The Children’s Bureau (CB)
Programs to Strengthen Healthy Marriage
STRENGTHENING MARRIAGES AND THE WELL BEING OF CHILDREN: POST ADOPTION MARRIAGE EDUCATION
PURPOSE:
This applicant proposes to develop, implement and evaluate marriage education for couples who have adopted children from the public child welfare system by assessing the needs and strengths of adoptive couples, supplementing and delivering a statewide marriage support system for couples, developing a companion training element to the existing curriculum and creating an on-line support network for adoptive couples and service providers.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Michigan State University
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2006 – 9/29/2011
FUNDING: $l,250,000 ($250,000 per year)
PROJECT CORAZON DE LA FAMILIAR-MARRIAGE EDUCATION AND FAMILY ENRICHMENT SERVICES
PURPOSE:
Spaulding for Children proposes to provide services for 365 pre and post adoption couples in 23 counties in South Texas. They plan to offer marriage education in Spanish and English, post adoption support to parents and children, and professional counseling.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Spaulding for Children
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2006 – 9/29/2011
FUNDING: $1,250,000 ($250,000 per year)
STRENGTHENING MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS AND POST-ADOPTION SERVICES THROUGH COMMUNITY OF CARE TEAMS
PURPOSE:
Proposes to provide a comprehensive mix of post adoption services to ensure best opportunities for success of which marriage education is one component. Will establish partnerships with the University of Louisville’s School of Social Work, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and adoption support services in the state of Kentucky.
GRANT RECIPIENT: University of Louisville Research Foundation
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2006 – 9/29/2011
FUNDING: $1,250,000 ($250.000 per year)
DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS IN POST ADOPTION SERVICES AND MARRIAGE EDUCATION
PURPOSE:
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services seeks to serve over 500 married adoptive couples over a 5-year period in a marriage education retreat model. Also, the applicant wishes to provide post-retreat booster sessions so as to reinforce the skills learned at the retreat. They are also very interested in engaging in the research elements of the proposal wishing to more concretely identify what outcomes are occurring as a result of their active and proposed interventions.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Oklahoma Department of Human Services
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2006 9/29/2011
FUNDING: $1,250,000 ($250,000 per year)
STRONG AND STABLE FAMILIES: A MARRIAGE EDUCATION AND FAMILY SUPPORT PROJECT
PURPOSE:
University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc., School of Social Welfare proposes to provide and evaluate two models of marriage of education with parents who have recently adopted a child or adolescent formerly in state custody. In conjunction with Kansas Children’s Service League and the Kansas Healthy Marriage Institute they intend to evaluate the PREP and Gottman models of marriage education. This project will involve over 300 couples and will provide “Date Nights” for the couples, develop professionals, comprehensively evaluate, and disseminate results.
GRANT RECIPIENT: University of Kansas Center for Research
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/20006 – 9/29/2011
FUNDING: $1,250,000 ($250,000 per year)
DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS IN POST-ADOPTION SERVICES AND MARRIAGE EDUCATION
PURPOSE:
The project plan proposes to utilize a multi-faceted design serving a minimum of 150 adoptive or subsidized guardianship families in Northern Illinois to address the needs of adoptive and pre-adoptive families. The goals are marriage enhancement education, adoption education, and therapeutic groups and retreats. The project will utilize a twelve-hour marriage education program and the curriculum design of Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP).
GRANT RECIPIENT: Children’s Home and Aid Society of Illinois
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2006 – 9/29/2011
FUNDING: $1,250,000 ($250,000 per year)
HEALTHY MARRIAGE, HEALTHY FAMILY
PURPOSE:
This project proposes to train ten staff from within a statewide coalition
entitled Adoption and Support and Preservation or, ASAP. They will
also train an additional six staff from within the Tennessee Department
of Children’s Services. Training will include instruction in
the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) and this
curriculum will then be used to provide marriage education and counseling
services to families throughout Tennessee in order to improve adoptive
permanency and stable families.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Harmony Adoptions of Tennessee, Inc.
