Resource Library

This is the second in a series of four inter-related reports titled Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress. The first report, Foundations for Understanding Self-Regulation from an Applied Developmental Perspective provides a comprehensive framework for understanding self-regulation in context, using a theoretical model that reflects the influence of biology, caregiving, and the environment on the development of self-regulation. This second report, A Review of...

This report from the Urban Institute provides early implementation findings from a study of six grantees that provide soon-to-be and recently-released fathers and their families with an array of activities and services in responsible fatherhood/parenting, healthy marriage/relationships, and economic stability. The goals of the programs are to help stabilize the fathers and their families, move the fathers toward self-sufficiency, and reduce recidivism.  These OFA grantees began program...

The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) was authorized by Congress in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act. The program, overseen by the Family and Youth Services Bureau, is designed to provide educational programs to adolescents on teen pregnancy prevention and related topics.  The program must also address healthy transition to young adulthood by addressing adulthood preparation subjects that were mandated by Congress. Most of the PREP funding...

Recent updates from the Parents and Children Together Evaluation...

The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project is the first major effort to apply a behavioral economics lens to programs that serve poor and vulnerable families in the United States. This report presents findings from a behavioral intervention designed to increase the number of incarcerated noncustodial parents in Texas who apply for modifications to reduce the amount of their child support orders. Using a method called “behavioral diagnosis and design”...

Insights from behavioral economics, which combines findings from psychology and economics, suggest that a deeper understanding of decision-making and behavior could improve human services program design and outcomes. Research has shown that small changes in the environment can facilitate behaviors and decisions that are in people’s best interest. However, there has been relatively little exploration of the potential application of this science to complex, large-scale human services...

Recent updates from the Parents and Children Together Evaluation...

The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) was authorized by Congress in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act.  The program, which is overseen by the Family and Youth Services Bureau, is designed to educate adolescents on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of pregnancy.  The program must also address healthy transition to young adulthood by addressing adulthood preparation subjects that were mandated by Congress.  Most of the PREP funding...

This report provides an overview of the Supporting Healthy Marriage program model and includes final (30-month) impact findings on a range of outcomes including marital stability, relationship quality, co-parenting, and adult and child well-being. The report indicates that the program did not increase the likelihood that couples stayed together. The program did produce small positive effects in the relationship quality domain, but it did not improve co-parenting or measurably benefit...

This technical supplement to the evaluation’s 30-month final impact report provides additional details about the study’s research design, data sources, measures construction, outcome and subgroup measures, analytic approach, and sensitivity and robustness tests of the impact estimates.  It also presents supplemental analyses of impacts by program and subgroup and on additional child, parenting and adult outcomes...