webpage from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is comprised of fast facts, risk and protective factors, prevention strategies, and resources related to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Teen Dating Violence. There is also a technical package that contains evidence-based programs, policies, practices, and strategies focused on preventing IPV and its consequences on individuals across the lifespan. The strategies include teaching healthy relationship skills, engaging influential adults and peers, disrupting the pathway for IPV, creating protective environments, strengthening families’ economic support, and supporting survivors to lessen harm and increase safety.

(See also Resources on "domestic violence" in the Resource Library)

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation tip sheet provides guidance on how healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) programs can request participation in the Strengthening the Implementation of Marriage and Relationship Programs (SIMR) project. The SIMR project will work with select HMRE programs to strengthen their recruitment, retention, and client engagement activities. The tip sheet illustrates the benefits for HMRE programs to participate in SIMR, the timeline for site selections among HMRE programs, and how HMRE programs may become involved. The deadline for programs to contact SIMR is October 23, 2020.

This process study report from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation features the University of Florida’s ELEVATE program, which is delivered by the University’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences county-based Cooperative Extension Service. ELEVATE aims to teach couples practical approaches to support healthy relationships and to develop mindfulness practices that address the physiological response to conflict and stress. The study covers the context for implementing ELEVATE, procedures for greater implementation of ELEVATE through the Extension statewide, and approaches for recruitment and enrollment of couples and for encouraging program participation and engagement. The study is part of the Strengthening Relationship Education and Marriage Services evaluation of five Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education grantees.

This research-to-practice brief presents findings from an initial study of custodial and non-custodial parents enrolled in the Fathers Advancing Community Together (FACT) program, which is offered by Rubicon Programs in Contra Costa County, California. FACT addresses responsible parenting and healthy relationships and delivers economic stability services. The brief notes that FACT parents believe they already possess the necessary skills to be successful parents and acknowledge the importance of personal financial management for long-term economic stability. The survey of FACT parents also identified the challenges they encountered accessing childcare and balancing job seeking while participating in FACT, which led to a restructuring of the program to better serve parents.

This report is part of the Responding to Intimate Violence in Relationship Programs (RIViR) study to evaluate approaches for assessing teen dating violence. The report covers how to accurately identify youth in Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs who are experiencing teen dating violence (TDV) so they can be referred for additional services. The report also examines how youth and TDV program staff perceive tools to assess TDV and strategies to implement these tools. The report compared two HMRE programs—More Than Conquerors, Inc. of Conyers, Georgia and Youth and Family Services of Rapid City, South Dakota.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief is part of the Strengthening Relationship Education and Marriage Services (STREAMS) evaluation which assessed HMRE programs in five sites. The brief illustrates five steps for increasing recruitment capacity in these programs. Lessons learned from the brief could be adopted for HMRE programs serving adults to build and implement recruitment approaches. Additional STREAMS reports will identify how these recruitment approaches were implemented to better deliver HMRE programs.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report covers the 2015 cohort of Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) grantees, which were awarded five-year grants in September 2015. The report examines grantees’ operations from July 2016 to March 2019, including how these programs recruited and served participants and how the grantees staffed their respective programs. The report also reviews HMRF program participants’ characteristics and identifies changes in their characteristics during this review period.