• Is it Worth It? Exploring the Economic Worth of Parent Education Programs
  Presented by: Minnell Tralle, Mary Marczak, Ellen McCann, Alisha Hardman, Omar Da'ar

• Child and Parenting Skills: An Evaluation of a Program for Pregnant and Parenting
  Presented by: Heidi Stolz, Patricia Roberson, Denise Brandon

• One Happy Island: Assessing Marriage Education Needs in Aruba
  Presented by: Camilla Beckstead, Stephen Farr Duncan

Abstracts

Is it Worth It? Exploring the Economic Worth of Parent Education Programs

Presented by: Minnell Tralle, Mary Marczak, Ellen McCann, Alisha Hardman, Omar Da'ar

With decreasing public funds and increasing accountability, family life educators may be asked to justify programs in terms of cost vs benefit. This involves employing a cost-benefit analysis to the program and its outcomes. This is often reported in terms of money saved but can be more challenging to apply to family and human development programs where the program benefits are not as easily quantified. An example used is a court ordered divorce education program, which teaches parents how divorce impacts their children and skills for parenting to prevent negative impact such as juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy, and school dropouts

Child and Parenting Skills: An Evaluation of a Program for Pregnant and Parenting

Presented by: Heidi Stolz, Patricia Roberson, Denise Brandon

In the United States teenage pregnancy is associated with various problems for teenage mothers and their children. In efforts to combat negative outcomes, programs for preventing and intervening have been implemented. This study evaluated one such program; the Child and Parenting Skills program is a school-based program for first-time pregnant and/or parenting high school students. A retrospective post-then-pre design was used to assess participants' perceptions of the program and changes in parenting knowledge. Results indicate that this program is effective in increasing knowledge, parent hopefulness, and self-esteem of pregnant and parenting teens.

One Happy Island: Assessing Marriage Education Needs in Aruba

Presented by: Camilla Beckstead, Stephen Farr Duncan

Aruba is self-identified as ""One Happy Island"" yet has consistently been listed among the top ten highest-divorcing countries Thus is may be an area ripe for Couple Relationship Education (CRE), but it is unknown how to best go about it. While outcome studies regarding MRE are generally favorable, many researchers note that current information on marriage education is limited to the well-educated, middle-class, European American population in the U.S. The purpose of this study was to assess marriage education needs and preferences in Aruba, in order to inform future relationship education efforts on the island.