measuring outcomes for the next generation of healthy ...€¦ · welcome and introductions ....

1

Measuring Outcomes for the Next Generation of Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Programs

June 11, 2015

2 Measuring Outcomes for the Next Generation of HMRE Programs June 11, 2015

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Welcome and Introductions

Kristin Anderson Moore Child Trends

[email protected]


Agenda

1. Overview of OFA HMRE programs

2. Project overview and goals

3. Measure identification and development

4. Introduction of measures spreadsheets

5. Sample exercises

6. Data Collection tip sheets

7. Q&A


Presenters

Charisse Johnson Office of Family Assistance

[email protected]

Anna Solmeyer Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation

[email protected]

Mindy Scott Child Trends

[email protected]


Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) administers the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program which helps families foster healthy and economically secure households and communities, for the well being and long-term success of children and families.

TANF grants are issued to States, Territories, and Tribes to implement programs that best serve their distinct communities.

Four major purposes of TANF:

1. assisting needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes

2. reducing the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage

3. preventing out-of-wedlock pregnancies encouraging the formation and maintenance of two-parent families


Healthy Marriage (HMRF) and Responsible Fatherhood

• The Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (CRA) provided $75 million for Healthy Marriage grants and $75 million for Responsible Fatherhood grants

• Through discretionary grants to communities, ACF funds a network of 121 grantee organizations in 47 states

• Grantees provide the following services and activities: • comprehensive healthy relationship and marriage education • responsible parenting • job and career advancement activities


Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE)

The HMRE program has eight activities designed to promote family-strengthening through the specified activities authorized by the CRA.

The CRA authorizes eight “healthy marriage promotion” activities:

• Public Advertising Campaigns

• Education in High Schools • Marriage and Relationship Education/Skills (MRES) • Pre-Marital Education

• Marriage Enhancement

• Divorce Reduction

• Marriage Mentoring

• Reduction of Disincentive to Marriage


HMRE Outcomes

Short-Term Outcomes • Improved HMRE skills

• Improved parenting and co-parenting skills

• Progress toward greater economic stability for low-income participants, including increased skill in attainment and employment

Long-Term Outcomes • Improved family functioning

• Improved adult and child well-being

• Increased economic stability and mobility

• Reduced poverty

• Successful youth transition to adulthood (where applicable)

• Reduced recidivism (where applicable)


HMRE for High School Youth

Serving Youth in High Schools

• Value of marriage • Relationship skills • Budgeting

Youth in high schools is the largestpopulation served in HMRE


Responsible Fatherhood (RF)

The RF Core Services

• Strengthen positive father-child engagement • Improve healthy relationships (parenting, co-

parenting, marriage, etc.) • Improve employment and economic mobility


Responsible Fatherhood Programs Short-Term Outcomes • Improved healthy relationship and marriage skills • Improved parenting and co-parenting skills • Increased frequency of father/child engagement • Increased financial responsibility of fathers • Progress toward greater economic stability, including increased skill

attainment and employment • Reduced recidivism (as appropriate)

Long-Term Outcomes • Improved family functioning

(couple relationships, parenting and co-parenting)

• Improved adult and child well-being • Increased economic stability and mobility • Reduced poverty • Reduced recidivism (as appropriate)


HMRE Learning Agenda

• Learn from the HMRE field of practice • Support good quality well-designed evaluations • Expand the evidence base • Learn from grantees in order to improve future

programming • Learn more about what does and does not work


Measurement is KEY

• Accurate evaluation results hinge on using accurate measures

• Couples and families are complicated – this makes it both very difficult and very important to use high quality outcome measures

• Many existing measures may not be relevant for populations served by ACF programs


3M Project Overview and Goals

Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Models and Measures (3M) project builds on ACF-funded HMRE research and evaluation to:

• Identify priority target populations • Recommend items and measures


Target Population: Adolescents

• Between the ages of 14 - 18

• Who are and are not in current romantic relationships

• Multiple settings:

• in-school

• out-of-school

• alternative school settings


Target Population: Parents in Complex Families

• Parents who have at least one child together

• One or both partners have children from previous relationships

• In committed relationships • Complex and blended families are

interchangeable


Project Products

Measures Spreadsheets

1. Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education: Recommended Outcome Measures for Adolescents

2. Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education: Recommended Outcome Measures for Parents in Complex Families

Data Collection Tip Sheets

1. Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education: Considerations for Collecting Outcomes Data from Adolescents

2. Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education: Considerations for Collecting Outcomes Data from Parents in Complex Families


Purpose of the Measures Spreadsheets

• Summarize recommended items for assessing outcomes for each target population

• For researchers, evaluators, and others when planning how to measure outcomes for HMRE programs

• Searchable by:

• Outcome domain

• Construct

• Prior use


Measure Identification and Development

• Recommendations were informed by: a review of literature and evaluation studies input from an expert work group and

additional HMRE experts development of HMRE program logic model results from cognitive interviews with the

target populations

• Items drawn directly from existing sources, adapted to be more appropriate for the target population, or newly developed for this project


Measure Identification and Development

• Identified short-term, intermediate, and longer-term outcomes

• Single items and full scales/subscales are considered • Psychometric properties

for tested scales are provided when available

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Outcome Domains: Adolescents

Measuring Outcomes for the Next Generation of HMRE Programs June 11, 2015


Outcome Domains: Parents in Complex Families


Measures Spreadsheets

Access the measures spreadsheets on OPRE’s 3M project webpage

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/research/project/healthy-marriage-relationship-education-models-and-measures

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/resource/healthy-marriage-relation-ed-consider-data-recommend-outcome-

measures-adolescents-complex-families



https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/opre/hmre_recommended_outcome_measures_for_adolescents.xlsx

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/resource/healthy-marriage-relation-ed-consider-data-recommend-outcome-measures-adolescents-complex-families























http://www.childtrends.org/our-research/marriage-and-cohabitation/3m/


Measures Spreadsheet Content

• Background page • Column definitions • Item Subject definitions • Table of contents • Outcome domain definitions • Outcome domain worksheets


LIVE DEMONSTRATION


Adolescents: Exercise #1

• Domain: Healthy Relationship Knowledge, Expectations, and Attitudes

• Construct: General Relationship Attitudes (Attitudes/Beliefs)

Live Demonstration


Adolescents: Exercise #2

• Domain: Emotional & Personal Support

• Construct: Respectful Communication (Skills/Behaviors)

Live Demonstration


Parents in Complex Families: Exercise #1

• Domain: Co-Parenting Relationship with Previous Partner

• Construct: Co-parenting conflict (attitudes/behaviors)

Live Demonstration


Parents in Complex Families: Exercise #2

• Domain: Relationship and Marriage Attitudes and Expectations

• Construct: Attitudes about remarriage and stepfamilies (attitudes/beliefs)

Live Demonstration


Data Collection Tip Sheet for Adolescents


Data Collection Tip Sheet for Complex Families


Data Collection Tip Sheets

• What are the intervention’s goals and target population(s)?

• Who should answer the questions?

• Who should the questions be about?

• How should the data be collected?

• Specific to complex families, how should “family” be defined?


OPRE’s Ongoing HMRE Research

• Youth Education and Relationship Services (YEARS) • Learn more about the youth services offered by

OFA Healthy Marriage grantees • Inform future efforts to improve HMRE services

• Strengthening Relationship Education and Marriage Services (STREAMS) • Rigorous, multi-site study with a small set OFA

Healthy Marriage grantees from the 2015 cohort

• Youth are one of the populations of interest


Questions?


Additional Resources and Information

Child Trends project webpage:


OPRE project webpage:

























Thank you!

measuring outcomes for the next generation of healthy ...€¦ · welcome and introductions ....

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