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2006 – 9/29/2011
FUNDING: $1,250,000 ($250,000 per year)
STRENGTHENING FAMILIES IN ORANGE COUNTY, CA
PURPOSE:
This project represents a collaborative effort among public child welfare services, university partners, faith-based and community-based organizations. Project funds are used to refine, implement, and evaluate the Relationship Enhancement (RE) curriculum for building marriage skills in nine locations throughout Orange County, specifically targeting couples receiving voluntary child welfare services. It will demonstrate the effectiveness and benefits of the RE intervention for these families. The curriculum will be offered in both English and Spanish. It is anticipated that RE will be implemented in such a way that the program can be expanded to serve an increasing number of families in Orange County and can be replicated in the child welfare systems of other States and counties.
GRANT RECIPIENT: County of Orange
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2006
FUNDING: $600,000 ($200,000 per year)
BUILDING LOCAL CAPACITY FOR HEALTHY MARRIAGES AND FAMILIES IN FLORIDA
PURPOSE:
The Florida Department of Children and Families (FDCF), in partnership the National Center for Strategic Nonprofit Planning and Community Leadership (NPCL) and Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills (PAIRS) will deliver this project with the objective of building the capacity of child welfare agencies to support parents and increase the well-being of children both inside and outside of the child welfare system. Services are designed to strengthen parent-to-parent and parent-to-child relationships, using NPCL and PAIRS curricula, and will be adapted to meet the needs of parents based on their current marital and living situations. Services will include focus on premarital relationship building, healthy relationship formation, marriage enhancement, and team parenting.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Florida Department of Children and Families
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2006
FUNDING: $600,000 ($200,000 per year)
STRENGTHENING MARRIAGES IN OKLAHOMA
PURPOSE:
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services will build upon current collaborations with the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma State University, and Public Strategies, Inc. to offer marriage education programs for adoptive couples using the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) curricula. Services include marriage education retreats for adoptive parents, enriched adoption support services, community-based marriage education workshops geared toward the specific issues that adoptive parents encounter, and community-based marriage education workshops to the public, that are currently provided as a component of the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Oklahoma Department of Human Services
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2006
FUNDING: $600,000 ($200,000 per year)
THE HEALTHY MARRIAGE INITIATIVE OF NEBRASKA
PURPOSE:
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the Doral Group and AIM Institute, has a multifaceted approach emphasizing services to impact the Omaha Enterprise Community. They will achieve this by providing individualized, strengths-based marriage preparation programs to couples, including a marriage inventory, Facilitating Open Couples Communication, Understanding and Study (FOCCUS) and mentoring programs for building healthy relationships. This will be followed by various curriculum options, such as Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP), “Engaged Encounter” or “When Families Marry”. This project includes an emphasis on public awareness of the benefits of healthy marriage through billboards, media, and print. The project will also hold an annual healthy marriage conference.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2006
FUNDING: $600,000 ($200,000 per year)
STRENGTHENING PARENTS IN FLORIDA
PURPOSE:
The Florida Department of Children and Families, in collaboration with Big Bend Community Based Care project help strengthen the relationships of parent couples who have, by their involvement in the child welfare system, demonstrated difficulty in meeting their relationship needs. Both voluntary and mandated couples will participate in this project. Services will be provided through in-home support and counseling, utilizing theories and approaches developed by John Gottman. This project also stresses the importance of measurable objectives, including improved caregiver/child relationships, increased parenting skills, reduced incidents of child abuse and neglect, and reduced levels of conflict among married or cohabiting couples.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Florida Department of Children and Families
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2006
FUNDING: $600,000 ($200,000 per year)
THE KNAPSACK PROJECT OF LOUISIANA
PURPOSE:
The State of Louisiana Department of Social Services (DSS), in collaboration with the Louisiana's Family Resource Centers (FRC) will provide the opportunity to add a healthy marriage/strengthening relationship component to their menu of services. Families served by the DSS, Office of Community Services and Family In Need of Services (FINS) programs, will be the primary audience. Selected FRC staff will be provided with training in the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP), and will provide PREP classes for couples. Family Centers are provided with “knapsacks” of materials, including educational products such as video and audiotapes, books and workbooks, newsletters, pamphlets, etc., designed to supplement the PREP materials. Data collected and analyzed will address differences in service delivery methods, i.e., in-home/one-on-one versus group settings, and methods using supplemental materials versus methods using PREP only materials.
