February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. Teen dating violence is an issue that affects everyone — not just teens but also their parents, teachers, friends, and communities. Unhealthy or violent relationships can have severe short- and long-term effects on a developing teen. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that youth who are victims of dating violence are more likely to:
- Experience symptoms of depression and anxiety
- Engage in unhealthy behaviors, like using tobacco, drugs, and alcohol
- Think about suicide
Section 1115 grants
In August 2020, OCSE awarded Section 1115 grants to eight states to educate and motivate young adults to postpone parenthood until after they complete their education, start a career, and have a committed relationship. Grantees are required to also include information on preventing relationship violence and provide resources to help those who’ve experienced it. Halfway through this three-year demonstration grant, programs are implementing some innovative practices. You’ll read about these efforts in Child Support Report when the grant is over, but here is a sneak peek at an innovative learning simulation:
Meet Kiyana and Jeremiah… both juniors in high school. After dating for a couple of months, Jeremiah tells Kiyana he loves her and he’s never felt this way about a girl. Jeremiah keeps telling her he loves her, even when he yells at her for not answering his calls, and even after he chokes her when they have a fight about her talking with another football teammate of Jeremiah’s.
Meet Lexi and Olivia… they’ve been dating about 6 months and things seemed to be going really well, until Olivia began to get jealous about Lexi spending time with other friends and her family. At first, Lexi took the jealousy as a sign that Olivia really cared for her, but as time went on Lexi is feeling like she has to choose between her friends/family and her girlfriend.
These two stories are part of a new teen dating violence simulation curriculum developed by the Iowa state child support office to enhance their Parenting It’s a Life (PIAL) curriculum. The Iowa Department of Human Services Child Recovery Unit partnered with Iowa State University, the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence to create and offer a dating violence simulation for students called ADMYRE (Advocating for My Relationships).
During the simulation, students walk through one of eight short stories based on real-life scenarios of unhealthy relationships. The students make decisions as if they are the main character and then discuss how the relationship affected the lives of their character. Participants move, act, think, and make choices as a person experiencing an abusive relationship. This simulation—in person or online—is designed for experiential learning about domestic violence.
It’s exciting to see ways that the child support program can teach youth the fundamentals of healthy, respectful, and nonviolent relationships. We’ll share more news about other grantees’ efforts to reduce teen dating violence and promote responsible parenting in future issues. You can also learn about two upcoming funding opportunities designed to build on our DV work and significantly expand the capacity of child support agencies to respond to domestic violence.
Tanguler Gray, Commissioner
This blog gives the commissioner a forum to communicate directly with child support professionals and other stakeholders about relevant topics. The Commissioner’s Voice is reprinted from the February 2022 Child Support Report newsletter.