Track C: Faith Based and Community Initiatives

1. Does Marriage Stand a Prayer? An Examination of a Reserach and Practice Model
This session examines the Research and Practice model of the Program for Strong African American Marriages (ProSAAM). Can a combination of standard marriage skills training and prayer strengthen African American marriages? Learn if the couple that prays together actually stays together.

2. Churches Re-connecting Ex-Offenders to Family and Community
A discussion of how faith-based organizations can facilitate offenders’ re-entry into their marriages, families, and communities. This session provides examples of faith-based programs designed to strengthen marital and family relationships of ex-offenders. The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) will present their evaluation of the Serious and Violent Offenders re-entry programs.


3. Pen or Pencil: "For Better, For Worse"
This session will showcase an approach to marriage education pioneered by the National Alliance of Faith and Justice (NAFJ), which contrasts sound recommendations with detriments to relationships and marriage. The panel will discuss the impact, challenges, and risks to marriage and relationships posed by crime and incarceration.

4. Making Marriages That Last
This session presents a faith-based and a secular model to relationship skills and marriage enrichment. ACF Healthy Marriage Grantees, Beech Acres Parenting Center and Healthy Marriages Grand Rapids, will present their best practices. The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) will discuss evaluation findings of Healthy Marriage programs, outlining strengths and areas of innovation.

5. Black Church Engagement: A Perspective on Healthy Marriage, Fatherhood, and Prisoner Re-entry
This session examines the role of the black church and recent research on black churches' engagement in issues of healthy marriage, responsible fatherhood and prison re-entry. Presenters will discuss the work of Exodus Transitional Community, a faith-based re-entry program, as well as the challenges and opportunities of organizing ministers for family-focused initiatives.