Summary
Family fragmentation costs U.S. taxpayers ~$112 billion annually in forgone tax revenues, justice system expenses, TANF, Medicaid, SCHIP, and child welfare programs (Scafidi, 2008). Social and emotional costs are generally much higher (Schramm, 2009; Raley & Sweeney, 2020). Using outcome data to improve outreach programs is critical to the future of family sciences. This symposium chronicles the best practices of the HMRF grantsupported SMART Couples Project using translatable research and program data. Each paper highlights an aspect of the SMART Couples Project’s mission which is to inspire participants to engage in relationship education to enhance their lives and well-being by strengthening their personal and family relationships (see www.smartcouples.org). Implications, best practices, and tools for program directors, educators, practitioners, and stakeholders in outreach programming are discussed.

Objectives

• To evaluate the effectiveness of programmatic outcomes using the SMART Couples Project as a case study.
• To analyze program and outcome data metrics specific to the four paper topics of interest.
• To assist symposium participants to apply couple and relationship education best practices to their own programmatic outreach contexts.

Subject Codes: interpersonal relationships, evidence-based practice, education
Population Codes: Family Life Education, marriage and family therapists/ clinicians, adolescence
Method and Approach Codes: outcomes-based research, relationship education, evidence-based practices/ programs

Summary
Family fragmentation costs U.S. taxpayers ~$112 billion annually in forgone tax revenues, justice system expenses, TANF, Medicaid, SCHIP, and child welfare programs (Scafidi, 2008). Social and emotional costs are generally much higher (Schramm, 2009; Raley & Sweeney, 2020). Using outcome data to improve outreach programs is critical to the future of family sciences. This symposium chronicles the best practices of the HMRF grantsupported SMART Couples Project using translatable research and program data. Each paper highlights an aspect of the SMART Couples Project’s mission which is to inspire participants to engage in relationship education to enhance their lives and well-being by strengthening their personal and family relationships (see www.smartcouples.org). Implications, best practices, and tools for program directors, educators, practitioners, and stakeholders in outreach programming are discussed.

Objectives

• To evaluate the effectiveness of programmatic outcomes using the SMART Couples Project as a case study.
• To analyze program and outcome data metrics specific to the four paper topics of interest.
• To assist symposium participants to apply couple and relationship education best practices to their own programmatic outreach contexts.

Subject Codes: interpersonal relationships, evidence-based practice, education
Population Codes: Family Life Education, marriage and family therapists/ clinicians, adolescence
Method and Approach Codes: outcomes-based research, relationship education, evidence-based practices/ programs

Summary
Family fragmentation costs U.S. taxpayers ~$112 billion annually in forgone tax revenues, justice system expenses, TANF, Medicaid, SCHIP, and child welfare programs (Scafidi, 2008). Social and emotional costs are generally much higher (Schramm, 2009; Raley & Sweeney, 2020). Using outcome data to improve outreach programs is critical to the future of family sciences. This symposium chronicles the best practices of the HMRF grantsupported SMART Couples Project using translatable research and program data. Each paper highlights an aspect of the SMART Couples Project’s mission which is to inspire participants to engage in relationship education to enhance their lives and well-being by strengthening their personal and family relationships (see www.smartcouples.org). Implications, best practices, and tools for program directors, educators, practitioners, and stakeholders in outreach programming are discussed.

Objectives

• To evaluate the effectiveness of programmatic outcomes using the SMART Couples Project as a case study.
• To analyze program and outcome data metrics specific to the four paper topics of interest.
• To assist symposium participants to apply couple and relationship education best practices to their own programmatic outreach contexts.

Subject Codes: interpersonal relationships, evidence-based practice, education
Population Codes: Family Life Education, marriage and family therapists/ clinicians, adolescence
Method and Approach Codes: outcomes-based research, relationship education, evidence-based practices/ programs

Summary
Family fragmentation costs U.S. taxpayers ~$112 billion annually in forgone tax revenues, justice system expenses, TANF, Medicaid, SCHIP, and child welfare programs (Scafidi, 2008). Social and emotional costs are generally much higher (Schramm, 2009; Raley & Sweeney, 2020). Using outcome data to improve outreach programs is critical to the future of family sciences. This symposium chronicles the best practices of the HMRF grantsupported SMART Couples Project using translatable research and program data. Each paper highlights an aspect of the SMART Couples Project’s mission which is to inspire participants to engage in relationship education to enhance their lives and well-being by strengthening their personal and family relationships (see www.smartcouples.org). Implications, best practices, and tools for program directors, educators, practitioners, and stakeholders in outreach programming are discussed.

Objectives

• To evaluate the effectiveness of programmatic outcomes using the SMART Couples Project as a case study.
• To analyze program and outcome data metrics specific to the four paper topics of interest.
• To assist symposium participants to apply couple and relationship education best practices to their own programmatic outreach contexts.

Subject Codes: interpersonal relationships, evidence-based practice, education
Population Codes: Family Life Education, marriage and family therapists/ clinicians, adolescence
Method and Approach Codes: outcomes-based research, relationship education, evidence-based practices/ programs