GRANT RECIPIENT: State of Louisiana Department of Social Services
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2006
FUNDING: $600,000 ($200,000 per year)
BUILDING STRONGER MARRIAGES AND FAMILIES IN FLORIDA
PURPOSE:
The Florida Department of Children and Families, in collaboration with the Florida Marriage and Family Research Institute at the University of Central Florida is administering the research, education, and intervention program, Stronger Marriages and Stronger Families, through the UCF Academy for Teaching, Learning and Leadership and is affiliated with the Toni Jennings Exceptional Education Institute. This project will function through the Community Counseling Center in conjunction with the Counselor Education Program in the Department of Child, Family and Community Sciences. The Clinic trains counselors at the master's and doctoral level and provides certification in marriage and family therapy. Direct services include: weekend workshops to promote stronger couples and healthier marriages, premarital counseling, and brief counseling for couples. The Institute will disseminate information through on-site, train-the-trainers workshops, conferences for statewide partners, and publications on best practices for improving marriage and couple relationships
GRANT RECIPIENT: Florida Department of Children and Families
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2006
FUNDING: $544,698 ($181,566 per year)
CHILD WELFARE SERVICES TRAINING
PURPOSE:
The Syracuse University’s project, through a unique inter-professional collaboration of three departments within the College of Human Services and Health Professions: the School of Social Work, the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy, and the Department of Child and Family Studies, will develop curricula and provide training for both existing child welfare agency staff, and students who will be entering this field of service so they can address marriage and family issues effectively, with the goal of improving outcomes for children.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Syracuse University
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2008
FUNDING: Up to $1,000,000 ($180,917 per year)
EXPANDING THE FAMILY CIRCLE: CHILD WELFARE TRAINING ON HEALTHY MARRIAGE AND FAMILY FORMATION
PURPOSE:
The Research Foundation of the State University of New York, Albany School of Social Welfare, in collaboration with the New York State Office for Children and Family Services, the Social Work Education Consortium, and the Center for Human Services Research is implementing this project. The intent is to launch a competency-based curriculum development and training plan that promotes family-centered practice; incorporates healthy marriage, family formation, and father involvement into child welfare practice; and is culturally competent in its application to diverse populations in the State. This reflects the school’s effort to help the State improve outcomes for children and families.
GRANT RECIPIENT: The Research Foundation of SUNY
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2008
FUNDING: $1,000,000 ($200,000 per year)
HEALTHY MARRIAGE AND FAMILY PROGRAM
PURPOSE:
The Forest Institute of Professional Psychology, along with its partners Southwest Missouri State University and the Southern Region Division of Family Services, propose to develop, implement, and institutionalize a competency-based curriculum to train child welfare staff to more effectively provide marriage and family formation services to their clients. Consisting of two phases, the formal training will include Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) and associated concepts, and will be followed by mentoring trainees as they provide services to the clients. The project will create a network of government, community, and faith-based organizations to assist in addressing the needs clients present to their workers.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Forest Institute of Professional Psychology
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2008
FUNDING: Up to $1,000,000 ($180,500 per year)
THE INSTITUTE FOR FAMILIES, UNIVERSITY OF DENVER (COLORADO SEMINARY)
PURPOSE:
The Institute for Families of the University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work will oversee an innovative collaboration involving three states ( Colorado, Wyoming, and Kansas.) The primary objectives are to develop a skills-based curriculum that is comprehensive and creative, applicable across states, and capable of integration into existing child welfare and social work curriculum. Training will be provided for child welfare services frontline workers, supervisors and administrators, as well as community and faith-based service providers. The collective curriculum will be comprised of two-day core training and twelve advanced workshops in special populations and practice issues of particular relevance.
GRANT RECIPIENT: The Institute for Families, University of Denver ( Colorado Seminary)
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2008
FUNDING: $1,000,000 ($200,000 per year)
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.
PURPOSE:
The University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc. project will develop a competency-based training curriculum specific to child welfare, and through this training enhance the state child welfare organization's capacity to provide healthy marriage and family formation services. The curriculum will be developed in partnership with faith-based organizations, the child welfare agency, and other community representatives. Training will be provided for child welfare teams (supervisors and workers), managers, and representatives of faith-based organizations.
GRANT RECIPIENT: University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc.
