Embedding Job and Career Advancement Services in Healthy Marriage Programs: Lessons from Two Programs in PACT
Parents and Children Together Practitioner's Brief
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Associated Project
Parents and Children Together (PACT)
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation
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Key Findings
Key Findings:
- The couples in the two Healthy Marriage programs in PACT enrolled primarily to improve their romantic relationships, which led to moderately high rates of participation in the marriage and relationship skills workshops, particularly at the El Paso Center for Children. Some couples also faced economic instability, a challenge that the programs attempted to address.
- The need for and interest in job and career advancement services likely depends on the population served by the program. Compared with the El Paso Center for Children, more participants at University Behavioral Associates needed jobs and were more likely to attend the job and career workshops. The vast majority of couples at the El Paso Center for Children had at least one partner who was employed, which might have limited their interest in those services.
- On average, couples in each program received about 17 hours of services, mostly in the marriage and relationship skills workshop. University Behavioral Associates spent more time covering the topic of economic stability than did the El Paso Center for Children. At University Behavioral Associates, about one-fifth of the time couples spent in program activities—about 3.5 hours—was focused on economic well-being.
This brief describes how two Healthy Marriage grantees integrated job and career advancement services for parenting couples into their programs and the role these services played in meeting the needs of couples and engaging them in services. The findings are drawn from the multicomponent Parents and Children Together (PACT) evaluation of selected 2011 grantees, sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Among other research questions, PACT is documenting the design and operations of Healthy Marriage programs and will analyze their effects on couples’ lives.
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