FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 12, 2005
Contact: Sherry Hill (907) 465-1618, Cell (907) 321-2838
Jeff Kasper, (907) 465-8194, cell (907) 321-3158
Eleven Healthy Marriage Initiative grantees funded again for FY06, RFP issued July 12 for additional $150,000
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(Juneau, Alaska) – The Department of Health and Social Services will continue to fund, through fiscal year 2006 (FY06), 11 community and faith-based organizations awarded Healthy Marriage Initiative grants last year. In addition, the department today issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for $150,000 to fund at least three more programs.
“All of the grantees have done remarkable work to strengthen healthy, married two-parent families in Alaska,” said Stephanie Wheeler, Executive Director of the Alaska Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives.
Wheeler noted that the Anchorage School District’s Crossroads School and Catholic Community Services in Juneau are examples of organizations that have successfully helped couples with the Healthy Marriage Initiative grants. The Crossroads School offered the Smart Families Initiative that targets young fathers and mothers by providing relational instruction in order to support the formation of two-parent families as well as supporting academic achievement.
Catholic Community Services in Juneau enhanced existing services and implemented “Money Smart,” a financial curriculum that addresses finance and budgeting issues that often impact family stability.
“Money Start has been an extremely popular program and we often have a waiting list of people to get into it,” said Rosemary Hagevig, Executive Director of Catholic Community Services. “During this fiscal year we are going to make it an integral part of stabilization plans for all families living in transitional housing.”
The goal of the Healthy Marriage Initiative is to increase the percentage of healthy, married two-parent families in Alaska. Healthy two-parent families are more likely to ensure the well being of children than single parent families and those with two unmarried adults. Research also indicates that marriage may significantly influence the reduction of poverty rates.
Funding in FY05 for the Healthy Marriages Initiative totaled $500,000 and was offered in grants of up to $50,000 per organization. An RFP detailing the current year Healthy Marriages Initiative is available on the Public Notices section of the Health and Social Services website at: http://www.hss.state.ak.us or on the State of Alaska Public Notices site.
These grants were made possible by a Federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) High Performance Bonus award.
Proposed programs or services must be innovative, provide collaboration with other community organizations, and have clearly defined measures and outcomes. Programs or services funded by these grants for FY05 could have included but were not limited to:
- Education in high schools on the value of marriage, relationship skills, and budgeting;
- Marriage education, marriage skills, and relationship skills programs, that may include parenting skills, financial management, conflict resolution, and job and career advancement for non-married pregnant women and non-married expectant fathers;
- Pre-marital education and marriage skills training for engaged couples and for couples or individuals interested in marriage;
- Marriage enhancement and marriage skills training programs for married couples;
- Divorce reduction programs that teach relationship skills;
- Marriage mentoring programs which use married couples as role models and mentors in at-risk communities; and
- Public advertising campaigns on the value of marriage and the skills needed to increase marital stability and health.
Additional Information
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