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2003 - 9/29/2008
FUNDING: $1,000,000 ($200,000 per year)
Post Adoption Services and Marriage Education
RELATIONSHIP ENHANCEMENT FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS (reap)
PURPOSE:
Bethany Christian Services of Georgia will provide this program to adoptive couples using an adapted curriculum from Relationship Enhancement (RE) that specifically addresses concerns of this population. Bethany has established collaborative working relationships with the National Institute of Relationship Enhancement, as well as the Georgia Department of Family and Children’s Services, Georgia Center for Adoption Resources, and One Church One Child. The overarching goal is to enhance positive adoption outcomes and build healthy adoptive families by strengthening the marriage relationships of couples who adopt older, special needs children. Classes will be provided at retreat and workshop settings.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Bethany Christian Services of Georgia
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2004-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $1,500,000 ($300,000 per year)
FOUR CONNECTIONS AND A FUN DAY
PURPOSE:
DePelchin Children’s Center will provide services to build resilience and strengthen marital and family functioning among adoptive families by establishing healthy connections: 1) cohesive marital relationships; 2) positive family relationships; 3) broad support networks; and 4) therapeutic expertise. The service components include (1) quarterly Fun Days; (2) four cycles of marriage education classes using the effective Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP), interwoven with the Educational Network for Adoption – Building Lasting Environments (ENABLE) curriculum which will be offered annually. Concurrently, children will participate in related social-emotional, educational and skill-development groups; (3) Office and home-based therapy services; (4) Financial assistance for respite services; and (5) Training for therapists on techniques, skills and promising approaches to work with adoptive families.
GRANT RECIPIENT: DePelchin Children’s Center
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2004-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $1,500,000 ($300,000 per year)
COLORADO COALITION OF ADOPTIVE FAMILIES
PURPOSE:
The Colorado Coalition of Adoptive Families (COCAF), in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Human Services Child Welfare Division, Dr. Howard Markman who is a national marriage strengthening educator and researcher, Dr. Richard Delaney, national specialist in special needs adoptions, and the Institute for Families at the University of Denver (IFDU), will develop a unique program focused on two Colorado regions. The North Central cluster is mainly suburban metropolitan and includes four counties, and the West-Southwest cluster is primarily mountainous rural communities consisting of four counties. Program leadership at each local county level will use a team decision-making model that includes an adoptive parent, an adoptions caseworker, a faith-based organization leader, and a marriage educator or adoption-competent therapist.
The objective of the teams is to provide a community-centered, strength-based approach to the enhancement and development of post adoption services in their respective communities. A foundation for services in all communities will be use of the research-based Prevention and Relationship Enhancement (PREP) curriculum, which will be adapted for use with adoptive parents.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Colorado Coalition of Adoptive Families
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2004-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $1,500,000 ($300,000 per year)
COLLABORATIVE POST-ADOPTION SERVICES PROJECT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE (CPAS-NH)
PURPOSE:
Child and Family Services of New Hampshire, in partnership with Casey Family Services of New Hampshire and in cooperation with the Division for Children, Youth and Families of the State of New Hampshire, will implement and evaluate this collaborative approach to comprehensive, wraparound post-adoption services centered on marriage education. The Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) curriculum will be used in a weekend retreat setting with foster care families voluntarily requesting preventive or early intervention services after adoption has taken place. The service area will consist of Hillsborough and Merrimack Counties in Central New Hampshire, and Rockingham County in Eastern New Hampshire.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Child and Family Services of New Hampshire
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2004-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $901,260 ($180,252 per year)
ADOPTION RESOURCES OF WISCONSIN
PURPOSE:
Adoption Resources of Wisconsin will provide an innovative in-depth program focused on strengthening the marital relationship between the parents of the adoptive child(ren). Four key components will be implemented and evaluated: 1) marriage education using a curriculum based on the research of Dr. John Gottman and others; 2) forgiveness therapy curriculum to help parents teach their adopted children the meaning and power of forgiveness in overcoming anger and associated behaviors that may impact the family; 3) respite care and peer support; 4) and for those who choose, connection to the faith-based community to support them through the lifelong journey of adoption. Based on the outcomes, the curriculum will be refined to maximize its effectiveness. This model can then be replicated to improve the success of adoptions from the public child welfare system across the country.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2004-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $1,500,000 ($300,000 per year)
STRENGTHENING ADOPTIVE FAMILIES THROUGH EDUCATION (SAFE)
PURPOSE:
The Children’s Home Society of Washington, in partnership with The Gottman Institute and Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services will provide both intensive and less intensive services to families in Pierce County who have adopted children from the child welfare system. This project is a synthesis of several research-based practices and programs shown to have positive outcomes including: The Gottman Institute’s The Art and Science of Love marriage strengthening curriculum, The Kinship Center’s AFTER Adoption Assistance Wraparound Services and the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center model. By demonstrating the efficacy of providing marriage strengthening services and post-adoption support to these families, the program hopes to create a pilot that can be replicated throughout Washington and in other states.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Children’s Home Society of Washington
