Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activity: Marriage enhancement and marriage skills training programs for married couples (#5).

Organization Description: Creciendos Unidos/Growing Together has a 10-year history of serving Hispanic couples in the Phoenix, Arizona area and has served over 400 families in that period. The organization has developed a curriculum which it plans to use to promote the value of a healthy marriages to participating couples. Creciendos Unidos/Growing together will also partner with local churches and schools to provide event facilities as well as classroom space.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: Creciendos Unidos/Growing Together’s Healthy Marriage Demonstration program will provide marriage enhancement and marriage skills training programs to low-income married couples. Objectives of the program include helping couples improve communication skills, improve problem-solving skills and improve satisfaction within their marriage. The program will have three levels of marriage education services based on participant’s schedules and other factors (transportation and childcare) as well as couple’s events to encourage retention in the marriage education sessions.

Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activities: Pre-marital education and marriage skills training for engaged couples and for couples or persons interested in marriage (#4) and marriage enhancement and marriage skill training programs for married couples (#5).

Organization Description: The Arizona Youth Partnership (AzYP), founded in 1990 as Pima YOUTH partnership, is a non-profit organization working in 22 rural communities in Arizona. They have a 16-year successful history of managing multi-year federal, state and local grants and contracts, including youth violence prevention and abstinence-based education. In 2002, PAIRS, Inc. asked AzYP to subcontract to provide PAIRS training to couples in southwestern Arizona.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: Targeting 200 rural Head Start Couples in Arizona, the Arizona Youth Partnership hopes to build healthy marriages through teaching PAIRS curriculum at weekend retreats, to nurture healthy marriages through Marriage Mentoring Networks that meet monthly for booster sessions and setting monthly relationship goals, and to sustain healthy marriages through additional skills workshops identified by participating couples. They will also hold regional kick-off events, year-end celebrations, and host an interactive web site that will provide additional marriage information and links to resources.

Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activities: Public advertising campaigns on the value of marriage and the skills needed to increase marital stability and health (#1) and marriage enhancement and marriage skill training programs for married couples (#5).

Organization Description: The Cambodian Association of America (CAA) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization incorporated in California in 1975 to assist refugees fleeing the political turmoil of Cambodia. CAA broadened its client base soon after inception to include Laotian, Vietnamese, Samoan and other Pacific Islanders, Hispanic and African American populations in addition to Cambodians.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: CAA expects to launch a public awareness campaign using ethnic radio, newspaper and television ads promoting, and educating the API and Hispanic communities about the importance of sustaining a healthy marital relationship and the skills necessary to maintain them. They also plan to strengthen marriages in the API and Hispanic communities by teaching communication, conflict resolution, financial management, parenting and other marriage relationship enhancement skills to low-income married couples using The Power of Two, Building Blocks of Success, and Active Relationship programs. They expect that their program will: 1) increase participant knowledge of resources available for marriage education and services, 2) improve couple communication skills, 3) provide training in managing anger and resolving marital conflict, and 4) increase understanding of marriage cultural norms.

Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activities: Public advertising campaign (#1); Education in high schools on the value of marriage (#2); Marriage education, marriage skills and relationship skills programs for non-married pregnant women and non-married expectant fathers (#3); Pre-marital education and marriage skills training for engaged couples and for couples interested in marriage (#4); marriage enhancement and marriage skills training programs for married couples (#5); divorce reduction programs that teach relationship skills (#6); and marriage mentoring programs which use married couples as role models and mentors in at-risk communities (#7).

Organization Description: California Healthy Marriages Coalition (CHMC) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to saturate the entire state of California with marriage education. CHMC will pioneer a “coalition of coalitions” model across the state.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The program grant funds will be used to birth, nurture, and support the development of a statewide interlinking network of community healthy marriage coalitions. The grantee will use the following curricula:
-- Youth: “Connections” and “Love U2”
-- Non-married pregnant women and expectant fathers: “Love’s Cradle” and “Bringing Baby Home”
-- Pre-marital education: “FOCCUS,” “PREPARE/ENRICH,” and “The RE Marriage Prep Program,” and “How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk.”
-- Marriage enrichment: “Relationship Enhancement (RE),” “Mastering the Magic of Love,” “PAIRS,” “10 Great Dates,” “Active Relationships,” and “World Class Marriage.”
-- Divorce reduction programs: “Retrouvaille,” and “The Third Option”

Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activity: Marriage education, marriage skills, and relationship skills programs that may include parenting skills, financial management, conflict resolution, and job and career advancement for non-married pregnant women and non-married expectant fathers (#3).

