Policymakers and policy analysts are increasingly turning to micro-level interventions to address large and widespread social issues. There is a growing recognition that what happens inside a home and family has broader social ramifications, which is turning policy conversations toward approaches that can strengthen couples and families.

Relationship Education has proven to be effective for improving outcomes in a variety of settings related to families. Because many of the issues that public policy seeks to address are affected by family instability and parental conflict, Relationship Education can act as a preventative measure that diminishes risk factors that originate in the home. Also, addressing a problem after it has taken hold is often more expensive than stopping it from happening in the present.

Join Dr. Jocelyn Wikle to learn how Relationship Education can be beneficial in diminishing serious and costly issues of divorce, children’s mental health, children’s academic outcomes, foster care, teen pregnancy, incarceration, and domestic violence.

This webinar will also provide suggestions for ways that federal and state policy could expand support for Relationship Education to address many social issues and the costs associated with them.

Objectives: Participants will be able to:

• Communicate the economic – and human – value of supporting Relationship Education programs to reduce public costs and to improve the lives of people across the nation.
• Use a research-based approach and data to demonstrate the effectiveness of Relationship Education to address policy issues.
• Provide suggestions for how policy can better support Relationship Education.

Presenter: Jocelyn Wikle, Ph.D.; Assistant Professor of Family Studies in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University

Who should attend: Federal, state, and local policy makers, youth and family serving non-profits who engage policy makers, state and local education agency policy makers, community-based organizations who seek new ways to communicate about Relationship Education, non-profit executives who wish to expand their reach and improve mission outcomes.

Resources:

• March 2024 Webinar Slide Deck
• NARME RE ROI Report