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2004-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $1,500,000 ($300,000 per year)
CHILDREN’S HOME SOCIETY OF FLORIDA
PURPOSE:
Children’s Home Society of Florida will implement and evaluate a 12-session in-home Gottman Based Marriage Strengthening Program delivered to current adoptive families of a special needs child in District 2B. The families will be recruited from three socio-culturally diverse urban and rural counties. A quasi-experimental design will be used to determine program effectiveness.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Children’s Home Society of Florida
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2004-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $1,500,000 ($300,000 per year)
THE HEALTHY MARRIAGES PROGRAM OF EL CENTRO
PURPOSE:
El Centro de Recursos Para Familias, a program within this Diocese, will implement the El Centro Healthy Marriage Initiative. This project will provide the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) curriculum in Spanish to 200 Latino couples in the Mercer County area. They propose serving approximately 50 couples during each of the four years of the grant. The model will utilize linguistically and culturally appropriate outreach and intervention services using both bilingual and bicultural staff.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton, NJ
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2005 - 9/29/2009
FUNDING: $600,000 ($150,000 per year)
THE HEALTHY MARRIAGES-STRONG FAMILIES INITIATIVE OF WASHINGTON, DC
PURPOSE:
The Healthy Marriages – Strong Families Initiative is a collaborative project between East Capitol Center for Change (ECCC) and the East River Strengthening Collaborative, a community based child welfare agency that serves at risk African American families. This partnership will (a) provide a public education campaign on the benefits of marriage and healthy relationships; (b) host an annual “Celebrate Black Marriage Day” event; (3) institute a “Marriage Works” Mini-Grants Program; and (4) offer workshops and other programming based on the African American Family Life Education Program which provides marriage enrichment and parenting education for African American family leaders. The group will also adapt the strategies of the Marriage Savers Program and the FOCCUS premarital inventory to help unmarried parents to consider marriage when appropriate. The project plans to serve at least 50 couples per year.
GRANT RECIPIENT: East Capitol Center for Change
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2005-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $600,000 ($150,000 per year)
THE MARRIAGE WORKS OF PENNSYLVANIA
PURPOSE:
The Marriage Works program will develop a network of churches in four targeted African American communities of Pittsburgh that will be equipped to strengthen the relationships of couples with children under the age of 18. The initiative will conduct classes using a culturally appropriate adaptation of the nationally recognized PREPARE/ENRICH marriage education materials, provide couple-to-couple mentoring services, offer crisis marriage support, and refer the most difficult relationships to appropriate sources of help. The goal of the project is to establish five sites in one year and an additional five sites in each of the three subsequent years in which small group relational education programs will be provided. Follow-up mentoring and coaches will provide additional support. Over the course of four years, The Marriage Works project plans to serve 450 to 500 parents of children at risk of entering the child welfare system.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Family Guidance, Inc.
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2005-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $600,000 ($150,000 per year)
THE HERITAGE KEEPERS® HEALTHY MARRIAGE INITIATIVE in Charleston, SC
PURPOSE:
The Heritage Keepers® Healthy Marriage Initiative (HK® HMI) will primarily serve at-risk, low income African American couples in a crisis pregnancy center ( Lowcountry Crisis Pregnancy Center). Hispanic and Caucasian couples will also be served. The HK® HMI will use marriage education services modeled after the Building Strong Families model, an ACF initiative used to develop and evaluate programs designed to help interested unwed parents achieve their aspirations for a healthy marriage and a stable family life. They will also use the Abridged FOCCUS Premarital Inventory, and the Marriage Savers Mentoring Model. The project will serve 100 to 160 couples over the four years of the grant.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Heritage Community Services
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2005-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $600,000 ($150,000 per year)
The Contra Costa County Family Outreach Program of California
PURPOSE:
This project represents a collaborative effort among the Contra County Asian Family Outreach program, the Asian Pacific Psychological Services (APPS, a nonprofit behavioral health services agency, serving low income Asian communities) and the Contra Costa County Children and Family Services (CFS). The program proposes to use two evidenced-based models of family services: the “Power of Two” marriage education program and wraparound case management. Asian families who are limited-English speakers, needing culturally specific marriage education services and are at risk of entering the child welfare system will be referred for this program The Outreach program will provide the marriage education services, while APPS will provide the wraparound case management services, with both receiving referrals from CFS. The grantee plans to serve no less than 100 families per year.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Lao Family Community Development, Inc
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2005-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $600,000 ($150,000 per year)
IMPROVING MARRIAGES OF INCARCERATED PARENTS IN NEW YORK
PURPOSE:
The Osborne Association’s Healthy Marriage Project will provide 6 to 8 sessions of the evidence based Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) to married parents of minor children, who are soon to be released or have been recently released from New York State prisons and their spouses. The project will serve 40 to 50 couples per year.