Organization Description: The Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program is a non-profit organization with a network within Imperial County, California. According to this organization, they have extensive social services experience and have a proved track record of providing critical services to low-income people.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program will implement and evaluate a marriage enrichment program that will target low-income unmarried couples expecting a child. They will use a pilot program as a model to essentially reach out to 100 couples per year by providing a minimum of 25 hours of weekly class sessions of healthy marriage education classes which will be delivered to couples in a group setting.

Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activity: Marriage education, marriage skills, and relationship skills programs that may include parenting skills, financial management, conflict resolution, and job and career advancement for non-married pregnant women and non-married expectant fathers (#3).

Organization Description: The Sacramento Healthy Marriage Project is a non-profit organization with a network within the County of Sacramento, California. According to this organization, they have extensive social services experience and have a proved track record of providing critical services to low-income people.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The Sacramento Healthy Marriage Project will implement and evaluate a marriage enrichment program that will target low-income unmarried couples expecting a child. They will use a pilot program as a model to essentially reach out to 100-200 couples per year by provide 4-module classroom sessions of healthy marriage education classes to be held weekly by professional education instructors which will delivered to couples in a group setting.

Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activity: Marriage education, marriage skills, and relationship skills programs that may include parenting skills, financial management, conflict resolution, and job and career advancement for non-married pregnant women and non-married expectant fathers (#3).

Organization Description: The Pittsburg Pre-School and Community Council, Inc. is a non-profit organization which provides critical social services to low-income people within the East and Central parts of Contra Costa County—the cities of Pittsburg, Bay Point, Antioch and Concord, California.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: Pittsburg Pre-School and Community Council, Inc. has requested $527,664 to implement and evaluate a marriage enrichment program that will target low-income unmarried couples expecting a child. They will use a pilot program as a model to essentially reach out to 375 couples per year by teaching a minimum of 14-hour (seven 2-hour planned workshops) of healthy marriage education classes to be held weekly by professional education instructors which will be delivered to the couples in a group setting.

Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activity: Marriage education, marriage skills, and relationship skills programs that may include parenting skills, financial management, conflict resolution, and job and career advancement for non-married pregnant (incarcerated) women and non-married expectant fathers (#3).

Organization Description: The Center Children of Incarcerated Parents is a non-profit organization located in Eagle Rock, California. According to this organization, they are proposing to provide low-income, expectant, unmarried, incarcerated women and their male partners with marriage education.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents has requested $461,186 to implement and evaluate a marriage enrichment program that will target low-income unmarried couples expecting a child. They will use a program as a model to essentially reach out to 90 couples per year by providing 24 sessions of healthy marriage education classes to be held bi-weekly by professional educational instructors which will be delivered to the couples in a group setting along with ongoing support services

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Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activity: Marriage education, marriage skills, and relationship skills programs that may include parenting skills, financial management, conflict resolution, and job and career advancement for non-married pregnant women and non-married expectant fathers (#3).

Organization Description: Catholic Charities of Orange County, Inc. is a faith-based organization with a parish network of 58 Catholic churches and six Family Resource Centers located in all regions of Orange County, California. According to this organization, they have a proved track record of providing critical social services to low-income people.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: Catholic Charities of Orange County, Inc. plans to implement and evaluate a marriage enrichment program that will target low-income, unmarried couples expecting a child. They will use the “Caring for My Family” curriculum as a cultural model to essentially reach out to over 200 participants per year by providing 10-week classroom sessions of healthy marriage education classes to be held weekly along with ongoing support services.

Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activities: Public advertising campaigns on the value of marriage and the skills needed to increase marital stability and health (#1) and education in high schools on the value of marriage, relationship skills and budgeting (#2).

