Mindful Continuing Education

Evaluating Grant Programs that Support Healthy Marriage

Introduction and Background

1. While research confirms that growing up with two parents in a stable, low conflict, healthy marriage can lead to favorable outcomes for children, creating this environment is particularly difficult for low-income couples, because financial difficulties may put them at high risk for conflict and ultimately, relationship dissolution.

A. True B. False

The Policy and Research Context for HM Programs-Box 1.1

2. Initial federal funding dedicated to healthy marriage (HM) promotion and responsible fatherhood endorsed eight "allowable activities" which included each of the following areas EXCEPT:

A. Public advertising campaigns and relationship education for youth B. Marriage and relationship skills education, premarital education, and marriage enhancement C. Financial planning, job retention, and adult education D. Divorce reduction, marriage mentoring, and efforts to reduce marriage disincentives in social programs

Overview of PACT Evaluation

3. One element of the Parents and Children Together (PACT) evaluation that examines the effectiveness of HM and Responsible Fatherhood (FH) grantees is an impact study to document design implementation, challenges, and promising practices of such programs.

A. True B. False

PACT's Evaluation Framework

4. The goal of the PACT evaluation framework is to focus on changes that are expected to occur in study couples, commitment, actions, and overall satisfaction six months after study enrollment.

A. True B. False

Program Services and Activities

5. Evaluation findings indicate that the foundations of successful HM program implementation lies in clearly defining the services to be provided, the approach to their delivery, and the staff best qualified to deliver them.

A. True B. False

Relationship Skills Workshops

6. Relationship skills workshop engage couples in discussions about personalities and perspectives so that partners can:

A. Develop an understanding of each other's outlooks B. Recognize irritants and triggers C. Learn skills to avoid fighting and arguing D. All of the above

7. In response to new funding legislation, marriage and relationship education programs have been able to integrate job and career advancement services as a means to promote economic and financial well-being.

A. True B. False

Box 11.3-Sample Job and Career Advancement Workshop Topics

8. Job skill and employment advancement topics such as professionalism and career interest exploration are considered soft-skills that can enhance overall economic stability.

A. True B. False

9. A key driver of success of career advancement services in the evaluated programs was:

A. Case management B. Funding allowances C. Time management skills of participants D. Continuous outreach

Outreach and Intake Strategies

10. Referrals from community agencies tend to be the most effective way to recruit couples and obtain buy-in for grant-based healthy relationship programs.

A. True B. False

Enrollment-Participant Motivation for Program Enrollment

11. According to the authors, the greatest motivation for participant in the HM programs was to improve overall family well-being.

A. True B. False

Participant Characteristics, Attendance and Dosage

12. Participant response to services is an important mediator for program outcomes, as participants who do not attend program services cannot experience the expected benefits of participating.

A. True B. False

Participants' Program Experiences-Enrollment and Participation

13. An important consideration for program participation is to ensure that couples can view these programs as a way to enrich relationships rather than to fix marriage problems.

A. True B. False

Lessons Participants Learned

14. Program participants reported learning concrete relationship skills and strategies, with main takeaways being:

A. Realistic expectations and goals B. Communication and anger management strategies C. Skills to renew intimacy and commitment D. Ways to decrease stress and increase relaxation

15. One effective HM strategy is to enable couples to share their backgrounds so they can recognize and understand different perspectives as they work on changing behaviors.

A. True B. False

Staffing, Supervision, and Implementation Support-Training and Supervision

16. Which of the following is NOT a correct statement about training and supervising HM program staff?

A. Most program staff received training in the 12 months prior to completing the staff survey, found it helpful, and felt prepared for their jobs as a result B. Domestic violence partner organizations provided annual training to staff about recognizing signs of domestic violence, and how to respond when domestic violence is identified C. Facilitators received initial training and coaching on the relationship skills curriculum, and before leading a workshop session, facilitators read curriculum manuals, watched training videos, and observed other sessions D. Staff reported having a general need to improve the level of supervision they received from program directors and/or clinical staff

Strategies to Monitor Operations and Service Delivery

17. Program adherence and quality can most effectively be monitored by observing the process, debriefing it, assessing strengths and weakness, and revising when necessary, which is known as outcome mapping.

A. True B. False

Lessons Learned and Implications for Future Programming

18. Evaluation findings concluded that strong participation in a relationship education component likely reflect the characteristics of enrolled participants and programmatic strategies to promote attendance.

A. True B. False

19. Although programs may vary in the number of workshop hours offered, a recommended length of time that is long enough to allow a pattern of attendance to develop, but short enough to be realistic for completion is about:

A. 4-6 weeks B. Two months C. 3-4 months D. None of the above

Considerations for Future HM Programming and Research

20. Since couples in healthy relationship enhancement programs have differing needs and dynamics, programs may find that the best way to provide job and career advancement services is by developing multiple strategies for improving families’ economic well-being and matching services to their needs.

A. True B. False


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