distressed/disadvantaged participants – The Relationship Educator

Factors Impacting Program Retention

By Sarah Hokanson

Bottom-Line First: A recent study of a home-based couple relationship education program for lower income couples looked at factors that predicted early drop-out and session attendance. About a quarter of couples dropped out after the first session. This drop-out rate is not much different from what has been found in other studies, despite the more flexible delivery system. Younger couples and cohabiting couples were more likely to drop out. And interestingly, more committed couples were more likely to drop out early. Continue reading “Factors Impacting Program Retention”

The Challenges of Recruitment

By Sarah Hokanson

The Bottom-Line First: Recruiting lower income couples for relationship education is difficult. As relationship educators, we need to be intentional in planning for and carrying out effective recruitment strategies. This will require us to allocate more resources to our recruitment efforts. This study outlines challenges and successes practitioners have experienced in recruiting lower income couples. Continue reading “The Challenges of Recruitment”

Are Federally Supported Relationship Education Programs for Lower-Income Individuals and Couples Working?

A Review of Evaluation Research

by Alan J. Hawkins

The Bottom-line First. From the beginning of the federal Healthy Marriage and Relationships Education (HMRE) policy initiative, there has been an impressive body of serious evaluation work on the effectiveness of relationship education programs designed to help lower income couples form and sustain healthy relationships and marriages. Large-scale, rigorous, randomized controlled trial evaluation studies reveal promising successes, disappointing failures, and nuanced findings in-between. Critics’ claims that the HMRE initiative has been a failure are challenged by a thorough investigation of the research in this area. Still, federal policy needs to support more innovative approaches and strategies to increase the reach of relationship education services and improve their effectiveness. The initiative needs to move beyond a focus on program success to population impact. Continue reading “Are Federally Supported Relationship Education Programs for Lower-Income Individuals and Couples Working?”

Viewing Relationship Education through the Lens of Social Poverty

By Alan J. Hawkins

The Bottom-line First. I have waited anxiously for Sarah Halpern-Meekin’s new book, Social Poverty, since I first heard her describe the study and writing project three years ago. I wasn’t disappointed. Her analysis of low-income parents’ lives and their experiences trying to strengthen their relationships for the sake of their children provides a clearer lens with which to view relationship education and federal policies to help low-income couples strengthen their relationships. Continue reading “Viewing Relationship Education through the Lens of Social Poverty”