Integrating healthy marriage and relationship education into an employment program

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveThe goal was to assess if integrating healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) into an employment program for young adults could improve their relationship and employment outcomes.BackgroundMany HMRE programs offer economic stability services, yet this approach often does not consider that HMRE participants have different employment needs. There is little evidence on the alternative approach of adding HMRE to an employment program.MethodWe conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 908 participants seeking employment services. We randomly assigned them to (a) an intervention group offered an integrated HMRE and employment program or (b) a control group offered an employment program without HMRE. We measured outcomes 1 year later with survey and administrative data.ResultsThe integrated program reached participants for whom both employment services and HMRE had relevance. However, program attendance was irregular, and participants in both research groups had similar outcomes after 1 year.ConclusionIntegrating HMRE into an employment program is feasible but supporting regular attendance and meeting the needs of job seekers can be challenging.ImplicationsResults suggest the need for new approaches to meeting the employment needs and supporting the economic stability of HMRE participants with low incomes. Results also contribute to emerging evidence on how a person's life circumstances might moderate the impacts of HMRE programming.