A healthy relationship can play a critical role in establishing family stability for both adults and children. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on families nationwide with reports of higher rates of stress and declining marriages. Understanding the importance of healthy relationships in promoting economic stability among TANF recipients, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) awards Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) grants for a variety of programs working to integrate skills-based relationship education into employment services. During this June 28, 2022 OFA webinar, HMRE grantees and subject matter experts discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marriage and relationships. Webinar participants learned numerous ways HMRE grantees are engaging clients in programming such as family stability, healthy relationships, and economic security; explored how HMRE grantees adjusted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how their clients benefited from the pandemic adaptations; and heard about how these grantees will utilize lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to improve future efforts.

Webinar speakers included: Nikkole Abbas, Director of Family Support and Advocacy Services, Youth and Family Services of South Dakota; Robert Ketchum, Data Manager/Adult Educator, Youth and Family Services of South Dakota; and Mariana Falconier, Associate Professor of Family Science in the School of Public Health and Project Director of the University of Maryland’s TOGETHER program. The webinar was moderated by Robyn Cenizal, Project Director, Family Strengthening, ICF.

Healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) programs for youth aim to improve young people’s understanding of romantic relationships and prepare them to have healthy romantic relationships in adolescence and adulthood. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief summarizes the impact literature on these programs. The brief describes HMRE programs for youth, including the types of services they offer, how they are structured, the populations they serve, and their effectiveness.

The Office of Family Assistance has awarded and overseen federal funding for four cohorts of healthy marriage (HM) and responsible fatherhood (RF) grant programs (2006-2011, 2011-2015, 2015-2020, and 2020-2025). The HM grantees promote healthy marriage and relationships through eight legislatively authorized activities, such as marriage and relationship education and development of skills for job and career advancement. RF grantees’ legislatively authorized activities promote responsible parenting, healthy marriage, and economic stability. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief shares what was learned after visits with grantees about factors that have helped or hindered successful implementation of the 2015-2020 cohort of grantees, focusing on approaches to staffing programs and working with partners.

This annotated bibliography offers resources to practitioners and researchers within the Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) field that may help them adapt, develop, and test new or refined strategies for working with diverse groups of youth, including those who have faced adversity. These populations include youth aging out of foster care, those who are or have been involved with the juvenile justice system, those who are parents, and those who are or have experienced homelessness.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report examines the initial impact of two versions of the Relationships Smarts PLUS program, delivered primarily to 9th graders at two Atlanta-area high schools. The two versions of Relationship Smarts PLUS were either a full 12-lesson 18-hour version, or an 8-lesson 12-hour format (designed specifically for this study). Key questions in the report pertain to the impact of HMRE on students’ relationship skills, attitudes, and knowledge beyond the end of the course and the influence on students of shortening an HMRE program.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report is a case study of how the University of Florida’s ELEVATE program transitioned from a five-session, in-person Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education program to virtual delivery as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report covers how the shift impacted staff training, participant recruitment and enrollment, program facilitation, participant retention strategies, and staff supervision and support.

The crisis of marriage and family formation involves both economic and complex social factors. Children raised in non-intact families face numerous disadvantages, including higher poverty rates, poorer educational outcomes, and increased exposure to violence and substance abuse as compared to their peers with intact families. This Institute for Family Studies report focuses on family dynamics in Texas, identifies barriers to marriage and family formation, and proposes a pro-family policy agenda for the state.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program plays a key role in promoting strength and stability for families experiencing poverty. By helping families to meet their basic needs, obtain employment, and nurture healthy family relationships, TANF programs can foster long-term family wellbeing and economic independence. States have significant flexibility to use TANF funds to address unique family needs and accomplish any of the four purposes of TANF.

The Office of Family Assistance released a series of briefs that highlight innovative and strategic ways that states are leveraging TANF funds to strengthen families and communities by building capacity for self-sufficiency and economic independence. This brief spotlights healthy relationship initiatives in West Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, and Utah.

This National Responsible Fatherhood video explores the community's interest and openness to change, reflecting on insights from leadership, staff, and family members about anticipated improvements and expectations. Topics covered in this video include:

• The collective commitment to enhancing the well-being of all families in West Virginia;
• The overwhelming desire to encourage and provide services specifically for fathers, ensuring they receive the support needed to be actively involved in their children's lives;
• The perspectives from leaders, staff, and family members about the future of social services and the changes they hope to see; and
• The efforts to create programs that foster stronger community connections and remove barriers that fathers face. 

This National Responsible Fatherhood video highlights the dedicated efforts taking place within West Virginia's Family Support Centers (FSCs), which are essential community hubs that provide a wide range of services to families with children up to age 18 and pregnant families. Topics covered in this video include:

• Innovative service models implemented at FSCs, designed to meet the unique needs of each community;
• Diverse range of services offered, including parent education classes, child development activities, after-school programs, GED and literacy instruction, health information, and more;
• Staffing, training, and recruitment practices that ensure effective and compassionate service delivery;
• Continuous quality improvement measures in place to maintain the effectiveness and sustainability of these programs; and
• Renewed efforts to support and empower fathers, enhancing their role in family dynamics.