GRANT RECIPIENT: The Osborne Association
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2005-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $600,000 ($150,000 per year)
Enhancing Tribal Marriages in Wisconsin
PURPOSE:
The Red Cliff Healthy Relationship/Marriages project will provide relationship services to Native American parents and youth by implementing the OJIBWAY curriculum to families that are referred to the Indian Child Welfare Program. The OJIBWAY curriculum seeks to improve family communication and cohesiveness by addressing the needs of families in terms of reinforcing healthy lifestyles and sustaining positive development within families. The curriculum will address three primary areas via the use of 28 lesson plans: (1) promotion and enhancement of cohesiveness within the family group (2) promotion of healthy attitudes within families and (3) promotion of positive behaviors within families. The project will also serve young couples who are planning to marry and young couples who are pregnant. Other service approaches include the Red Cliff Wellness Curriculum and the Moral Reconation Therapy approach. The project will serve 10 to 20 families, 10 pre-marital couples and 10 pregnant couples per year.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2005-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $600,000 ($150,000 per year)
THE MARRIAGE FIRST PROJECT OF ILLINOIS
PURPOSE:
The goal of this project is to provide African American and Hispanic unmarried cohabiting couples with a variety of marriage enhancing services to increase the number of marriages before conception, to increase the well-being of children, and to increase public knowledge about the benefits of marriage. The project will also serve low-income, married couples. A multi-faceted approach will be used based on the work of Alan Hawkins, PhD from BYU and his colleagues titled, “A Comprehensive Framework for Marriage Education,” which uses the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) for full- and half-day marriage education seminars. There will be three tiers of service delivery: public awareness campaigns and public service announcements; higher intensity, “Integrated Marriage Education” (which includes services to adolescents in need of preventative services) serving 350 couples per year; and intensive case management (which includes marriage-based information and materials), serving 45 families per year.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Rockford MELD
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2005-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $600,000 ($150,000 per year)
The Healthy Marriages/Healthy Kids Project of Mississippi
PURPOSE:
This project will recruit and train African American clergy and volunteer married couples to teach marriage education classes utilizing the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP). The PREP will be taught in the churches and to the Starkville School District’s Family-Centered programs clientele to 50 pre-marital and married couples [per year??]. A Marriage Bureau will be developed to provide information and referral; one of which will be to maintain an on-going list of clergy and mentor couples who have been trained and are available to provide classes in the community. Individualized marriage classes will be provided for couples who are referred from the Department of Human Services and whose children are either at risk of entering, or are already in, the child welfare system. The grantee plans to host a Marriage Summit to celebrate healthy marriages, disseminate information about the benefits of healthy marriage to children and families, and to share ideas on marriage strengthening.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Starkville School District
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2005-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $600,000 ($150,000 per year)
Strengthening Marriages in TEXAS
PURPOSE:
Strengthening Marriages, translated as “Fortaleciendo Matrimonios”, is a project designed to provide Hispanic couples in Head Start/Early Head Start programs and Child Protective Services with a four months series of program services aimed at relationship maintenance and improvement. The program includes 16 lessons during this four month period designed to provide Hispanic couples in the Houston area with skills for overcoming challenges faced by married couples. The project will use the “Family Building Communities” curriculum and will serve 105 couples per year. The project will also address extended family cultural issues that impact Hispanic married couples such as in-laws who reside in the home with the married couples.
GRANT RECIPIENT: Texas Health and Human Services (Avance)
PROJECT PERIOD: 9/30/2005-9/29/2009
FUNDING: $600,000 ($150,000 per year)