Organization Description: The Dibble Fund for Marriage Education was founded in 1996 with a mission to focus on helping teens learn the skills needed for current healthy relationships and future strong and sustainable marriages.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The Dibble Fund plans to create a public advertising campaign on the value of marriage and the skills needed to increase marital stability and health, and to provide education in high schools on the value of marriage, relationship skills, and budgeting. They will train 500 Family and Consumer Sciences high school teachers each year to implement peer education projects to reach 113,500 students with over 1.66 million hours of instruction over 5 years. They will increase the number of high school age youth that have access to “best practices” healthy relationship and marriage programs (including Love U2, Connections, and The Art of Loving Well curriculums) through schools, youth agencies, faith communities, and peer-to-peer education efforts in states with limited Healthy Marriage Initiative (HMI) teen programming. They will influence the knowledge and attitudes of teens about healthy relationships, the “success sequence,” and marriage through an innovative media campaign that reaches teens “where they are,” by leveraging the power and reach of the entertainment media (TV shows and magazines that teens already flock to), the internet, and other new media (mobile phones, i-pods, and other new technology that delivers content in non-traditional ways).

Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activities: Public advertising campaign (#1); education in high schools on the value of marriage (#2); pre-marital education and marriage skills training for engaged couples and for couples interested in marriage (#4); marriage enhancement and marriage skills training programs for married couples (#5); and marriage mentoring programs which use married couples as role models and mentors in at-risk communities (#7).

Organization Description: The East Los Angeles Community Union (TELACU) was officially incorporated in 1968. Its mission was to help the low-income residents of East Los Angeles to build political and economic power. Over the years, it has focused on many other issues facing the Los Angeles community, including family relationships. TELACU created The Alliance for Latino marriages (ALMA), an ad-hoc network of Los Angeles organizations and other community leaders concerned about the state of Hispanic marriages. Key partners: Urban Strategies, House of Ruth, and other community organizations.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The program grant funds will be used to conduct a public Advertising in which they will collaborate with Hispanic Communications Network to develop a 5-year awareness campaign about the benefits of marriage that will reach over 100,000 families; will build relationship skills among high school students using the Love U2 program to 540 students annually; will provide pre-marital education using the Within My Reach (PREP) curriculum to 200 individuals annually; will provide marriage enrichment using the Family Wellness and Relationship Enhancement curricula to 1,225 married couples annually; and establish marriage mentoring for 600 couples per year.

Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activities: Public advertising campaign (#1); education in high schools on the value of marriage (#2); marriage education, marriage skills, and relationship skills programs for non-married pregnant women and non-married expectant fathers (#3); pre-marital education and marriage skills training for engaged couples and for couples interested in marriage (#4); marriage enhancement and marriage skills training programs for married couples (#5); and marriage mentoring programs which use married couples as role models and mentors in at-risk communities (#7).

Organization Description: The Personal Involvement Center (PIC) has an extensive history (since 1971) providing healthy marriage assistance to the residents of South Los Angeles, CA. PIC has been the lead agency for the County of Los Angeles Family Preservation Program since 1994, providing a range of strength-based, family-centered advocacy and interventions for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and for the Los Angeles County Probation Department.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: This grant will provide an innovative project designed to strengthen existing marriages and prepare unmarried couples for successful healthy marriages. This includes healthy marriage education and enrichment activities, a public awareness/education campaign that promotes the benefits and elements of a healthy marriage, and a teen program that teaches core skills necessary for healthy marriages. The goals of the project are to increase the number of youth and adults who have the skills to form and sustain healthy marriages, strengthen and integrate community support systems for healthy marriage, and improve the public perception of the value of marriage and availability of services. Services are targeted to be provided to over 1000 individuals per year.

Office of Family Assistance
Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant

Allowable Activities: Pre-marital education and marriage skills training for engaged couples and for couples or persons interested in marriage (#4) and marriage enhancement and marriage skill training programs for married couples (#5).

Organization Description: Through partnerships with a broad array of faith-based and community organizations, the American Samoa Government (ASG) proposes to implement O le Li’o o le Alofa (Circle of Love). Both the Department of Health and the Department of Humans and Social Services will be involved in this project.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The American Samoa Government plans to provide pre-marital education and marriage skills training for engaged couples and for couples or individuals interested in marriage as well as marriage enhancement and marriage skills training programs for married couples (targeting couples becoming parents). The Within My Reach curriculum will be adapted, tested and refined for cultural competence for use with American Samoan couples. Three health educators and two project staff will be trained in the Within My Reach curriculum and 1000 couples interested in marriage and 400 married couples becoming parents will complete the program. The PREP curriculum will also be adapted, tested and refined for cultural competence to use with American Samoan married couples to serve up to 3400 married couples.