The need for teaching teens healthy romantic relationship skills could not be greater yet the capacity to serve these youth in geographic area is today incredibly small.
(c) Applicant’s Capacity Building Needs. Currently, only ## of schools, churches or agencies in geographic area appears to offer programs for high school youth. Relationship skills classes for high school students are one of the eight approved activities in the federal Healthy Marriage Initiative. It is the intent of the applicant’s name to initiate HMC high school best practices programs in schools, churches and youth agencies (Leadership Development & Programs/Services).
(d) Project Objectives: Our objectives are to: Train a minimum of ## teachers and youth workers in the best practices youth relationship skills programs, including Connections, Love U2^® and/or The Art of Loving Well. (Leadership Development & Programs/Services). A thorough description of our objectives is contained in a logic model in Appendix A.
Before they reach the age of 18 most children in California will spend at least a significant portion of their childhoods in a one-parent home. Research shows such children are at double the risk for a divorce in their adult lives. This pattern can be effectively interrupted. A central tenet of the marriage education movement is that relationship and marriage skills can be taught and learned constituting an obvious divorce prevention strategy. In addition, we know from research (see Appendix B) that teaching young people relationships skills provides other critical benefits to them and society overall. Training instructors will enable the Name of Applicant to address these vital needs.
APPROACH
(a) Capacity Building Strategy. Sections 1 and 2:
The plan for developing leadership and increasing program and services involves training a minimum of ##teachers and youth workers in the best practices relationship skills programs, Connections, Love U2^® and/or The Art of Loving Well. (A summary of each program is in Appendix C). It includes scheduling the trainers as well as the site, promoting and delivering the training, and organizing a list-serve of participants for ongoing support from the trainers. It is expected that as a result of the training, a minimum of ##teens (##instructors with ##participants on average) will go through a relationship skills class in the following ##months.
 (b) Timeline. The activities of this project will be conducted between  date and date. Details of the sequence, timing, staff assignment, capacity building impact and measurements are found in Appendix A.
Organizational Profile
(a) Past Experience: The DF, a 501(c) (3) non-profit, has been serving youth by developing and distributing best practices relationship and marriage skills curricula since 1996.
RESULTS OR BENEFITS EXPECTED
(a) Capacity-Building Impact on Applicant Organization: The capacity-building results are expected to be increasing the number of trained youth marriage education instructors.
The process for determining the relationship between project activities and outcomes was by researching the activities and outcomes of other successful HMCs and incorporating the expertise and experience of Kay Reed, Executive Director of the Dibble Institute in the field of youth marriage education.
The project objectives, activities and anticipated results flow logically from one to the next (See Appendix A). Training ##teachers and youth workers (objective) necessitates scheduling, handling logistics, presenting the training, and developing an ongoing support mechanism (activities) which results in members being able to better serve the youth in their communities (results).
 (b) Anticipated Resulting Client Impact: In the short-term it is anticipated that the ## leaders trained in Connections, Love U2^® and/or The Art of Loving Well will teach at least ## high school youth within the ## months following the training. At the end of ## years, it is anticipated that, at minimum ## to ## young people will have attended a youth marriage education program at their church, school or club. A synopsis of the evaluations regarding the benefits and impacts on youth of the Connections, Love U2^® and Art of Loving Well programs are well documented. (See Appendix B.)
(c) Quantification/Measurement Strategy: This project will thoroughly evaluate and document how best to implement youth programming in geographic area by tracking the outcomes expected as listed in Appendix A. Not only will activities be tracked, but more importantly, so will results. In our evaluation, we will ascertain: the extent to which the trained leaders then returned to their HMCs and began to deliver youth programming (i.e. Were they successful? What worked well? What worked less well?
Results will be measured by compiling and analyzing written and verbal surveys from our partners and training workshop participants. The instruments used will be developed by the staff of the Applicant Organization in consultation with coalition members.

Appendix B – Research Synopsis
Report on Outcomes of Relationship and Marriage Education Programs for Youth

 

Relationship and marriage education curricula effectively address some of today’s most pressing social problems including adolescent pregnancy, violence, poor parent-child relations, and marital distress. Prevention is the key and the place to start is by teaching youth these skills, behaviors and attitudes before they marry.

