Contact Information

About the program:
Kimberly Greder
56 LeBaron Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011
kgreder@iastate.edu
phone: 515-294-5906
fax: 515-294-5507

Joyce Howard
Secretary
jahoward@iastate.edu
phone: 515-294-8754
fax: 515-294-5507

About the Web site:
Diana Broshar
dmbro@iastate.edu
phone: 515-294-8204

[December 2, 2005]

• Findings from research and practice about the impact of the marital relationship on parenting and child outcomes
• Preliminary findings from the Family Formation Project, a state and federally funded demonstration project in Minnesota with urban unmarried new parent couples who aspire to form healthy marriages and stable families.
• Program implications for working with unmarried parents who are considering marriage as an option.

The Relationship between Marriage and Parenting
Dr. William Doherty
University of Minnesota
Professor, College of Human Ecology
Department of Family Social Science

[December 9, 2005]
Healthy Couples, Healthy Kids: Programmatic Approaches to Strengthening Couple Relationships for Better Child Outcomes

Part I: What Research Tells Us

• Summarize the theoretical and empirical literature on the benefits of a healthy couple relationship for parenting, father involvement and child outcomes.
• What improves parenting quality more: marriage and couples education or parenting education?
• Preserving and strengthening the co-parenting relationship and father involvement when the marital relationship ends

Part II: Putting Theory and Research into Practice
Designing and implementing couples education programs for parents and measuring impact: experiences with the Caring for my Family pilot studies in Alabama and Michigan.

• Program impact evidence
• Lessons learned for design and implementation

For supporting program handouts, go to Additional Resources...

Francesca Adler-Baeder, Ph.D., CFLE Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Auburn University 286 Spidle Hall Department of Human Development and Family Studies Auburn University Auburn, AL 36849 phone: 334-844-3234 fax: 334-844-4515 adlerfr@auburn.edu	Karen Shirer, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Family and Child Ecology Michigan State University 14A College of Human Ecology East Lansing, MI 48824 phone: 517-432-8703 shirer@msu.edu