The following list of pioneering current empirical research shows the benefits of teaching youth relationship and marriage skills. Such programs can:

•      Significantly reduce the onset of sexual activity by increasing self-awareness, self-discipline, the ability to delay gratification and develop long term goals.  The Art of Loving Well curriculum was developed at Boston University under a five-year grant from the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs (OAPP) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  It consists of an anthology of compelling literary selections along with activities to enable students to learn vicariously from their readings and from conversations with teachers, parents, and friends. www.bu.edu/education/lovingwell(Amelia Kreitzer, Project Evaluator, CSTEEP, Boston College 1992.)

•      Decrease peer-to-peer physical violence, improve communications with parents, change negative attitudes towards marriage and marriage education. The Connections: Relationships and Marriage curriculum appears to be beneficial in changing attitudes and actual behaviors in high school students from diverse racial backgrounds.  It decreases the use of verbally aggressive and violent tactics in interpersonal conflicts.  It tends to improve parent-child communication. The students taking this course become less favorable toward divorce, more favorable toward marriage, and more favorable toward preparing for and protecting their marriage. (Scott Gardner, PhD, South Dakota State University. 2005.)

•      Improve students’ ability to resist sexual pressure and decrease negative behaviors at home and at school. The Connections: Dating and Emotions curriculum is effective as a teen pregnancy prevention curriculum by increasing teens’ ability to resist sexual pressure. Additionally, the curriculum is effective at preventing future relationship and marriage difficulties by improving key attitudes that should lead to students participating in behaviors and activities which are protective against future marital distress, domestic violence and divorce.  The curriculum also shows promise in reducing violence in relationships and negative behaviors at school and at home.(Scott Gardner, PhD, South Dakota State University. 2005)

•      Show promise in reducing dating violence and abuse. Students receive the Love U2^®: Relationship Smarts program content well and judge it to be relevant and valuable. Participants in the Relationship Smarts program show increases in knowledge and understanding of various aspects of healthy relationships including healthy and unhealthy dating relationships, healthy relationship development and healthy marriages. Verbal aggression appears to be reduced. (Francesca Adler-Bader, Auburn University, 2005.)

Complete research briefs are available at www.dibbleinstitute.org.

Appendix C – Program Summaries

Dibble Program Synopsis

The CONNECTIONS Courses by Charlene Kamper

CONNECTIONS courses teach teens the skills that are essential for success in their dating relationships and in preparing for marriage:

“Dating and Emotions” (Grades 8-12)
Dating doesn't always come naturally. This 17-lesson course helps younger teens understand early relationships - and helps establish a strong foundation for later life. A variety of appealing exercises teach teens how relationships develop, effective ways to communicate, how to recognize destructive patterns, how to deal with emotions, and other essential skills. Content also integrates material from the highly respected PREP ® program.

“Relationships and Marriage” (Grades 11-14. Also available in Spanish.)
Young adults face enormous - and conflicting - pressures in their romantic relationships. This program gives them practical tools for understanding, managing, and making wise decisions about these relationships. The 18 lessons cover self-awareness, relationships, communication, and conflict.... plus the engaging Marriage Game that is a big favorite with boys and girls alike! Material from the highly respected PREP ® trainings is also included.

The LOVE U2^® Courses by Marline Pearson

Teens today live and breathe in a culture that touts casual sex and casual connections. Love U2^® is a series of units that help young people acquire practical skills for emotionally healthy and ethically sound relationships. It focuses on helping teens craft a roadmap toward what they hope to achieve, not just what they must avoid.

"Relationship Smarts" (Grades 8-12) offers 13 lessons of practical guidance for building relationships that are not based on sex. It covers subjects such as infatuation, rejection, falling in love, emotions, gauging relationship health, a low-risk relationship strategy, and breaking up.

"Communication Smarts: PREP® for Teens" (Grades 8-12) gives teens 7 lessons in communication and conflict management skills for use with peers and family. The material is adapted for teens from the highly acclaimed, research-based PREP ® programs.

“Baby Smarts – Through the Eyes of a Child” (Grades 9-12) In 10 activity-based lessons, Baby Smarts presents a highly engaging course on what babies require in order to develop and thrive. Teens learn about nurturing and socializing, how early experiences shape the future, why fathers matter, the impact of parents’ relationships, the relevance of marriage, and more. This unique strategy builds a critical knowledge base that powerfully motivates teens to avoid unwed childbearing as well as early sexual involvement. It builds an ethical awareness of the link between their sexual decisions and potential consequences for a child.
THE ART OF LOVING WELL – Nancy McLaren (principal curriculum developer)
Boston University
The Art of Loving Well uses short stories, poems, essays, folktales, and myths to help adolescents learn responsible sexual and social values.  This curriculum is not sex education in the usual sense; it is relationship education.  Its central premise is that more than any grade on a report card or size of a paycheck it is the quality of our relationships that determine the quality of our lives.  The Loving Well curriculum includes activities that foster precisely those social and emotional skills essential to healthy friendships, strong families, and lasting marriages.
Good literature reflects the complexity of real life situations, and The Art of Loving Well anthology includes both time-honored classics and the best of contemporary adolescent literature.  Each of the forty ethnically diverse selections is accompanied by activities to help students learn vicariously from their readings and from conversations with teachers, parents, and friends.  The activities also promote the standard language arts skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
The Loving Well Project was developed under a grant from the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs, a division of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, and it has been cited in Congress for its innovative and effective approach to character education.  Outside evaluation confirms its positive impact on adolescent attitudes and behavior; eighth and ninth grade students enrolled in the Art of Loving Well curriculum proved three times more likely to delay the onset of sexual activity than their peers.

Appendix D –Track Record And History Of Addressing Community Needs Through Education, Service And Outreach

The Dibble Institute, established in 1996, has been a consistent provider of best-practices marriage and relationship skills programs that address the needs of youth. We have served teachers and youth workers around the country, helping them implement youth marriage education programs. Our Outreach Educators attend over 60 conferences each year, presenting the case for marriage as well as helping people meet their needs for youth relationship skills materials.  We have partnered with several HMCs including the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative and Families Matter in Memphis to introduce and support their youth programming efforts.

Appendix E – Staff and Consultant Biographies
Kay Reed pioneered the field of youth marriage education by co-founding The Dibble Institute for Marriage Education in 1995. Since then, the Dibble Institute programs, CONNECTIONS and Love U2^®, have spread to all states, involving hundreds of schools, youth agencies and churches, reaching over 50,000 young people. Mrs. Reed has consulted with the Brookings Institute and the Rand Corporation on youth relationship and marriage education best practices. Professionally, she has spent over 25 years in the fields of youth development and non-profit management with the March of Dimes, YMCA, and secondary education.

Melanie Speir has 24 years of experience organizing and managing projects in both the public and private sectors, with an emphasis on education and youth services. Her work includes program administration and evaluation as well as client maintenance and staff training. She has experience organizing and liaising with large numbers of diverse clients, including ethnic and economic minorities, and has worked with a wide variety of non-profits that range from nationally based youth organizations to educational foundations, schools, churches, and homeless shelters.

Marline Pearson has taught social science and criminology for 25 years. Inspired by on a long-standing interest in high-risk kids, she has created the innovative the Love U2^® program for teenagers. She co-authored “Within My Reach” for young welfare mothers. She has trained teachers, school counselors, and other social service professionals. Ms. Pearson authored “Can Kids Get Smart About Marriage: A Veteran Teacher Reviews Some of the Leading Relationship and Marriage Programs”, published by the National Marriage Project of Rutgers University.

Charlene R. Kamper is a full-time instructor of Introductory and Advanced Placement Psychology at Redlands High School, Redlands, California. She is the developer of the Connections programs. She holds a master’s degree in Family Studies.  She is also a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE).  As an educator, Ms. Kamper is active in student and parent training classes at local schools and is a frequent lecturer on student issues at national conferences and organizations.

Nancy McLaren, who earned her degrees at Smith College and Harvard University, began her career in education at Newton South High School in Newton, MA, where she taught English to students who ranged from at-risk to advanced placement. She also served as a master teacher for Middlebury College’s Breadloaf School of English.  Since 1985, McLaren has been at Boston University’s School of Education where her primary interest is literature-based curriculum.  Supported by grants from the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, she has been the principal developer and coordinator of both The Character Project and The Art of Loving.